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The VolcanoStories project by GeoTenerife is a multi-media, science communication project, creating bespoke resources about volcanic activity, preparedness, reconstruction, and sustainable tourism in the Canary Islands. We collaborate with leading local, regional, and national institutions via our unique training programmes GeoIntern, VolcanoCamp, and MarineSciCamp for students and scholars from around the globe.
La Palma infrastructure reconstruction, struggles of the residents, and the eruption
Over-tourism protests, unsustainable resorts, and activist movements
Volcanic risk, emergency plans, communication, and preparedness in the Canary Islands.
Our most recent projects
Urgent events: 18M Protest
Frustrated by unchecked development and environmental degradation, 200,000 Canarians protested in April and several thousand again in October 2023, demanding a more sustainable tourism model that prioritises local needs and protects the islands’ fragile ecosystem. A third large-scale protest is being organised for May 2025 which we will be covering here on Urgent events.
What has happened since the tourism protests across the Canary Islands last year?
After #20A, the Canary Islands Parliament voted on 24 April on the impacts of the mass-tourism model on the economy, environment and society. Only one of the proposals was approved (to ‘promote limitations on numbers and fees for non-residents to access protected natural areas, an ‘eco-tax’) a
NEW: La Palma Reconstruction Update
La Palma Reconstruction – April 2025
GeoTenerife in roundtable TV discussion about Lava Bombs documentary – Debates over the 60% income tax reduction on La Palma - €100 million from Spain for 2024 still not arrived - Puerto Naos school reopening in September - LP-2 reconstruction close to starting - La Laguna School to be rebuilt -
La Palma Reconstruction – March 2025
LP-2 reconstruction remains complex and delayed – The recovery of the LP-2 road across the lava flows between Tajuya and Las Manchas is still yet to move forward despite government assurances, drawing criticism from opposition political parties. Aid beneficiaries will not be made public – The Ca
NEW: El Puertito and the Cuna del Alma resort
Puertito de Adeje sponsored by 1000 people
Thank you! We are over 1,000 sponsors helping to highlight the geology of Puertito de Adeje in Tenerife. Thanks to the "Adopt a Rock" project by @igme1849 we are now a thousand voices helping to bring attention to its internationally valued geology. In Puertito, there is a site of geological interes
Press release: Puertito de Adeje becomes a site of geologic interest
After several field campaigns, in association with a variety of experts and students, GeoTenerife has highlighted the geological importance of the outcrops in Puertito de Adeje. The Puertito de Adeje ignimbrites record a type of volcanic activity rare in oceanic islands and have one of the best out
New: Opinion Piece published on VolcanoStories
Short-form , easy-to-read, articles, which are relevant to the residents of the Canary Islands. Available en Español and in English.
Genesis: Presentation at EUSEA 2025
the concept and research for the Genesis citizen science hub was presented by Ajay Wynne Jones on May 14th at EUSEA 2025. EUSEA is a conference for science communication and public engagement researchers, practitioners, and professionals.
What has happened since the tourism protests across the Canary Islands last year?
After #20A, the Canary Islands Parliament voted on 24 April on the impacts of the mass-tourism model on the economy, environment and society. Only one of the proposals was approved (to ‘promote limitations on numbers and fees for non-residents to access protected natural areas, an ‘eco-tax’) a
Published articles and Opinion pieces
We aim to use our project to publish short-form articles, which are easy to read, and relevant to residents, especially La Palma’s reconstruction, volcanic readiness, and tourism practices in the Canary Islands. Available en Español and in English. These articles are the opinions of our collaborating experts and staff but are referenced to scientific articles and news articles for you to find out more about the topics if you wish. Click on the title you would like to read to access the free academic paper:
Genesis: Presentation at EUSEA 2025
the concept and research for the Genesis citizen science hub was presented by Ajay Wynne Jones on May 14th at EUSEA 2025. EUSEA is a conference for science communication and public engagement researchers, practitioners, and professionals.
What has happened since the tourism protests across the Canary Islands last year?
After #20A, the Canary Islands Parliament voted on 24 April on the impacts of the mass-tourism model on the economy, environment and society. Only one of the proposals was approved (to ‘promote limitations on numbers and fees for non-residents to access protected natural areas, an ‘eco-tax’) and this measure has been controversial and had limited impacts. Newspapers across both Spanish and British media suggest that ‘thousands’ will be
Lava Bombs Project
Lava Bombs: Truths Behind The Volcano captures the explosive stories behind the crisis and response to the 2021 Volcán de Tajogaite eruption in Cumbre Vieja on La Palma in the Canary Islands. Lava Bombs reveals the heavy impact of this major disaster, through the voices of the affected people, emergency managers, politicians and scientists, as well as showcasing spectacular imagery captured by witnesses, news crews and drone pilots. Themes of communication, trust and missteps are analysed as we start to look towards lessons learned for future emergencies of all kinds
Lava Bombs: The Reconstruction dives into what happens after the most destructive eruption in an island’s history ends. The eruption of the Tajogaite volcano hit international headlines in 2021, but LavaBombs Part 2 reveals the struggle to recover on this small island in the middle of the Atlantic. Through dramatic footage and intimate testimony from politicians, scientists, residents and activists this new documentary digs deep behind the headlines to unpick the successes and failures of the following two years post-eruption.
Urgent Events in the Canary Islands
We aim to collect and publish updates, from trustworthy news sources, regarding urgent events in the Canary Islands, so that residents and tourists alike can use this hub of information during an emergency and act as a record of events after the event has ended.
Demonstrations against unsustainable tourism
• Summarising key events in a simple timeline • Database of news coverage and social media responses • Resources on why the foundations are organising demonstrations • GeoTenerife's press releases and comments to the international media
Tens of thousands of Canarian residents protested on the 20th of April and October to make their concerns heard about unsustainable tourism; They want a new tourism model implemented that incorporates their concerns and protects their biodiverse paradise in the Atlantic. GeoTenerife compiles news resources and social media on this developing story below so that locals, students, researchers and journalists alike can access it openly.
Tenerife’s 2023 wildfire was the most devastating fire in the Canary Islands in the last 40 years and the most severe in Spain in 2023; The fire affected nearly 15,000 hectares, burning 7% of the surface of Tenerife, and causing 80.4 million euros of damage. The forest fire has caused approximately 12 million euros of damage to the agricultural sector, including 2,500-3,500 hives that were destroyed. In addition, it caused more than 12,000 people to have to be evacuated throughout the course of the fire, 364 farms and 246 buildings were affected. Up to 60 protected species may have been impacted by the forest fire, but the true impact on these species is not yet known.
The volcanic eruption on La Palma was preceded by a seismic swarm starting on September 11th, and by September 19th the volcano, later named Tajogaite, started erupting. Over the following weeks and months, the lava flows continued to advance, encroaching over 900 hectares of land and destroying more than 1,000 buildings. The eruption was accompanied by earthquakes with magnitudes up to 5.1 mbLg, occasionally felt across multiple Canary Islands.
Our Day-by-Day Eruption Updates from September 11th 2021 – December 25th 2021 includes:
- Maps of lava flows, earthquakes, and exclusion zones each day
- Summary of geological data released by IGN
- Twitter posts made by official Canarian civil service accounts and scientists
Outreach
Interviews
We are often interviewed by local, national, and international news sources for information about volcanic activity, forest fires, and more in the Canary Islands. We are happy to share our knowledge with as many people as possible.
Resident focus
Alongside our resident-focused science, we run the campaigns FFP2 and SamuLaPalma to support those affected by the La Palma 2021 eruption. Furthermore, we make school visits to encourage volcano science in younger Canarian Residents, and also make our internship programmes accessible to students who live in the Canary Islands to ensure our projects benefit the residents of the Canary Islands.
Conferences
We co-organise the annual VulcanaSymposium with the IEO and also attend other volcanological conferences, VMSG, IAVCEI, and COV12, to discuss our projects and their results with experts in the field of volcano science, in particular Q&As for our LavaBombs documentary. Our VolcanoStories Content Co-ordinator was invited to present at the Royal Holloway University Lyell Geology Day regarding the Tajogaite Eruption timeline project.
Collaborations
GeoTenerife is committed to fostering valuable collaborations with local, national, and international research institutions, to both conduct valuable geoscience research in the Canary Islands
We are always looking to welcome new collaborations, so if you or your company/research institution is interested in collaborating with us, please get in touch with us via enquiries@geotenerife.com
Our Collaborators include:
- IGN, Instituto Geográfico Nacional
- Dr Catalina Arguello, Social Psychologist, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja
- Dr Katy Chamberlain, Volcanologist, Liverpool University
- Dr Pablo Gonzalez, Volcano Geophysicist, Spanish National Research Council
and many more valued collaborators.
