In Peques y Más it is a pleasure to introduce Javier Zarzuela Aragón author of the book "Excursions for children in the Sierra de Madrid". Javier is 49 years old and is the father of two girls aged 13 and 17. He is a Primary teacher in the town of Fresnedillas de la Oliva. Javier has always been linked to the defense of the Environment and Environmental Education. For three years he has promoted Transition initiatives (adaptation of communities to the decrease and the environmental crisis) in Spain and particularly in the town of Zarzalejo. Javier likes to write theater and stories for children, practice horticulture, sing, cook and listen to people. I have contacted him to interview him and he has been kind enough to answer us. Thank you very much for your attention because many years ago I bought your book "Excursions for children in the Sierra de Madrid" and after commenting on Peques and Más I have seen that these articles have a lot of activity among readers especially when the weather forecast is favorable and want to take the kids to explore the Sierra. I leave you with Javier who is noticed, reading him, the tremendous passion that he puts into the things he does and especially when it comes to Nature.
Tell us why you decide to write a book about excursions in which the protagonists are families
When I was a child, my father took us many weekends to the countryside but, interestingly, always to the South of the capital, perhaps because my parents are from Cuenca and Cáceres. I grew up with my back to the Sierra de Madrid, and it wasn't until my youth that I discovered it through camping with my friends. Already as a teacher, I prepared trips in the region of the Sierra, traveling before the itineraries, and always tried to choose curious and feasible places for large groups of children.
Preparing an excursion for 100 children in the Sierra is a sensitive issue, in which you cannot afford mistakes or uncertainties. Everything has to be very studied: the adaptation of the road to the ages, the places of stop, the security of not getting lost, the times, the shadows, the natural stimuli, etc. The experience accumulated in the organization of excursions led me to propose to the Community of Madrid a document with 14 trips for schools in the Sierra Oeste of Madrid, work that I did for a year, but that was not finally taken advantage of for the educational centers. A good friend put me in touch with La Librería Publishing House and I offered them the work done. They asked me to propose 40 routes aimed at families or large groups, and I got down to work. The philosophy of the book is to facilitate the activity to the maximum, to make sure that one knows what is going to be found, and to express the educational and recreational possibilities of the places offered. And the criteria used were as demanding as if they were excursions designed for a school.
How old are the children to whom the excursions are directed
The excursions proposed by the book can be taken from babies (depending on the routes) to teenagers (if left). The routes have variants that sometimes adapt to different ages. And although the excursions guarantee success with the children, they are very suitable for adults who do not look for mountain crossings or great walks. And also for grandparents, for pregnant women or for the disabled. On each excursion it is clearly marked which people can do it and what possible difficulties or facilities will be able to meet.
How do you identify those key aspects for families so that they can make a very attractive excursion full of possibilities?
The key aspects of the excursion are these: how much time (essential to answer the recurring question “Mom, how much is missing?”), If there are slopes and how they are, if children have available sticks, pineapples, stones, water or hiding places , what ages or what physical condition are appropriate, and if the place where it ends is attractive, it will be there for quite some time. Then there are other criteria of choice, such as that the beginning of the route is in an easily recognizable site or that details and curious information about the specific environment being traveled are provided, and that integrate us more with it.
What kind of games can be done with children in the Sierra to have fun and entertain
Sophisticated toys are a real failure on excursions to the countryside or the mountains.
There is nothing that seduces children more than water, lots of pineapples, sticks, stones, steep rocks or hiding places. A "toy" with many possibilities is a rope, also the classic buckets and shovels, or some kite. With sticks you can practice marksmanship, make cabins, palisades for insects, write letters, etc. With stones it is a pleasure to pile them up, make walls or dams in the creek, throw them into the water, or take home the most beautiful ones. And pineapples and fruits or seeds, especially artistic, also have multiple possibilities. Traditional games (hide and seek, pilla-pilla, cops and cacos, etc.) are especially pleasurable for children in Nature. And getting bored (what can happen to children addicted to the machines, to television or to the computer) is a necessary step before recovering the children's instinct for the game, etc. You have to be patient!
When you started to feel the passion for Nature, who transmitted it to you and how you decide to spread your enjoyment
My mother, without a doubt, has transmitted to me since childhood her immense love for Creation and respect for all living beings. He grew up with his grandfather, who was guardian in Navalmoral de la Mata, a man mimetized with Nature and fearful of storms. All this is transmitted for generations with ease, because we are talking about Nature as our true nature (with lowercase). I have always been good at conveying enthusiasm for the living. It is one of the reasons why I am a teacher.
How can parents make children get closer to nature and temporarily move away from the couch
First, set an example with our life. And if we cannot naturally set an example, we will be willing to periodically organize activities linked to knowledge and enjoyment in Nature. Eat in the countryside, celebrate a birthday at a summit, take a night walk, pick pineapples for the stove, camp in the garden or near the house, make hidden cabins, etc. They are delicious activities for children, if their father and / or their mother also put enthusiasm. The alliance with other families that have children of the same age, is a first order resource.
What do you think of the initiatives of the Community of Madrid to promote nature among Madrid families?
Up to now there has been a very acceptable offer of itineraries guided by natural surroundings of Madrid, mainly through the interpreacion centers (Polvoranca, Luis Ceballos Arboretum, Puente del Perdón, Fuenfría, etc.) The personnel cuts of these centers have been brutal, and has affected the organization of these activities, at a time when simple low-cost leisure (such as the excursion to the Sierra) will increase considerably.
What are your favorite routes through the Sierra de Madrid
My favorite excursions are those from the port of La Tablada to the Moros River, the Cañal de Alpedrete Hill and the Pontón de la Oliva, in Patones. They are magical excursions for me because I immerse myself in the wild and merge with my surroundings.
What other routes in Spain and in the world would you highlight for traveling with children
Spain is a country with wonderful possibilities, due to the variety of its surroundings and a relatively sparsely populated territory. I would highlight the gorges of the region of La Vera, near Madrid; the mountain range of Soria and the Sierra de Guara, in Huesca. From this last one, an impressive summer excursion is to climb the Alcanadre river, from the Bierge jump, to the source of La Támara (the purest spring I know), and to introduce ourselves swimming, from this point, in a narrow and magical ravine . If I get lost someday, you can surely find me there.
And from Europe, I would highlight the Austrian region of Carinthia. It is a great theme park of Nature, careful and assembled to enjoy the beautiful with respect for the environment.
We thank Javier for his explanations because they transfer his passion for Nature and also infects us. We have asked you to tell us how can you get your book, and has responded that we can write to [email protected] to receive indications of the nearest place to obtain it.
