La Oliva Returns “Lost” Rodolites to Their Natural Habitat

With citizen collaboration, the municipality manages to return marine formations back to the coastline

New environmental action by La Oliva. The City Council, through the Department of Environment and led by David Fajardo, has recovered with the help of citizens more than a ton of rodolitos to return them to their natural setting. After residents of the municipality reported that they kept rodolitos as decorative items in their homes, environmental guides seized the marine formations and restored them to the local coastline.

In most cases, people collected the rodolitos and used them as ornamental pieces in houses and gardens without understanding their importance to the marine ecosystem. Now, following the environmental‑awareness campaign launched by the Council, the very residents themselves are contacting the Department of Environment to return the rodolitos to their natural habitat—the beach.

Mayor Isaí Blanco: “Many of the residents and tourists who have taken rodolitos from our coasts do so out of sheer ignorance. Through environmental‑awareness campaigns we not only prevent these marine formations from being removed from the beaches, but we also manage to get those who have already done so to contact the Department of Environment so they can be returned to their natural environment.”

Councilor for the Environment, David Fajardo: “The truth is that we are reaping the benefits of an environmental‑education campaign. Over time we have seen these natural elements disappear from our coasts only to appear as decorative items in various houses throughout the municipality.”

“After the effort to convey to locals and visitors the importance of rodolitos on our coasts, it is the residents and tourists themselves who get in touch with the administration, either through the environmental guides or the Local Police, and thus bring these natural elements back to their original ecosystem,” Fajardo added.

This initiative carries a significance that goes beyond the rodolitos, encouraging respect for every element of the natural environment, as reflected in the Natural Heritage Law. The municipality urges residents and visitors to enjoy rodolitos in their natural setting and, if they find them away from the beaches, to contact the Department of Environment or the Local Police. Together, we are part of the change.