For my ecology and sustainability class, we had fieldwork that involved examining native plants and key elements of the natural environment. To start, I walked through some of the historic Albaicin neighborhood to reach the meeting spot.When starting our field work, we learned that the area around Alhambra did not have this many trees in the past. Partially because trees need lots of water, but also because Alhambra used to be a fortress, and trees can disrupt your sightlines.While ascending a steep hill, we got a good look at the conglomerate rock that can be found around Granada. This type of formation is called the Alhambra formation and can be found inside the walls of Alhambra, as it was used for building.After climbing up the hill, we walked around the outskirts of Alhambra. Here we were able to get a more up-close look at the walls of Alhambra and some of the flora around it without as many crowds.When we made it to the top of the hike, we had a great view of some of the city and of the mountains surrounding it. In this area, we learned the most about some of the native plants in the area.Here we saw more of the city, but we also saw this area that was recovering from a fire. The bushes are called the Spanish Broom and have historically been used for brooms and weaving, but they are one of the first things to recover after a wildfire as well.While walking through the area, we also saw olive tree fields. This was the first time I was able to see them up close after seeing them everywhere from the bus for weekend excursions.We then walked back past the Alhambra toward the main city. We went down a less steep way than we went up, and the shade definitely felt nice in the 90°F+ weather after being in the sun for a while.We, as a group, finally made our way back into the city and separated ways. A friend and I went to a shop because we ended up near a shopping center before getting on a bus back to the residencia.
