Argaka Dam

[Dominic]

The subject of litter often crops up in discussions on the Paphos Life forum. Things are improving, but there is definitely a long way to go. So it is with great pleasure that we are able to report that on a recent visit to Argaka Dam, we witnessed first hand how school children from the ISOP are helping to keep the area tidy.

Read the article and chat about it below...

 

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[hutch642]

Hi Dominic

My wife and I are over for 2 weeks and did the whole nature trail yesterday. It’s just under 5 miles. As you say even though a lot of the area is burnt it is a beautiful place. It must have been amazing before the fire. We were a bit disappointed because we only saw 2 birds and lots of butterflies. This was to be expected because of the fire damage. The dam looks very low. Not long after setting off we passed the children who were on their way back with lots of the blue bags. Great work by the school. We enjoy your blogs and visited Cap St George 2 days ago because of the one you did on that. Many thanks

[PaphosAL]

Thanks Dominic for all the environmental issues you are graphically alerting us about here on PL. It is great to see young school children taking an active part in this litter clearance out in their countryside, as well.

One thing I would mention, however, is that you'd be amazed at how fast Mother Nature regains control of Flaura and Forna in areas affected by wild fires, once they have been put out.

[Kili01]

Thanks for this blog, Dominic. Well done the children from ISOP.
I have walked the nature trail with my walking group several times before the fire. It was a truly beautiful place to walk in. The mature tree there gave shelter from the sun or even the rain! The views from there are superb. It is awful to now see this area partially denuded of its trees. I expect that eventually it will be re planted hopefully the way it was before, but not until the current drought finishes. Even then it will take time before new plantings will be mature. If only people would be sensible and much more careful when in the countryside. That careless smouldering cigarette stub thrown out of a moving car, or the carelessly lit bonfire or unattended BBQ fire can cause untold damage.
Dee

[Dominic]

You are right Dee. They are unable to plant trees at the moment because of the lack of water.

What surprised me was the cause of both this fire and the one in the East that killed two firemen. In both cases, the fires started in people's back gardens. I can only put that down to complacency; people assuming that because they are in their garden then everything will be safe. While we need to be careful with BBQs and cigarettes etc, we also need to be careful when we contemplate burning green rubbish in the back garden.

[Dominic]

Hi Dominic

My wife and I are over for 2 weeks and did the whole nature trail yesterday. It’s just under 5 miles. As you say even though a lot of the area is burnt it is a beautiful place. It must have been amazing before the fire. We were a bit disappointed because we only saw 2 birds and lots of butterflies. This was to be expected because of the fire damage. The dam looks very low. Not long after setting off we passed the children who were on their way back with lots of the blue bags. Great work by the school. We enjoy your blogs and visited Cap St George 2 days ago because of the one you did on that. Many thanks

Thank you for your kind words. It is nice to know that the blogs helped to make your holiday special.

[cyprusmax47]

" We will return soon in our 4x4, and continue up there. It would be nice to make it cross country all the way to Pera Vasa or Vretsia."

Dominic, if you continue this road it will lead you to Agios Merkourios Picnic Site and if you drive further you find the road coming from Lysos to Stavros Psokas Forest Station.... beautiful tracks....( I lived in this area from 1996 - 2009 )

Max