This civic ecology program aims both to raise awareness about degradation of natural habitat, and to promote citizen participation through the improvement and appropriation of public/common spaces. Main Objective. To involve citizens in the natural habitat restoration, favoring and conserving local biodiversity and taking actions for common spaces improvement. Specific objectives: 1. The participants recognize the benefits of integrating the local biodiversity into their daily surrounding. 2. The participants are able to identify and favor native species. 3. Public space is more comforting and attractive for humans and other inhabitants due to the presence of local plant species.

The main activity of the program is a workshop telling about different type of species (according to its geographical origin or natural distribution) and teaching a seedbombs technique. The seed bombs produce during the workshop are loaded with native wild seeds of different life-form plants to be spread in a public or common space. Engagement is promoted by asking participants to constantly search for germinating seeds they delivered themselves, to photograph them and share growth in social media. The more enthusiastic participants become volunteers both by reporting growth and habitat restoration, or by collecting wild seeds on their daily tracks across the city. Resources like local flora handbooks, iNaturalist app and invasive alien species lists are shared to participants, so that they can inquire on their own time and interest. A NaturaLista project holds the records of plant observations for those used as seed donors, and for testing the monitoring program (http://www.naturalista.mx/projects/especies-y-espacios-monterrey)

The program includes capacity-building for volunteers who collect the native wild seeds used during the workshops. CAmbiental SOSAC arranges field journeys in different open spaces in the city to identify native plants, its flowers, fruits and seeds, and how to collect them leaving natural seed banks as well. One of the current targets is to invite biology professionals to join the program activities, in order to enhance its potential in restoring the natural habitat, taking better decisions about seed collecting, species identification and monitoring presence of endemic and native species. The availability of the iNaturalist app allows the program to naturally transforms into a citizen science experience for those who engage enough with the objectives.

SOSAC identifies allies (i.e. private initiative, government administrations, schools or civil society groups) who wants to participate in some part of the program. Participants must al least take part of the Seedbombs Workshop, analyze where to deliver them, and to take action by spreading the seeds and monitoring growth. Funding is needed to maintain a stock seed bank, to update pictures and identification of species, to run the logistics and acquire the materials for the workshops, and for social media monitoring of plant establishment and habitat restoration. Indicators are about to be developed, searching for presence of fauna attracted by the established flora. This project of the Especies y Espacios program help advancing towards the accomplishment of the Aichi targets 1,5, 18 and 19 of the 2011-2020 CBD strategic plan.

Fundación AlEn, Fundación XIGNUX, Alert Youth Fund, Molecular Ecology Lab (FCB - UANL), Scout volunteers, Aliados Contigo (SGG NL)