The second Bosque Vivo network park; construction begins on CMPC Lastarria Park

The groundbreaking ceremony at Loncoche’s Lastarria Park marks the expansion of CMPC’s Bosque Vivo [Living Forest] program. It seeks to open up its forests to the residents of the La Araucanía districts in south-central Chile. The new space will complement the Pumalal Park of Temuco inaugurated in January of this year.

The second park of CMPC’s Bosque Vivo initiative will be built on the San Antonio de Elocoyan Estate in the district of Loncoche in the Chilean region of La Araucanía. Baptized as CMPC Lastarria Park, the foundation stone-laying ceremony – which had more than 100 participants – officially began construction of this new outdoor recreation space.

The park will be open to the public and will have first-class sports and leisure facilities, such as pump tracks, mountain bike tracks, trekking trails, viewpoints, a cafeteria, and more.
To bring this park to life, CMPC with the support of Outlife – a company specialized in developing and managing outdoor spaces -, carried out a joint effort with residents. First, an information survey was conducted with the local community followed by the improvement and construction of new hiking trails and bicycle tracks as well as other infrastructure.

One of the authorities who participated in the ceremony was Deputy Andrés JouAnnet. He highlighted the initiative and pointed out that expectations for the project include helping develop the region. “The challenge we have is to work on building cabins here, so we can offer hotels that will draw in more tourism to the area. This is the kick-off of a long-held vision of the mayor that has existed for quite some time (…) Congratulations to CMPC for what it is accomplishing, not only here, but throughout the entire region.”

For his part, Loncoche Mayor Alex Pineda, highlighted the joint work that has been carried out to promote this type of project. “Today in Loncoche we can tell the rest of the country that La Araucanía is not on fire; rather, we live very well in La Araucanía. We have public officials, representatives of the Mapuche world and the academy as well as the company and community, permanently bringing life to the area. That’s why what I think is really happening is we’re sharing the notion that when we all come together, we can present a more vibrant picture.”

The activity also unveiled the model of the lookout tower whose construction will begin in the Lastarria park. Binoculars that allude to the viewpoint to be built were symbolically delivered to the mayor on behalf of the Morán family, former owners of the land where the Pumalal Park is located.

CMPC Community Relations Deputy Manager Juan Pablo Fuentes explained, “We seek to offer spaces where the community can interact with nature and forests. The idea is to generate places of coexistence where one can appreciate in first person how native forests interact with productive plantations, but above all make these spaces available for everyone to take advantage of, promoting outdoor life and sports.”

Likewise, the co-founding partner of Outlife, Diego Pereira said, “Together with CMPC, we are shaping a place that has historically been used by residents for recreation and outdoor sports. Our goal is to work hand in hand with the community so that they continue to feel they are part of this project. Therefore, today we come to lay the first stone in order to continue promoting the city of Loncoche as a tourist destination through the improvement and promotion of the park that is coming soon.”

Another inauguration participant is a member of the family that owns the property where Pumalal is located, which is the first park inaugurated under the Bosque Vivo initiative. Patricia Figueroa Morán explained, “We have a wonderful park in the countryside that we’re enjoying today. We as a family are proud that it is open to the whole community. We also think that it is part of our grandparents’ legacy. Their memory will stay alive in this terrain that will now be enjoyed by the entire region.”

Boosting the local economy

Another benefit expected from this space is that its development pushes the economic activity of the Loncoche community. This spans from involving the residents in the relevant construction tasks to using the area’s own resources for the park’s infrastructure and execution. Finally, the park is expected to position the city as a new tourist destination.

In this way, the new facilities will augment the CMPC Pumalal Park in Temuco. All the parks in the Bosque Vivo initiative will offer the community the same spaces for tourism, gatherings, sports, recreation and education through the “Escuela del Bosque” [Forest School]. Under this initiative, local schools are invited to come and learn about nature, forests and the environment.

The CMPC Lastarria Park is expected to become operational within the next few months. The first stage will see the inauguration of the mountain biking and hiking trails, pump track, playground, and the main lookout point in the park, which is a wooden tower 10 meters high overlooking the nearby volcanoes. The second stage boasts the inauguration of the country house, which will have a cafeteria and new trails.