The Font Roja is the first protected area in the Valencian Community since the 14th century, when regulations were issued regarding the use and care of the Font Roja, which the population was obliged to observe. Its presence has played an active role in the evolution of time for both Alcoy and Ibi, either through its forestry and agricultural use, or as a natural value whose conservation has been a matter of concern throughout the centuries.
Cities bring (who doubts it) many advantages to human beings, but the inertia and evolution of modern cities has distanced us from our original natural environment. The places where we live seem to us like new biotopes, when in fact their modern conception is barely irrelevant compared to the millenary existence of our species in the plan. Our real habitat is not the cities, perhaps it has been for some centuries, but it has not always, far from it, been like that. Anyone can do the simple exercise: find signs in our streets that give away the passing of the annual seasons. The trees in our squares and urban parks also lose their leaves, but the efficient municipal cleaning services make them quickly disappear from the pavement. Also, if you are a seasoned naturalist, you may notice some migratory birds visiting our cities, which also signifies the seasonal change …… However, outside the asphalt and concrete, the passage of time is much more evident. In a matter of weeks, the landscape changes, mutates, evolves …The forest renews its colour, the plants alternate in their flowering, the activity of the birds is altered, the light that illuminates the landscape is different…
Spring, summer, autumn and winter mark, with the passing of the solstices and equinoxes, the changes in nature and, to this effect, the Font Roja natural park does not escape.
A protected area so close to the city of Alcoy.
Taken from the book LAS CUATRO ESTACIONES DEL PARQUE NATURAL FONT ROJA, published by HOTEL CON ENCANTO MASIA LA MOTA.
All rights reserved, both text and photos.
