Next-Gen | Volunteer Projects
Back

San Rossore Summer Between Biodiversity and History

Pisa, Italy

Notes

Knowing how to ride a bike (you ride a few kilometres a day)

In partnership with

Volunteers will be engaged in projects aimed at preserving and restoring the natural environment of one of the most important wetlands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, the San Rossore estate, part of the MSRM Regional Park. Get ready to ride the bike!
Project summary
Volunteers will be engaged in projects aimed at preserving and restoring the natural environment of one of the most important wetlands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, the San Rossore estate, part of the MSRM Regional Park.
PARTNER:Legambiente Pisa is an association that has been fighting since 1995 for a healthier relationship between people and the environment, to convey the importance of conscious choices, for social equity through the lens of scientific environmentalism. The activities are possible thanks to the commitment of the volunteers who organize together local and national awareness campaigns, training activities inside and outside the schools, collaborations with public and private bodies aimed at the ecological transition.


Description of the Work

The volunteers will use simple tools such as shears, axes and saws to remove invasive vegetation, record data to compare the present situation and check the effectiveness of the action. At the request of the Park, interventions will be possible for easy maintenance operations in areas of naturalistic interest further inland. Restoration of the paths in the naturalistic areas of the estate and biomonitoring activities within the Park will also be carried out. All movements will be made by bicycles, which the volunteers will also maintain, with the help of the local bicycle workshop.
Study part
Volunteers will participate in workshops about the local environment and its features, held by the technicians of the Park. They will learn about the Sea turtle "Caretta Caretta", whose traces they will also look for, and about the several species of plants and trees of the territory. They will also learn how to fix their own bike.


Accommodation & Food

Flat in a farmhouse on the San Rossore Estate. we will prepare all meals in the apartment, the shopping will be done in local zero kilometer and organic shops


Location & Leisure

The San Rossore estate, in the MSRM regional park, after having been used as a hunting lodge for monarchs and presidents, has since 1989 been the central nucleus of a large coastal park that is a real gem in terms of both fauna and plant species, including several relicts and endemic species, which have found an environment here in which to survive and develop. The estate is within cycling distance of the cities of Pisa, and Lucca, two centres that need no description- from the camp it is also easy to reach other centres of interest, such as Livorno, Calci, Massaciuccoli and the Apuan Alps.


Requirements

Knowing how to ride a bike (you ride a few kilometres a day)


Appointment

Appointment for the start of the workcamp is scheduled for the day 15/06 in Pisa, at the railway station Pisa Centrale at 15.


Host Organization

Legambiente is a leading environmental organisation in Italy formed by 20 regional committees and more than 2000 local groups. Legambiente runs national and international campaigns aimed at halting climate change and biodiversity loss, reducing traffic, air pollution and pesticides use, or proposing new energy policy, enhancing use of renewable sources, energy efficiency and conservation etc. We have been organising a voluntary campaign for 19 years, promoting summer-camps in many protected areas both in Italy and abroad, with the aim of raising public awareness on environmental issues such as forest-fire or habitat degradation, collecting information on natural resources, promoting green tourism, developing sustainable economy, helping people to be more active for the conservation of our natural and cultural heritage. International workcamps, promoted by Legambiente, are part of the associations’ main campaigns and volunteers activities contribute to achieve the goals of each campaign. The common aim of environmental work camps is to improve areas with a distinctive naturalistic and cultural feature and to help solving environmental emergencies of our country. The main activities volunteers carry out are related to paths maintenance or beaches and protected areas cleaning; furthermore, volunteers collaborate in fire prevention or raising awareness on environmental issues. Some work camps are organized within the campaign “Carovana dell Alpi†(Caravan of Alps). This campaign, which was first organised in 2002, take a detailed picture of the entire alpine system, reports cases of environmental decay and evaluates experiences of sustainable development and ecological re-conversion of the economy. It also proposes the consolidation of the system of natural protected areas. The aims of “Salvalarte†(Save the Art), carried out by volunteers, are to awake public opinion, promote the reclaim and restoration of monuments and art works that have been abandoned to decay. Legambiente also gives the opportunity to discover small villages and local traditions of Italy, protected and promoted by “Piccola Grande Italia†(Small Big Italy) campaign, which aims to increase the value of our great heritage – environment, cultural property, local typical products and traditions – cherished in small Italian towns, the irreplaceable defense grounds of the Italian identity. The campaign has already involved 500 towns with less than 5 thousands inhabitants, mountain and provincial communities.