Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Syracuse Abroad Students Make Headlines in Spain

Monday, January 23, 2023, By Ashley Barletta
Share
Syracuse Abroad

Syracuse University students currently studying in Madrid, Spain made their way onto the local news earlier this month. During their first week in Spain, while participating in the Syracuse Madrid Marine Ecology Signature Seminar, students partook in a unique activity giving back to the ecosystem that caught the attention of the local media in Alicante. Torrevieja TV covered the story and noted the work of the Syracuse University students and their impact on the environment. Their volunteer work removing vegetation and plant life was a hands-on learning experience that demonstrated how different civilizations have “humanized” the Mediterranean environment.

A translation and description of the video clip above are provided below courtesy of Marine Ecology Seminar leader, Professor Monica Pérez-Bedmar.

The “Parque del Molino del Agua,” in the town of Torrevieja (Province of Alicante), in the Mediterranean coastline, was used by the military in the past century because of the presence of fresh water.

In the first half of the 20th century, the dunes that belonged to this area were well conserved and maintained their natural functions, such as protecting the coastline, creating habitat and acting as a recharge area for the coastal aquifer.

In the second half of the 20th century, exacerbated coastal development negatively impacted this dunar ecosystem, and many invasive species were introduced, taking over the habitat for the native species.

In the past 10 years, ANSE (The Association of Naturalists of Southeast Spain) started to remove exotic invasive species, such as the ice plant (carpobrotus edulis) and replanted native species, such as junipers, sabines and other Mediterranean bush species. Historical records were consulted to learn what native species were present in the past. Today, the dunes act as a ‘coastal hallway’ connecting the two nearby wetlands.

Last week, Syracuse students, during the Marine Ecology Seminar, volunteered with members of ANSE to remove half an acre of ice plants. During the next weeks, other volunteers will start planting native trees to restore the natural vegetation of the dune ecosystem.

The Marine Ecology Signature Seminar is a 10-day traveling course at the start of the semester that studies the marine ecosystems and the physiology of marine and coastal organisms along the coast of Spain. Integrated into their studies and coursework, students also earn their SNSI Diving Certification and scuba dive in surrounding bodies of water.

  • Author

Ashley Barletta

  • Recent
  • Registration Open for Esports Campus Takeover Hosted by University and Gen.G
    Thursday, June 19, 2025, By Matt Michael
  • Whitman’s Johan Wiklund Named a Top Scholar Globally for Business Research Publications
    Tuesday, June 17, 2025, By Caroline K. Reff
  • Lab THRIVE: Advancing Student Mental Health and Resilience
    Thursday, June 12, 2025, By News Staff
  • On Your Mark, Get Set, Go Orange! Faculty and Staff at the Syracuse WorkForce Run (Gallery)
    Thursday, June 12, 2025, By News Staff
  • Oren Lyons Jr., Roy Simmons Jr. Honored With Alfie Jacques Ambassador Award
    Wednesday, June 11, 2025, By John Boccacino

More In Campus & Community

Registration Open for Esports Campus Takeover Hosted by University and Gen.G

Syracuse University and global esports and gaming organization Gen.G have opened general registration at campustakeover.gg for its first Campus Takeover Sept. 20-21. The two-day conference will bring students and administrators to Syracuse to highlight career opportunities within the esports industry…

2 Whitman Students Earn Prestigious AWESOME Scholarship

For the first time in the 12-year history of the program, both nominees from the Whitman School of Management have been selected as recipients of the 2025 AWESOME Excellence in Education Scholarship, a prestigious honor awarded to top-performing undergraduate women…

Whitman’s Johan Wiklund Named a Top Scholar Globally for Business Research Publications

The Whitman School of Management’s Distinguished Professor Johan Wiklund was recently listed as one of the most prolific business and economic research scholars globally, according to “What We Know About the Science of Science in Business and Economics? Insights From…

Katsitsatekanoniahkwa Destiny Lazore ’26 Receives Prestigious Udall Scholarship

Katsitsatekanoniahkwa Destiny Lazore, a rising senior communication and rhetorical studies major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts and political science major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and College of Arts and Sciences (with a…

Inaugural Meredith Professor Faculty Fellows Announced

Three professors have been named Meredith Professor Faculty Fellows. Part of the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professorship Program, the Faculty Fellows program was launched this year. Fellows will work in partnership with the Center for Teaching and Learning…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.