Carolina Martínez Ruiz, from Calagurrita, has obtained a position as professor in Ecology at the University of Valladolid. She has been teaching at the La Yutera campus, in Palencia, at the Higher Technical School of Agrarian Engineering for 25 years. …
– It is the award, the recognition of a career over time. It is very important as it is the first chair of Ecology at the University of Valladolid.
– What stands out about your career?
– My origins are in a humble Rioja family and I always studied with scholarships. I completed my degree in Biology and my doctoral thesis in Salamanca. Before entering the University of Valladolid I was at the University of León on a research project. I also owe my doctoral training to the Government of La Rioja because it gave me a scholarship. I have collaborated in national activities in restoration in mining, where I operate, and in standards for reforestation with WWF. Now I have achieved a national research project that has allowed me to incorporate people into the team. It is called Restormine and is based on the optimization of coal mine restorations in the north of Palencia.
– Do you expect changes in your work?
– Not at the beginning. But, being a professor they require you for more actions even at the national level. More than individually, in society and the university environment you receive a higher consideration. It may be good for ecology to become more relevant in the study plans.
– What do you mean?
– My school is forestry, agricultural engineering… Ecology takes up few credits. The new status can put more pressure when negotiating when changes occur in the curricula, so that you have more space because it is very important for training.
– Why do you consider ecology important?
– Because it is a synthesis subject in which we try to understand how nature works. It is a very complex process and the more we know how natural systems and those intervened by man work, the easier it will be to manage them in a sustainable way so as not to deplete resources. Also to restore them, in the event of disturbances, to the condition most similar to the original because we know what needs to be recovered for it to have self-sufficient operation. Ecology is the basis for sustainably managing ecosystems, forestry, sustainable agriculture… To achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals that are now on everyone’s lips, it must be based on scientific knowledge . You cannot act by success or error.
– What moment are we at?
– Production is important because we have to survive from natural resources, but we have to be aware that if we destroy the natural environment our survival is in danger. We live in a very sensitive moment with climate change, pollution, CO2. We must prevent these impacts from continuing to occur and the basis is in education.
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