In its eighth edition, the initiative Villas en Flor Galicia The annual awards ceremony for municipalities committed to landscape preservation was held at the Carballo Forum, honoring 41 municipalities with between 1 and 5 awards. Flowers of Honor for the improvement and management of its green areas, sustainability and environmental education.
The program —driven by the Juana de Vega Foundation Together with ASVINOR and AGAEXAR, it brought together representatives from municipalities with fewer than 40.000 inhabitants throughout Galicia, reinforcing the idea that well-maintained public spaces contribute to well-being, coexistence, and quality of life for citizens.
What is Vilas en Flor Galicia and how is it evaluated?
The award is granted after an evaluation process by a jury composed of 16 specialists (university, vocational training and landscape and nursery professionals) who visit the municipalities for weeks and score their environmental performance in a comprehensive manner.
The evaluation criteria combine the aesthetic dimension with the ecological functionality, promoting actions that integrate nature into daily life, reduce impacts and encourage community involvement in caring for the environment.
Among the aspects that carry the most weight in the assessment are the following municipal work areas, all linked to the improvement of public space:
- Planning and landscape integration in urban and rural projects.
- Efficient management of green areas, trees and waterwith adapted species.
- Creation of spaces accessible and safe that promote coexistence.
- Actions of biodiversity, renaturalization and environmental education.
Thanks to this approach, initiatives such as riverbank restoration, green routes, renovated playgrounds, urban gardens, and campaigns are proliferating. ecological awareness in the participating municipalities.
Distinguished municipalities and number of Flowers of Honor
At the event held in Carballo, the following were recognized: 41 municipalities of the four Galician provinces, with the following distribution by categories:
- 4 Flowers of Honor (5): Allariz, Carballo, Chantada, Salceda de Caselas and Tomiño.
- 3 Flowers of Honor (13): Arteixo, Caldas de Reis, Cambados, Carballiño, Lalín, A Laracha, As Pontes de García Rodríguez, O Rosal, Salvaterra de Miño, San Sadurniño, As Somozas, Vilagarcía de Arousa and Vimianzo.
- 2 Flowers of Honor (14): Abegondo, Cuntis, Curtis, A Guarda, Leiro, Manzaneda, Marín, Mondariz-Balneario, Oza-Cesuras, Ponteareas, Sada, Sanxenxo, Sarria and Tui.
- 1 Flower of Honor (9): Covelo, Culleredo, A Estrada, Mondariz, Mos, As Neves, Pobra de Trives, Ponteceso and San Xoán de Río.
In the Coruña and Mariñas area, distinctions such as Arteixo (3 flowers); Abegondo, Curtis, Oza-Cesuras and Sada (2); and Culleredo (1), reflecting advances in water management, species selection and maintenance of Parkland.
Institutional voices, organization and sponsorships
The gala was chaired by Enrique Sáez Ponte, president of the Juana de Vega Foundation, and was attended by the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Angeles Vazquezand the mayor of Carballo, Daniel Pérez López. The speeches emphasized that a well-maintained landscape is synonymous with quality of life and a democratizing factor of the common space.
The organizers emphasized the role of the technical team and the jury —coordinated by Pedro Calaza— as well as cooperation between city councils, municipal staff and neighborhood associations to consolidate projects that transform the Public spaces in meeting places.
Institutional and private support strengthened the edition: Department of Environment, Territory and Housing (through the Instituto de Estudos do Territorio), and companies in the sector such as Husqvarna y Rainbird They participated as sponsors.
In addition, the new image and brand manual of Vilas en Flor Galicia, with the aim of unifying identity and facilitating the work of the municipalities as "ambassadors" of the movement under the same umbrella.
Trendsetting projects in award-winning municipalities
En ChantadaThe jury highlighted the recovery of green spaces such as the new area of the Marín neighborhood, improvements to Emilia Pardo Bazán and Concepción Arenal streets, and the pedestrianization of Luis García Arias Square (A Lama das Quendas), in addition to the conservation of the oak grove of San Lucas and replanting along the River Walk.
Tomino It was awarded the 4 flowers for its responsible planning and for integrating natural and cultural heritage, with examples such as the Isaura Gomez Space (energy efficiency) and Praza de Asís, as well as innovative initiatives: controlled grazing to reduce invasive flora in Rede Natura 2000, conservation campaigns Andoriñas with ANABAM, recovery of ethnographic spaces and delivery of more than 1.300 native trees.
En SanxenxoThe municipality maintains two flower-shaped areas by expanding and caring for its network of green spaces, incorporating the A Peixeira viewpoint and the new landscaped area of Bakery, in a continuous strategy of improvement and maintenance of its trees and public spaces.
Caldas de Reis It consolidated the three flowers with the enhancement of the Botanical Garden and the Oak Grove: comprehensive restoration with the removal of invasive species, recovery of alignments, chromatic and scenic improvement, creation of groves, biomechanical and phytosanitary studies, as well as updating of flooring and furnitureirrigation and lighting, and installation of information panels.
The Carballeira intervention—awarded by nearly 740.000 Euros— It is planned to culminate with a Visitor Center and an interpretive exhibition that will promote both the enjoyment and protection of the municipality's natural and cultural heritage.
A network that is growing in Galicia, in Spain and internationally.
Vilas en Flor Galicia is part of a constellation of similar programs in Spain —Aragon, the Canary Islands, Catalonia and Valencia— and connects with international references such as Villes et Villages Fleuris (France), Comuni Fioriti (Italy), Britain in Bloom (United Kingdom), Tidy Towns (Ireland) or Communities in Bloom (Canada).
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change announced the creation of the Green Flag Municipalities Network, aimed at sharing good practices and developing common projects between municipalities with a recognized track record since 2020, with technical and economic support.
According to the municipalities, the program's benefits include improved air quality, a reduction in the urban heat island effect, and greater local identity, promotion of sustainable tourism and more healthy spaces that promote physical activity and community.
With the participation of 41 municipalities, the involvement of the jury, and institutional and private support, the eighth edition of Villas en Flor Galicia It confirms a change of habit in the management of urban green spaces: planning, maintenance and environmental education at the service of a better quality of life.
