ARCHIVED - Hands-on Queen Sofia of Spain joins litter pickers in Madrid
The Spanish king’s mother joined thousands of volunteers across Spain for a litter pick organised by SEO/Birdlife.
Queen Sofia of Spain has never been one to shy away from getting her hands dirty for a good cause, and although she is now in her 80's that still remains the case. Those taking part in SEO/Birdlife’s “1m2 against rubbish in nature” drive this weekend at Soto de las Juntas in Madrid can confirm this, as King Felipe VI’s mother donned gloves and took a big yellow rubbish bag to join in.
Altogether the fifth edition of the event, part of the environmental group’s Libera project, attracted 11,000 volunteers who collected rubbish from 1,100 different places across the country including Monfragüe national park in Cáceres and Guadarrama national park in Madrid, Arribes del Duero in Salamanca and Cap de Creus in Girona.
The campaign, SEO/Birdlife director Miguel López explained, has contributed to raising awareness of the huge problem that littering and rubbish dumping is causing, and luckily society is beginning to get involved in doing something about it. Queen Sofia and her Foundation have always been committed to protecting and preserving nature, he explained, and her involvement in this type of activity sets an excellent example.