Ancient magical trees are the rooted foundation of this education initiative designed to open the minds and hearts of students to see with new eyes their shared natural heritage through interactive, place-based workshops. The entire community is invited into this joyous journey, as together we explore the ecosystem around us as well as our common historic and folkloric traditions. Together, we commit to a spirit of collaboration to nourish beauty and life for future generations.
Regional
Italy
Lugo (name of town);
Cotignola, Massa Lombarda, Sant'Agata sul Santerno, Conselice, Fusignano, Alfonsine, Bagnara di Romagna, Bagnacavallo (name of municipalities involved);
Emilia-Romagna (name of region)
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organization, in partnership with other organisations
Name of the organisation(s): Associazione Primola Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Mario Last name of representative: Baldini Gender: Male Nationality: Italy Function: Co-designer Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via Zanzi 28 Town: Cotignola Postal code: 48032 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 366 373 4214 E-mail:baldo.mariobaldini@gmail.com Website:http://www.primolacotignola.it/
Name of the organisation(s): Associazione Eco Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Angelo Last name of representative: Ravaglia Gender: Male Nationality: Italy Function: Co-designer and executive Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via Mascarella 63/2 Town: Bologna Postal code: 40126 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 340 591 9531 E-mail:angelo_ravaglia@libero.it Website:https://www.associazione-eco.it/
Name of the organisation(s): 'Fabrizio Trisi' city library Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local) First name of representative: Annarita Last name of representative: Tasselli Gender: Female Nationality: Italy Function: Co-designer and executive of the initiative 'Flying drawings' and 'Green readings' Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Piazza Fabrizio Trisi 19 Town: Lugo Postal code: 48022 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 347 909 5339 E-mail:tassellian@comune.lugo.ra.it Website:http://www.bibliotecatrisi.it/
Name of the organisation(s): Municipality of the city of Lugo - Delegate for the rural area Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local) First name of representative: Valeria Last name of representative: Monti Gender: Female Nationality: Italy Function: Co-designer - Executive for the initiatives 'Flying drawings' and host of the project 'Which tree are you?' Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Piazza dell'Unità 1 Town: Voltana (Lugo) Postal code: 48022 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 347 800 5570 E-mail:montiv@comune.lugo.ra.it Website:https://www.facebook.com/groups/386498202076065
Name of the organisation(s): Municipality of Lugo Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local) First name of representative: Davide Last name of representative: Ranalli Gender: Male Nationality: Italy Function: Mayor, project partner, communication partner Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Piazza Martiri Libertà, 1 Town: Lugo Postal code: 48022 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 0545 299412 E-mail:sindaco@comune.lugo.ra.it Website:https://www.comune.lugo.ra.it/
Name of the organisation(s): Municipality of Cotignola Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local) First name of representative: Luca Last name of representative: Piovaccari Gender: Male Nationality: Italy Function: Mayor, project partner, communication partner Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, 31 Town: Cotignola Postal code: 48033 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 0545 908811 E-mail:piovaccaril@comune.cotignola.ra.it Website:https://www.comune.cotignola.ra.it/
Name of the organisation(s): 'E. Fermi' Primary school Type of organisation: Elementary school First name of representative: Elena Last name of representative: Rambaldi Gender: Female Nationality: Italy Function: School teacher - Leader of workshop - Teachers' coordinator Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Viale della Stazione, 14 Town: Voltana (Lugo) Postal code: 48022 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 338 218 6347 E-mail:e.rambaldi@gherardi.istruzioneer.it Website:https://www.istitutocomprensivogherardi.edu.it/
Name of the organisation(s): 'G. Garibaldi' Primary school Type of organisation: School First name of representative: Marta Last name of representative: Gaddoni Gender: Female Nationality: Italy Function: School teacher - Leader of workshop - Teachers' coordinator Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via Cardinale Guglielmo Massaia, 16 Town: Lugo Postal code: 48022 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 328 482 3667 E-mail:m.gaddoni@gherardi.istruzioneer.it Website:https://www.istitutocomprensivogherardi.edu.it/
Name of the organisation(s): 'Sacro Cuore' Middle school Type of organisation: School First name of representative: Elena Last name of representative: Bucchi Gender: Female Nationality: Italy Function: School teacher - Leader of workshop Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via Emaldi Tomaso, 36 Town: Lugo Postal code: 48022 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 349 873 8230 E-mail:e.bucchi68@gmail.com Website:https://scuolamediasacrocuorelugo.jimdofree.com/
Name of the organisation(s): Quintilio Corradossi Type of organisation: Citizen part of the local community First name of representative: Quintilio Last name of representative: Corradossi Gender: Male Nationality: Italy Function: Host - Owner of a white poplar giant tree (Populus alba L.) Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via Sant'Andrea 40 Town: Bizzuno (Lugo) Postal code: 48022 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 393 493 9717 E-mail:alberimagici@lugomusicfestival.com
Name of the organisation(s): Giancarlo Capucci Type of organisation: Citizen part of the local community First name of representative: Giancarlo Last name of representative: Capucci Gender: Male Nationality: Italy Function: Host - Owner of a giant plane tree (Platanus hybrida) Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via Fiumazzo 347 Town: Belricetto (Lugo) Postal code: 48022 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 339 147 1599 E-mail:capucci.giancarlo@gmail.com
Name of the organisation(s): Paolo Duranti Type of organisation: Citizen part of the local community First name of representative: Paolo Last name of representative: Duranti Gender: Male Nationality: Italy Function: Host - Owner of two giant oaks (Quercus robustas) Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via Gabina 8 Town: Cotignola Postal code: 48032 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 340 843 5505 E-mail:alberimagici@lugomusicfestival.com
The project is inspired by three local giant trees: a white poplar, a plane tree and two oaks. Eight initiatives are designed to reconnect youth to nature as well as their families and the whole community, to build a new perspective which is life-centered and community-centered, and looks toward the future with hope. Educational workshops and events are held in “place” both inside the schools and out of them, by the giant trees and in public spaces.
Educational workshops range from learning about the change of the trees of the school garden during the four seasons ending in a curated exhibit open to families and community participation to families investigating trees and plants in their own yards, while students use digital technology to identify local natural species from the shape of its leaves, its flowers or its fruits and create art projects that then transforms their classroom into a natural habitat.
The territory of Lugo is a rural and peasant area battered by the conflict of World War II, and there are still many elderly people alive who carry with them the memory of tragic moments. We have organized events where people will gather around each ancient tree, elderly people who witnessed World War II together with the younger generations, to listen to the stories and promote a culture of peace, based on the memory of the historical circumstances that the trees experienced as observers.
Another initiative involves the creation of a beautiful graphic map of 33 giant trees to be distributed by the children to all their friends and in public places, shops and offices in the nine municipalities within the county of Lugo. It is meant to show the heritage and beauty of the territory to attract tourists and visitors to sustainable tourism. There are a series of events planned to promote these places such as bike rides connecting the giant trees (30km), guided tours, concerts and traditional dances.
Educational
Cultural
Scientific
Inclusive
Community
The project is designed to establish a powerful network between institutions, schools and organizations.
Each activity and each event reaches out, like the sturdy roots of the ancient trees, deeply and broadly to connect. For instance, there is a series of events where literature teachers choose readings that have to do with the natural world with the goal to raise awareness of sustainability, conscious consumption and care for creation as an asset to be protected.
All are invited, and because the readings are at libraries and along the streets of the city, all feel welcomed. The activities and celebrations like riding bikes connecting the giant trees, guided tours, concerts, and traditional dances clearly activate positive cycles of relationships among not only the citizens, but the broader community at large.
Creation of a lasting network of synergies through inter-municipal agreements between associations and project partner entities, enables the fulfillment of the goals and objectives through the planned initiatives, and triggers further projects, multiplying their positivity and benefits for the territory in the medium-long term. Corporations, private businesses and donors sponsor the initiative because they believe it is an opportunity to not only contribute to their local place, but additionally to build a reputation as those committed to creating a vibrant, unified, welcoming community to their suppliers, employees and customers.
During the first activity, the children surround the large tree in the garden of the elementary school in a strong spiral embrace that allows them, in the mid-morning silence, to listen to the rustling of the leaves and to observe with upward glances the deep yellow color of the leaves. Afterwards, during the reflection circle, child after child shared that this experience gave them new eyes to see with a gaze of curiosity and wonder, and one added that they liked “hugging trees because it relaxes me.”
Children gather at libraries in the urban and rural areas around the city of Lugo for multiple meetings. They are called to imagine what trees they have seen throughout their lives and draw them on the canvas of fallen leaves. They draw the shape of the leaves or the birds or insects that make up the ecosystem of the tree over the various seasons. Each session begins by reading a story set around a tree and narrated by illustrator Irene Penazzi, who then leads the workshop. Afterwards, the children trundle home, clasping their masterpieces in their happy hands, to share with friends and family alike. In preparation for yet another activity the students spent several days searching for suitable leaves, both around the plexus and outside the school. They were tasked with creating autumn portraits starting from their own caricature, to be later adorned with dried autumn leaves.One student commented that the experience helped her see herself as part of nature, adorned with wild beauty, and that trees are “magical because they color the leaves with warm colors.”
Critical consciousness develops as students make sense of the natural world within the context of these components of place, and use their knowledge of the natural world to re-imagine these places in the future. As these students share this awareness with their peers, their teachers, their families, their neighbors and their community, pebbles of experiences ripple outward in the pool of their world.
Gazing at an ancient tree, with its gnarled branches reaching up, up into the sky does not cost money. This tree is both affordable and accessible. This giant oak is here, for everyone, as it has been for over a century, and yet, there is still so much to be learned by one and all, as we learn to see with fresh understanding.
Teaching science helps promote justice. Science is a leverage point because it provides tools for inquiry about the natural world, and also provides knowledge about the ways in which human society depends on the natural world. Justice-first science teaching requires reckoning with the many inequities present in society and also the relationships between people and the natural world. Science provides a toolkit and a foundation for supporting these deeper critical aims. Teachers provide all students with safe and supportive access to the outdoors, ensure that projects are designed with multiple modalities for engagement, share background information at varying reading/language literacy levels, as well as include varied ways for all students to participate in peer discussions, opening up all of their lives to new experiences.
Using team building activities creates a sense of community that draws students in and builds trust. Outdoor experiences provide a rich learning context for students, and it makes learning relevant to students’ personal experiences and include ways to connect to their communities, who in turn are invigorated and inspired to reconsider their relationship with the natural world and with each other.
A groundswell of engagement has been unfurling from the rich soil of an ancient heritage built upon savory traditions and swirling song. For six years, the Lugo Music Festival has been promoting a culture committed to societal well-being, growth, and social integration, followed by an audience from 0-99 years old, now nearly 16,000 strong. The folk executing the instruction includes 19 classes, 12 teachers, 4 schools and 634 students spread from the urban center of Lugo out into the rural countryside. This network of synergies and intermunicipal agreements between associations and project partners has enabled the fulfillment of goals and objectives and triggered further projects looking into the future.
What are these goals and objectives? Activation of memory and awareness referring to one's natural heritage, rediscovering traditions and stories related to the inhabitants of one's local area, whether they are past or present, and then most importantly, carrying this spirit of collaboration and commitment to nourish beauty and life for future generations.
Intentionally we have opened this initiative to all members of the community, making it accessible to anyone who wants to participate, with the end goal of creating an exemplary network among nonprofits, schools, libraries and institutions, dealing with the relevant CEAS (Center for Education to Environmental Sustainability) and the Emilia-Romagna Region Heritage.
Schools are at the core of the project and there have been meetings with the teachers to create new educational activities which enriches their usual curricula. A project secretary facilitates weekly meetings to check project progress, and to allow for collaboration to overcome challenges, and to share highlights and effective instructional tools. We met with the home owners who host the giant trees who were eager to welcome the schools and community into their gardens as it gave them a sense of belonging, rather than their previous sense of isolation from living in the rural areas.
Local nonprofits have been engaged as mediators of the project, to design and publicize appealing events which would be well-attended. We are in constant communication with the Emilia-Romagna Region Heritage to update the project on their social media, and to be mentored for 12 months on a monthly basis by their professionals. A specific office is helping us on the task of building a graphic map of the protected giant trees as well as to receive our reports in order to integrate new giant trees into their database and give them the right to survive throughout human urbanization. The CEAS is the national representative who helped us design the initiatives by sharing national guidelines on a sustainable environment, in order to work towards the Green Deal's goals to make the European Union climate neutral in 2050.
We believe it will be easier to reach these goals if we educate the young generations of future citizens, and it is clear through their enthusiastic support, that the community members share this understanding.
The main objective of this initiative was to reconnect the youth and their community to the natural and cultural heritage, both broadly and deeply. The path chosen was that of through interactive cross-curricular, place-based educational workshops taking place in and around school communities. These workshops included scientific in-depth study of anthropological and biological aspects that restored the trees’ significance as a community asset, helped to recognize different tree species and their benefits to the environment and the ecosystem that include we humans.
The workshops also utilized the cultural identities and historical, musical and folkloric traditions that characterize the resident communities, and gathered people together to build historical memory through the testimonies of the history of the place within the community dimension. All were invited, and events were intentionally inclusive, accessible to anyone who wanted to participate with special attention to protected categories and teens who are usually not involved in local initiatives. A generous network was created among the nonprofits, schools, libraries, and institutions, as well as connections with the relevant CEAS (Center for Education to Environmental Sustainability) and the Emilia-Romagna Romagna Heritage offices.
All of these disciplines and peoples were woven together to create a beautiful natural and cultural tapestry of art shows, literature readings, guided tours for slow tourism, concerts, traditional dances and even 30KM bike rides which brought in sports associations to enhance and promote sustainable mobility. Each became aware of both the value and impact of themself, the engaged individual, as well as power of community committed to a sustainable future.
Magical Trees does indeed open up a wide door to a magical world of learning, far from the humdrum stack of worksheets and sitting quietly in one’s seat while someone explains point by point the facts they are to memorize.
Suddenly learning is multidisciplinary, measuring the shapes of leaves and pods, investigating online the first and last names of the plants right outside their window, splashing bright paint on leaves and pressing them into patterns, and writing reflections on how trees are magical because they “hide secrets, like birds’ nests.”
And these same trees have been here for decades, arching limbs over so many footsteps and stories, stories that need to be passed down to the next generation, by a now elderly man who remembers fleeing as bombs rained down on his home. Invitations are extended to experts who have never trod the territory to dialogue and lead in-depth discussions with the students through Q&A. And the traditional folk dances and the classical concerts are all part of the history of this place-based learning.
From this bonding threads visions for the future are cast. Learning is purposeful and empowering. Students gather information to start the protection process for these ancient giants, and create databases as tools for the territory to enhance the value of its cultural heritage.
The knowledge they gain through this process is deeply rooted in the place they explored and studied. This knowledge helps them deepen their connection with their place, and, most critically, change their mind, or others’ minds, on the basis of evidence. Reasoning from evidence implies students learn to accept or reject an idea based on whether or not the idea is supported by data. This process allows students to develop a sense of humility and engagement regarding the process of learning and growing into deeper understanding of their calling as changemakers.
The Magical Trees project is based in Place, and place can be found wherever schools exist. It is a good thing that wherever there is community we can find schools. Unfortunately, the commitment and attention to nature as a bigger context is not always honored. Fortunately, the eight initiatives have been designed to be adjusted, transferred and replicated wherever the local education system hasn’t been able to address the real need of having youth reconnect with nature.
The learning processes utilized with the 6-14 years-old students in our sample project demonstrated successful, relevant outcomes. Children accepted the challenge to reconnect with their families and schoolmates in order to achieve goals. Teachers found new energy and new ideas which have now been integrated into their daily instruction. Schools that had been left out of any dialogue with the local institutions are now constructing a vibrant network of relationships within the context of their operations.
Beginning from any natural element a community might present (giant trees, canals or other water-related-elements, species of plants, various elements of landscape) one can create connection points from this core element to the core target of the project: the youth. Education facilitators will monitor and adjust the process through regular meetings with teachers. Managers will connect the community to the project through meeting the different business and group leaders to invite public participation, which always begins with the family and friends of the students.
The project may need time at the beginning, but it will multiply in terms of participation and enthusiasm because it involves what is deeply most important in any community: their shared natural and historical heritage, and their children.
Place-based, outdoor teaching uses local places to draw upon and guide scientific and social concepts, centering the learner’s experience in inquiry. It motivates students to engage with learning and develops their critical consciousness. By rooting teaching in the natural world through local places, teachers can connect to students’ experiences, identities, and values, frame learning from an asset-based perspective, and connect with issues and questions that are relevant to students’ lives.
In turn, this engagement builds students’ agency in their learning and in their communities, as their learning helps them create meaning and address challenges that are important to them. Place-based teaching provides students opportunities to gain expertise, challenges their preconceptions of “schoolwork,” and improves their achievement. It can be difficult but it is important to find inclusive ways for everyone to safely use these sites and help the sites to become meaningful places, despite structural barriers. Situating teaching in place is an act of care and justice. It communicates to students that they, their homes, and their personal experiences are all important; that knowledge of these places is just as valuable as knowledge of other places, and that they are as valuable as people from other places (like they might see represented in a textbook or the media).
Place-based teaching is an act of care and healing for the place itself–gaining understanding of a meaningful place, then potentially changing one’s thinking or actions to help it. In developing this care, place-based teaching helps students understand their interconnectedness with their place, which in turn implicitly teaches them about their connections with other places, and the natural world more broadly. It can also be important for the community itself, because it supports cultural values around the relationships between humans and the natural world, as well as around the deep meaning of particular place
By pausing under these arching branches for both deep reflection and respectful, engaged conversation about the past and the present, students and their communities can prepare for the future challenges they face, both locally and globally. This examination can lead to a deep understanding for the need for biodiversity through physical, applied actions such as wrapping one’s arms around a sturdy trunk and gazing upwards, creating inventories cataloging natural species found in the community, and hunting for unprotected trees to report to the authorities. This type of instruction motivates students to engage with learning and develops their critical consciousness, in this case, a commitment to preserving biodiversity.
The need for sustainable growth can be understood through place-based teaching, which is an act of care and healing for the place itself–gaining understanding of a meaningful place, then potentially changing one’s thinking or actions to help it. In developing this care, place-based teaching helps students understand their interconnectedness with their place, which in turn implicitly teaches them about their connections with other places, and the natural world more broadly, and the need for sustainable growth.
And this examination requires open, inclusive conversations. At first students will be asking scientific questions about the natural world, but later they will ask related questions about their places and their society, inviting all of the community members not only tell their stories and sing their songs, but to share their unified dreams for the future. Thus, the students deeply put into practice preserving the biodiversity of their home, while creating a vision for sustainable future growth for their now connected, more inclusive society.
The seed of Magical Trees has been sown, the first fruits have been gathered, savored for their rich flavor and we are preparing for the next planting. Our project manager has been meeting with government institutions and local businesses as well as private donors in order to maintain and increase the resources necessary to achieve three goals: first, the maintenance and growth of Magical Trees in our county (of nine municipalities) and second, to replicate Magical Trees into the next county (six municipalities), and third, to export Magical Trees to Germany (Saarbrücken) where we have a festival-friend who is part of our international network.
The eight initiatives which constitute our project are flexible and can be easily adapted into other geographical contexts. Our first goal will focus on maintaining the network established, but will also aim to stretch the 1,200 hours to 2,900 hours and the participation of 19 classes (4 schools) to 32 classes (8 schools). The second goal is to transfer the model to a nearby territory full of beautiful rolling hills, which will necessitate monitoring and adjusting the programs to the specific place, rather than mere replication. We will begin by communicating the successful outcomes based upon our midterm reports and data, as well as sharing the potential network that they will be able to establish between institutions, private businesses and the community, both in terms of financial sustainability and relationships. Our third goal’s purpose is to put into practice the initiative abroad in a European Union country, demonstrating that this program is replicable in a distant community, in the natural context of the German Black Forest, which will be not only focused on ancient giant trees, but also include other traditions and stories beloved to that peculiar community. Both of these new goals will model implementation of this community-driven, place-based instructional model across the European Union.
The following competencies are meant to turn an urgent challenge into a unique opportunity of growth both for the participants and the community where they belong. They enrich the European Green Deal with a cultural and creative dimension, creating a new lifestyle in tune with sustainability, inclusive and accessible to all.
1. RAISING AWARENESS OF THE ENVIRONMENT'S URGENT NEEDS: developing cross-disciplinary initiatives to educate youth to know the different relationships in the ecosystem, understanding that humans are a part of it and about the different ways to harmonize the relationship between the two.
2. GROWING RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS: to educate toward the green transition requires the youth to behave as responsible citizens first. Our project aims to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes that makes the youth able to connect with the community they belong to and with the institutions that govern their land.
3. TAKING CARE OF THE CREATION: the creation can also be meant as our natural habitat or our home. The scientific approach transmitted through all educational initiatives aims to make the youth surprised about the beauty of nature and therefore to fight for the preservation and care of the environment in any future studying and/or working context.
4. SUSTAINABLE GROWTH: having developed an attitude of responsibility and engagement toward the planet we live in and the people we live with, the project helps education and training institutions to integrate sustainability into teaching and learning and across all aspects of their operations, as well as to create a shared understanding on the deep and transformative changes needed in education and training for sustainability and the green transition.
