Centro de Interpretación do Medio Mariño (CIMM) de Cabanas
The CIMM de Cabanas (Marine Environment Interpretation Center) is a meeting space for locals and visitors around the marine culture and the natural and landscape wealth of the territory related to the marine environment. The space is built in a respectful way, using wood and sustainable materials, for its complete integration with the environment. In it, training, dissemination and environmental education activities are carried out on the challenges of our seas and coast.
Local
Spain
Cabanas
Mainly rural
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Yes
EMFF : European Maritime and Fisheries Fund
EMFF: European Maritime and Fisheries FUnd 2014-2020. Years 2020-2021-2022
No
Yes
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Concello de Cabanas Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local) First name of representative: Iago Last name of representative: Varela Martínez Gender: Male Nationality: Spain Function: Deputy mayor for the environment, innovation and tourism Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Rúa do Concello 22 Town: Cabanas Postal code: 15621 Country: Spain Direct Tel:+34637559873 E-mail:iago.varela@cabanas.gal Website:https://cimmcabanas.gal/
The "Centro de Interpretación do Medio Mariño de Cabanas" (Cabanas Marine Environment Interpretation Center) (CIMM) is an active musealization project. Its main objective is to combine a public service linked to the protection of the marine environment, to value and publicize the fishing activity and the marine culture of Cabanas and its surroundings, collaborating in the implementation of infrastructures and means that affect in containing climate change.
Heritage and the marine environment must be taken into account in different vectors: nature, history, ethnography, gastronomy, culture, traditions, trades, fishing practices, traceability of seafood, canned food, legends and stories, maritime signals, cultural activity... Many of these aspects went unnoticed by those who visited Cabanas, some walking The Way of Saint James. For this reason, the CIMM launched dissemination and training actions aimed at publicize and value our marine environment and our intangible heritage linked to the sea.
The project contemplates that the people of the sea of Cabanas can transmit their knowledge about the sea to the rest of the population and to the people who come to our town, either in first person or through new musealization technologies.
Sustainability
Heritage
Sea
Nature
Education
Sustainability is in the DNA of the "Centro de Interpretación del Medio Marino de Cabanas" (CIMM) from its foundations. The building has been designed with dimensions and shapes that contribute to its integration with the environment, being located near the sea, at the mouth of the Eume river. For its construction, local wood has been used, contributing to the reduction of the CO2 footprint.
The main objective of the project is to promote the sustainable use of the environmental heritage of fishing areas, including climate change mitigation operations and the transition to a low-carbon economy.
To achieve this objective, the CIMM has developed (and continues to develop) various activities, including exhibitions (permanent and temporary), talks, guided interpretive routes, workshops... that have addressed topics such as coastal flora and fauna species, invasive species, sustainable fishing and shellfishing, the evolution of the coastline and its erosion, etc.
As previously mentioned, the CIMM is an active musealization project, and beyond serving as a container to host exhibitions, talks and workshops, it has an educational project committed to the scientific dissemination of topics related to the sea, the sustainable exploitation of resources and marine culture. Therefore, a part of these activities are carried out abroad, educational centers, local association centers, among others.
The Cabanas "Centro de Interpretación do Medio Mariño" has been designed in terms of sustainability, adaptation to the environment and accessibility. The challenge was not only to build a building that would serve as an exhibition area, but also as a place to hold conferences, workshops and neighborhood meetings around conservation issues of the marine environment, but also to make it compatible with a green zone environment. little urbanized.
For its correct integration, a wood and glass construction was chosen: on one of the sides (towards a road), a low-height glass system was implemented, and on the other, a large window was installed, to achieve a good natural lighting (and a consequent energy saving in artificial light). The need to raise the building from the ground on pivots for reasons of waterproofing, also meant the installation of a ramp to facilitate universal access.
Regarding the exhibition elements, hybrid panels have been chosen, which include written information and images, but which are completed with oral narrations (especially with blind people in mind) that explain the contents of said panels.
We believe that this initiative can be exemplary in terms of integration with the environment (the necessary compromise between aesthetics and adaptation to the environment in which it is built), but also in details, such as universal accessibility (both to the space itself and to the contents).
The "Centro de Interpretación do Medio Mariño de Cabanas" is located in a rural setting. The town, Cabanas, lived for years away from the sea (beyond the tourism associated with the beaches), and in fact many of its neighbors are unaware of the fishing and shellfish activity.
As an interpretation center, one of CIMM's objectives is to universalize knowledge, facilitating access to information about the environment for all residents (and visitors). As it is an interpretation center that depends on the town hall, some synergies have been achieved, especially with the school: this allowed (and will continue to allow, with new training programs), that all the students of the school have access to knowledge about the aspects that are dealt with at the CIMM (sustainability, environmental education, local economy linked to the sea, protection and knowledge of the marine environment...).
We believe that these activities carried out in collaboration with the school make it possible to include knowledge about the environment and the topics dealt with at the CIMM in the educational curriculum, and, in addition, ensure that all children can access them, including those that, for different reasons, their families would not take them to a museum by themselves.
No less important is the role of CIMM as a center for popularizing science: during the months that it has been open, people of all ages have been able to participate in activities with which they have been able to improve their knowledge of scientific aspects, allowing deeper reflections on issues of accessibility.
Both the citizens of Cabanas, as well as those who visit our town, have a space at their disposal in the "Centro de Interpretación do Medio Mariño" to get to know the coastal environment in depth, including the effects of climate change, aspects such as flora and local fauna, transformation of the coast or sustainability in the exploitation of fishing and shellfishing.
The participation of citizens has been a basic aspect in the construction of the CIMM project: people involved in environmental protection, fishermen, environmental educators, environmental entities have been heard... but also neighbors, living witnesses of the transformation of the environment and changes in habits (it must be taken into account that Cabanas has undergone a radical change in its coastal zone in the last century).
The exchange of experiences (fishermen - neighbors) and intergenerational activities are part of the essence of the project, making the civil society of Cabanas feel the project as their own, and favoring the transfer of knowledge from generation to generation.
The initiative of the "Centro de Interpretación do Medio Mariño de Cabanas" (CIMM) arises from the environment area of the Cabanas city council.
After the project was clear, financing was sought for its development, which was channeled through the GALP (Local Action Group of the Fisheries Sector), dependent on the regional government of Galicia, Spain. The regional government was in charge of managing the funds, corresponding to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).
The provincial government collaborated with the project with a subsidy for the hiring of personnel.
Professionals from different disciplines and areas of knowledge, including engineering and architecture, sciences, arts, and humanities, have collaborated in the design and implementation of the CIMM project as a whole.
In all aspects of the design of the building, work has been done with a team of architecture professionals who have managed to translate the concept of the project into a sustainable construction adapted to the environment. Subsequently, for its construction, a company specializing in the use of wood has been used.
For the design of the project and contents, work has been done with professionals from the sea (fishermen), but also with environmental experts (biologists and specialists in marine sciences) who have advised on the preparation of the materials. To translate it into panels and publications, we have collaborated with artists and designers.
For the conferences, workshops and interpretive routes, experts in different sciences have been used, who also have a curriculum in training.
Collaboration between the different disciplines was a constant throughout the development of the process, through workshops, multidisciplinary meetings and training sessions.
The initiative of the "Centro de Interpretación do Medio Mariño de Cabanas" (CIMM) is innovative because there is no other similar center in the Galicia region as a whole.
In several towns there are "sea museums", some of them with unique, different pieces of great museum value. However, this interpretation center is conceived as a living museum center, in which there is a space for exhibitions (permanent and temporary), but what is really important is all the educational activity that it generates: workshops, conferences, thematic meetings, informative actions ...
In this way, each visitor lives a different experience. And the same visitor lives a different experience on each visit to CIMM.
It is innovative to use the experiences (live, or through musealization techniques when this is not possible) as exhibition elements, with greater importance than the exhibited pieces themselves.
For example, a CIMM visitor can enjoy views of the seabed in real time using a robot, learn about shellfish harvesting areas on a guided electric boat tour, or learn to sew a net used for fishing. .
Our experience with the "Centro de Interpretación do Medio Mariño" (CIMM) in Cabanas has been very positive, and has served to confirm that there was a demand in our environment for a center of these characteristics: the reception by the public has exceeded all expectations, with high participation figures in all the activities carried out.
We have verified that the population of our own town and the surroundings needed a space of these characteristics to learn more about the environment, and learn how they can contribute to its conservation and enhancement.
We believe that the commitment to the local (involving the local population in the entire process of designing and implementing the project) is fundamental, and easily replicable in other places, whenever the theme that you want to work on is found.
Regarding methodologies, we consider that it is necessary to adapt to different audiences to achieve the involvement of the population. In our specific case, we have worked with a team specialized in children's audiences to develop the activities in the school, and with people with experience in training with adults for the activities designed for the general public.
For the development of the informative activities, a generalist approach has been used, for the most part, which has made it possible to reach a greater number of public. However, specialized workshops, exhibitions and conferences on specific topics have also been developed, and aimed at people with previous knowledge (or a special interest) in specific areas: for example, coastal birds.
In terms of methodology, different learning methods have been used, depending on the activities and the audience for which they were directed, with special mention of active methodologies.
This type of active learning methodologies were used in the workshops developed with students, for which gamification (gymkanas), learning based on problem solving, simulations or visual thinking have been used.
It has been considered that using these learning methods, in which a process is developed and information is not simply received and accumulated, a greater involvement of students is achieved and a better assimilation of information is achieved too.
The "Centro de Interpretación do Medio Mariño de Cabanas" project is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), directly with Goals 13 (Climate Action) and 14 (Life Below Water), but also with Goal 4 (Quality Education).
Both the interpretation center itself, as well as the activities that take place in (and from) it, are designed to raise awareness of the need to adopt urgent measures to combat climate change (Goal 13) and its effects: climate changes , floods, tides... are clear signs of the consequences of greenhouse gases produced by human action, and everyone's involvement is necessary to combat them.
On the other hand, the need to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources (Goal 14) is the main essence of the "Centro de Interpretación do Medio Mariño" in Cabanas: transversally, all CIMM activities affect on the need to eliminate pollution produced on land, the necessary restoration of marine ecosystems or the regulation of fishing based on scientific criteria.
In a not so direct way, CIMM also works on Goal 4, Quality Education: all activities are designed to universalize access to inclusive, equitable and quality education, promoting learning opportunities throughout life and for all people: from schoolchildren to adults.
The "Centro de Interpretación do Medio Mariño de Cabanas" project began in 2020, after obtaining funding from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). Previously, the project had been publicized with the fishing and shellfish sector in the area, as well as with natural environment conservation entities.
The year 2021 was the year of construction of the building that houses the Interpretation Center, and in 2022 in which the activities began to take place. The inauguration of the headquarters took place on June 15, 2022, although some of its outsourced activities began in May of that same year.
During the months of May and June 2022, workshops were held with schoolchildren from the only public school in our town, Cabanas, reaching all students from 3 to 12 years of age. They worked with them on the coastal transformation caused by natural erosion and that caused by human action, as well as concepts of sustainability in fishing and shellfishing, and its importance to maintain these trades in the following generations. In this cycle of activities, field trips were also organized to get to know the environment and work on aspects such as coastal fauna and flora, as well as their protection.
Between the months of June and September, with the interpretation center now open to the public, an intense program of exhibitions, conferences, interpretative outings and workshops on different topics was carried out: coastal birds, sustainable fishing methods, the diversity of the ocean , shoreline protection.
Since September 2022, the CIMM programming has included screening of documentaries and various conferences.
With these activities, progress has been made in the educational function of the Interpretation Center, managing to disseminate science content, environmental sustainability and marine culture in various population segments.
