In honor of World Water Day, see how Cummins Water Works Spain is recovering water linked ecosystems in Unesco Geopark

From the Cummins Water Works (CWW) initiative, a project together with Micorriza Association, who work to preserve the natural heritage in Spain, is underway to recover water linked ecosystems in the Molina-Alto Tajo UNESCO Geopark, located close to Cummins’ new Accelera electrolyzer plant.

This park plays an important role in the Molina-Alto Tajo region; its territory comprises 4,300 Km², encompassing 77 municipalities, making it one of the world’s largest geoparks and the largest within Spain. It’s also part of the International Program for Earth Sciences and Geoparks (PICTG) that promotes sustainable development to preserve Earth’s natural resources.

In partnership with Micorriza, three projects are underway: 

1. Revegetation of waterfront indigenous forests, 
2. Conditioning and recovery of sources and springs, and 
3. Removal of debris and garbage on the shores and banks of waterways. 

Cummins Spain volunteers have already engaged in three Every Employee Every Community (EEEC) volunteer activities to support these projects, focusing on the revegetation of a special elm tree resistant to Dutch elm disease, an infection that has devastated the 90% of the elm tree population across Europe.

Engagement in volunteer activities between Micorriza and Cummins Inc. has already exceeded expectations.  In the beginning, 250 EEEC hours were planned to support two years of the project; however, before the first year of the project has ended, volunteer participation had already exceeded 350 EEEC hours. The response to these activities has been very positive with many Cummins volunteers participating repeatedly.

With the arrival of warmer temperatures, Cummins volunteers will soon be helping with the watering of waterfront forest trees that were planted during autumn 2023 along the Linares River.  According to Ossian de Leyva, president of Micorriza, it is crucial to learn that trees need constant maintenance after their planting, to ensure they grow correctly.

The works carried out to recover water sources and small springs are of great importance for the people that live in the municipalities within the Molina-Alto Tajo region, as their main source of water comes from streams and tributaries which, due to depopulation and lack of maintenance, have been drying up in the last few decades. As an example of this, Micorriza shared the anecdote that they recovered the fountain of a small village in the region, which had been dry for several decades; the majority of the middle-aged inhabitants of this village, couldn’t remember the last time that they saw the fountain working.

Thanks to this Cummins Water Work partnership, our Spain team is doing their small part to help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.  Happy World Water Day!