Boschi per la Biosfera – Forests for the Biosphere

With “Boschi per la Biosfera”, local schoolchildren will be educated and encouraged to directly participate in reforestation efforts.
With “Boschi per la Biosfera”, local schoolchildren will be educated and encouraged to directly participate in reforestation efforts. This 6-months project reaches out to 110 elementary school classes around the Etna, all together about 2,200 children. Each child participates in three different parts of the climate-forest education: One lesson at school, one educational excursion into the forest (or urban park), and one field excursion for seeding oak trees and Mount Etna broom.
The project incorporates 15 international volunteers, mostly from Central and Eastern European Countries (CEE), and young professionals from the Etna region, receiving training and permanent inputs from German and CEE experts in order to conduct education and reforestation activities with children. This yields a multiplier effect, since the skills and knowledge obtained by volunteers and young professionals through training and project work, can be used in their future careers and passed on to others in their home countries. Apart from environmental education and awareness raising on climate protection among the wider population, direct outputs include the restoration of approx. 10 ha with natural forest cover and the construction of an environmental education path.
Climate Workshop Excursion with Volunteers and Experts; Photo: Andrea Aidala
The project is based on the long cooperation in nature protection and environmental educational between the executing partners (Manfred-Hermsen-Stiftung and Giacche Verdi Bronte), and the ERASMUS programme for volunteer exchange.
The project area comprises the river valleys surrounding Mt. Etna. This region is preparing for a UNESCO nomination of a Biosphere Reserve in order to foster sustainable and climate conscious development.
Updated: Mai 2018
Countries: Italy
Project duration: 08/17 - 02/18
Funding: 258,378 €
Target groups: Civil Society, Educational institutions, Schools
Implementing organisation:
Manfred-Hermsen-Stiftung (MHS)
Project Partners:
Giacche Verdi Bronte
Project Website:
terrebiosfera.org
Mr Andrea Aidala
Organisation: Giacche Verdi Bronte
Email: gvbronte∂gmail.com
Tel: +39 095 77108.
The European Climate Initiative (EUKI):
This project is part of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). It is the overarching goal of the EUKI to foster climate cooperation within the European Union (EU) in order to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
For more information on the EUKI: www.euki.de