The FC Biodiversity Guide in Les Corts focuses on 34 species that live in the club’s facilities in Les Corts, the district of Barcelona where the 99,000-capacity Camp Nou is located. The club said that the guide is part of a mission to protect the local environment, with a focus on water, waste and energy. 

“We have not been able to find any other guide of this type. At least, we do not know any other great club that has published a biodiversity manual like this,” the Director of Barcelona’s sustainability department, Jordi Portabella, told Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia. 

Following the research, Barcelona has taken steps to promote biodiversity by installing new bird shelves around its stadium.

The Catalan club is currently revamping its facilities through the wide-ranging Espai Barça project, and Portabella added that previous studies and measures have been applied to ensure the impact of the development on local wildlife is minimised.

The new guide will also detail how sports and the regular gathering of tens of thousands of fans can co-exist alongside 31 species of nesting birds, two reptiles and one mammal.

Each of the species has its own dedicated page within the guide and features the main characteristics, preferred resting spots around the stadium and their day-to-day activities. Other information includes length, diet, nests and when locals can observe the animals at the Camp Nou.

One of the identified species is the royal swift, with the club having set up surveillance technology on nests to explore the possible impact of the Camp Nou renovation. The surveillance was carried out before breeding season, with further steps taken consequently to provide more nesting spaces.

Image: Shai Pal on Unsplash