From 4 to 7 May 2026, the University of Barcelona (UB) organised the second student field trip to the La Muga basin in Catalonia, in collaboration with the University of Montpellier, the University of Zaragoza and local experts. The four-day programme brought 11 students into direct contact with some of the key water-management and sustainability challenges of the region. 

The field trip was organised around water reuse as a potential response to water scarcity and other water-management challenges. Students explored the links between water availability, biodiversity, water quality and socio-economic activities, while also learning how ecological and economic demands interact within the basin. The programme combined field observations, water sampling and analysis, stakeholder engagement and group work aimed at developing possible solutions to locally identified challenges. 

A key element of the programme was learning directly from the different environments and water users of La Muga. Students visited the Costa Brava water treatment plant, where water reuse and aquifer recharge were discussed, and carried out water sampling. They also visited the Aiguamolls de l’Empordà wetland and the Darnius–Boadella reservoir, followed by analytical workshops in which samples from the different sites were compared.

The programme also highlighted the human dimension of water management. Meetings with local stakeholders addressed tourism, agriculture and livestock production, while dedicated workshops explored the socio-economic characteristics of the La Muga basin, extreme events, nature-based solutions and the EU legal framework. Students then worked in groups to reflect on the challenges encountered during the field trip and to discuss possible responses. 

For ClimEx-PE, the field trip was particularly valuable because La Muga is the project’s Spanish case study area. Bringing students into the field created an opportunity to connect project research with education and real-world water-management practice. It also strengthened the place-based understanding of how water scarcity, hydroclimatic extremes, ecosystem needs and socio-economic water uses interact, while demonstrating how solutions such as water reuse, aquifer recharge and nature-based approaches need to be considered within the wider environmental and societal context of the basin.