Project proposes to reactivate the ancient greenhouse located in the municipal park of Levone through the organization of courses aimed at the cultivation of herbs and ornamental and medicinal plants combined with the rediscovery of the traditional processing of clay for the production of pottery. Through these activities it will be possible to rediscover the beauty of contact with nature in a historically fascinating place and heritage of the community combined with the magic of working clay.
Local
Italy
Municipality of Levone - Piedmont - Italy
Mainly rural
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Municipality of Levone Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local) First name of representative: Massimiliano Last name of representative: Gagnor Gender: Male Nationality: Italy Function: Mayor Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Piazza Giacoletto 2 Town: Levone Postal code: 10070 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 333 689 9756 E-mail:info@comune.levone.to.it Website:https://www.comune.levone.to.it/it-it/home
A greenhouse amplifies light and represents a protected place to grow.
This project is aimed to creating a path that combines horticultural therapy with clay processing.
With horticultural therapy, people will be able to independently create a space in which everyone will take care of plants, being in contact with nature; this is very important for calm and serenity that nature itself instills in man.
Horticultural therapy, in addition to being a pastime, stimulates the sense of responsibility, spontaneously solicits movements and improves mood; it is an activity that favors social ties, capable of avoiding the isolation of the individual, favoring relationships between people, and likewise, between generations.
Clay working is an activity of great inclusive value and is also an important reference to the historical tradition of Levone where pottery were produced and sold by the artisans in neighboring villages.
Manipulating clay is a very satisfying creative and sensory experience, which allows you to increase autonomy and self-esteem; it is a pleasant and fun activity as well as being important for the development of dexterity.
The processing of clay, in connection with horticulture, will lead to the creation of playful-recreational laboratories, as well as training aimed at a plurality of users, including those with disabilities.
From this point of view, Greenhouse&Clay project will have multiple objectives such as:
• Experiment in a creative path;
• Increase the ability to express oneself through an artistic form;
• Develop dexterity and coordination;
• Develop fine motor skills;
• Acquire confidence in one's own abilities;
• Experience the pleasure of the material that shapes and transforms itself.
Greenhouse&Clay project will be economically sustainable through the opening of an little artisan workshop where it will be possible to offer at tourists and visitors the creations of the laboratories, thus creating a circular economy.
skills
revitalization
sustainability
care
sharing
The project aims first of all to make the ancient nineteenth-century greenhouse usable by the population. This building, which by its essence represents the excellence of sustainability, is located within the park of Villa Bertot in Levone and is protected by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage due to its historical value.
The "Levone's earth. Greenhouse&Clay" project finds its sustainability precisely through its ability to be attractive to people who will recognize in its uniqueness an intrinsic value capable of making it sustainable from every point of view, including the economic one.
The exclusive use of renewable and ecological materials such as earth, sunlight and water make the "Levone's earth. Greenhouse&Clay" project an example of how man can get back in touch with nature by regenerating public spaces using solutions and materials based on nature, conserving and restoring the environment and using common green areas as places of connection, growth and regeneration.
The creation of an activity path that combines extremely attractive concepts such as sharing, beauty, creativity and innovation in a fascinating context such as a nineteenth-century greenhouse and the added value of contact with nature and its fascinating peculiarities will be the driving force for a series of collateral activities capable of attracting funds for self-support
The "Levone's earth. Greenhouse&Clay" project will also be sustainable to achieve this goal through the opening of a small craft shop where you can offer tourists and visitors the creations of horticultural and clay processing laboratories, creating a circular economy.
With this project it is our intention to leave a permanent legacy not only for the territory of Levone but also for the surrounding communities that will be involved.
The project aims to improve public spaces and we chose the abandoned nineteenth-century greenhouse because it represents the concept of rebirth through a process that involves nature and people of every generation as much as possible, promoting a sense of belonging and dialogue.
The horticulture project will be aimed at the cultivation of small fruits or medicinal plants with health benefits for people.
Being outdoors is good for health; moreover, garden therapy helps improve mood by lowering feelings of anxiety and stress. Having your hands busy in the earth leads to pushing away negative thoughts and relaxing the mind and body. Increases responsibility towards the living beings we cultivate. Horticultural therapy develops patience in waiting for the moments of growth until the harvest of the product with an increase in self-esteem and self-confidence.
Being in a beautiful flower garden brings a strong sense of serenity thanks to the beauty that surrounds us. Garden therapy also stimulates the olfactory, auditory, gustatory and tactile capacities, giving a sense of wonder.
Horticultural therapy leads to an improvement in physical and mental well-being, improves socialization, in seeking advice from those who are more experienced, with an exchange of traditions between generations.
Modeling clay has therapeutic value. The contact with the malleable material is soothing, reassuring. It allows you to release stress. It abstracts, it gives free rein to spontaneity, creativity and personal taste. It allows you to express yourself and stimulates one of the most developed senses - yet little considered in everyday life - touch. It is meditative and calming and allows you to concentrate on the gesture leaving everyday problems outside that special sphere. And at the same time it gives an undeniable tactile pleasure. This state of meditative concentration associated with an ancestral use of the hands seems to have very important neurological effects.
As a city government, our community vision is firmly grounded in the principle of inclusion and as a result, it is extremely important to us to create an open, friendly, safe and inviting atmosphere, as well as making horticulture and clay-working activities accessible to people of all abilities. The ancient nineteenth-century greenhouse is located inside the municipal park in the historic center and can be easily reached by any means of transport or on foot and we are committed to creating spaces that are as barrier-free as possible. Beyond the gardening activities, we want to create a safe space for the local community where any kind of discrimination is absent and everyone can express themselves freely in a respectful way. To achieve these goals we want to involve reference persons who are cross-representative of the community in terms of personal well-being with a democratic approach to the organization of horticulture activities, various events focused on the intergenerational exchange of experiences and with the involvement and experience of members elders in our community.
We also want to promote the international nature of our project by involving the various social realities, including those from foreign countries, enriching the knowledge of cultures that come from places far from ours.
Clay processing is an important part of the anthropological history of Levone which has been lost over time due to industrialization. The union of this territorial peculiarity with the practice of horticulture in a fascinating environment such as a park and a nineteenth-century greenhouse constitute the added value for the attractiveness of the project which will find its spaces for communication and involvement both on institutional social networks and through the involvement of schools and associations operating in the social field.
The impact of "Levone's earth. Greenhouse&Clay" on the territory extends not only to the municipal borders but to an enlarged territory up to the capital city of Turin through promotional activities and tourist propaganda to be carried out by all the actors involved.
The project primarily sees the involvement of the Municipal Administration as the lead partner. The implementation of the Greenhouse&Clay project will see the involvement of other institutional partners and associations that address social and tourism issues as well as those figures who by peculiarity are related to the implementation of horticultural and artisanal activities in relation to clay processing.
The sponsorship of the Turin Metropolitan City Authority, the Piedmont Region will be requested with the involvement of the forest nurseries of the Piedmont Region and the protection of biodiversity. The project will also be institutionally shared with the Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policies and with the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Policies.
The involvement of professionals and artists is expected in order to implement the proposed experience through multiple forms of expression such as music. A video will also be produced that will tell the story of the project
The cultivation of small plants and medicinal herbs finds application in numerous fields ranging from agriculture and forestry to phytotherapeutic and medicinal. The presence on the territory of numerous actors who deal with the subjects involved will allow, from time to time, to organize meetings that will deal with specific issues. The farmers and winegrowers of the area will be a fundamental support to the development of the project from a technical point of view while the participation of experts in the phytotherapeutic and naturalistic medical field will transmit their knowledge in this area taking into consideration the aims of the "Levone's earth. Greenhouse&Clay" project.
In the same way, the working of clay will involve specific educational and training experiences which can be summarized as follows:
scientific subjects:
• knowledge and identification of geometric figures, chemical principles and composition of materials;
historical context:
• knowledge and in-depth study of a typical art of the area and of the diffusion of the art of ceramics, with particular regard to its development in our community
geological/geographical scope:
• knowledge and placement of the components necessary for the transformation of clay into ceramics, and of the various origins (soil, rivers, etc.)
artistic field:
• learning the basics for the creation of ceramic artefacts and related painting
The interaction of the subjects involved derives from the close connection that is present in the activities that will be proposed in order to achieve a complete and integrated experience that puts the "earth" at the center of a training and aware path in relation to the topicality of today's issues that are address respect for nature and sustainability.
Our project aims to create a series of workshops in which the different social realities meet, each with their own peculiarities but regardless of age, gender, origin or religion. The cultivation of small plants or medicinal herbs that are part of the cultural and social heritage of the participating audience will ensure that a true and genuine relationship can be established that opposes the individualisms of modern society. Similarly, the working of clay will emphasize the variety of works that can be created in the artistic and artisanal field by following the inclinations and dexterity of the participants. These activities, carried out within a centuries-old park owned by the municipality and centered on the ancient nineteenth-century greenhouse, will demonstrate that the responsible and shared management of public spaces by private entities is feasible and sustainable. The particular innovation of the "Levone's earth. Greenhouse&Clay" project is precisely identified in the ability to make a multiplicity of individuals coexist within a general and public context which together form a heterogeneous community.
Many elements of the "Levone's earth. Greenhouse&Clay" project can be replicated or favored in other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts because there are many public spaces characterized by great historical value that need care and restoration in Italy and in Europe. However, it must be specified that, while the cultivation of small plants or medicinal herbs can be easily replicated elsewhere without particular difficulties, the processing of clay is a peculiarity that requires particular tools and suitable equipment (the Municipality of Levone already has, for example, the ovens for firing the clay and the tools for processing such as a lathe, colors and tools that he will make available free of charge). At the same time it is also true that the methodology for carrying out the workshops can be applied and replicated in numerous other fields of use (such as weaving, metal or glass processing, stone, wood and leather processing) depending on the characteristics and the customs of the places where the project is to be carried out.
Therefore, the "Levone's earth. Greenhouse&Clay" project can become a transversal model in the panorama of feasible initiatives and in the geography of places.
Our project mainly aims to lead the participants to the awareness of living an experience dedicated to beauty. Beauty understood as a multiplicity of emotions from an environmental, physical and emotional point of view. For this reason, first the restoration of the ancient nineteenth-century greenhouse and after the use of these rooms for sharing experiences related to the project, will be the result of an approach formed by multiple characteristics that start from a "table" elaboration with the with the help of researchers, creators and planners, it evolves through concertation, in which, starting from an idea, a participatory process is launched by all the interested subjects and continues with a common research that is not pre-established but shared. The methodology deriving from the approach will therefore be the one that will allow each actor to bring their own specificity and ability to serve the group in an atmosphere of serenity and sharing.
Following this direction, during the project laboratories, the tutors will be those who, in addition to dealing with the learning of techniques and manual skills, will take care to enhance interpersonal communication.
The global challenge that the "Levone's earth. Greenhouse&Clay" project faces is mainly that of sustainability and that is that the simplest of materials present throughout the world, the earth, can give man the possibility of realizing his own existence aware of the balances and with the knowledge of respect for the time necessary for the products of the earth to be born, grow and make themselves available.
Protecting the environment is important because resources such as air, water, plant species and animal species are not inexhaustible, but often, and unfortunately, have been considered as such. Environmental protection is a question that concerns the well-being and development of society, it is therefore a duty of all men and all countries, without any exclusion. Today, therefore, it is necessary to learn to consider the consequences that one's actions can have on the environment. Ignorance or indifference, in the long run, can cause enormous and irreversible damage. On the contrary, in-depth knowledge, small daily actions and attentions can help preserve the environment and the surrounding nature, thus obtaining enormously beneficial effects on everyone's life, improving its quality. Protecting the environment means making a concrete and constant commitment to improve the living conditions of every citizen.
In this way, the greenhouse becomes an environment, a container of experiences in which one can learn the importance of both one's own actions and the consequences of one's choices in line with the awareness that favoring a life or creating an object depends on us and, consequence of the behavior of the community.
"Levone's earth. Greenhouse&Clay" is part of a series of planning activities put in place by the Municipality of Levone aimed at enhancing the public park of Villa Bertot in which there is the nineteenth-century greenhouse and at the creation of clay processing courses promoted the local elementary school.
The design concerning the restoration and enhancement of the Villa Bertot real estate compendium is formalized in the feasibility projects drawn up by an architectural firm while the clay processing project was shared with an art therapist.
The project can be developed and implemented through collaboration with the local winery that has developed a recovery project of ancient vineyards in the Levone area that are consistent with the earth and clay of "Levone's earth. Greenhouse&Clay"
We are convinced that our initiative can contribute to the development of new skills, especially in the context of the European Sustainability Competence Framework because it reflects some key points contained in the important reference document.
In particular, "Levone's earth. Greenhouse&Clay" is aimed not only at the functional recovery of a historic place, but also at learning about environmental sustainability which aims to nurture a sustainability-oriented mentality from childhood to adulthood, with the awareness that human beings do
part of nature and depend on it. Learners acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes that help them become agents of change and contribute individually and collectively to shaping futures within planetary boundaries. Environmental sustainability learning can be a catalyst for change among young and adult generations, thanks to the acquisition of sustainability skills.
Through our project we intend to:
. Embody the values of sustainability:
valuing sustainability by reflecting on personal values; identifying the values and explaining how they vary between people and over time, critically evaluating if they coincide with the values of sustainability.
Advocating for fairness and justice for current and future generations and learning from previous generations for the benefit of sustainability.
Promoting nature by recognizing that humans are part of nature and respecting the needs and rights of other species and nature itself, in order to restore and regenerate healthy and resilient ecosystems.
. Imagining sustainable futures by adopting a relational way of thinking, exploring and bridging different disciplines, using creativity and experimenting with new ideas or methods.
. Acting for sustainability in partnership with others.
