Descrizione
Reforestation:
a book for understanding
how to design a virtuous project
It is not everyday that somebody decides to rewild what used to be agricultural land and to do so involving a team of scientists analysing all the environmental elements and designing a suitable forestry planting… and then follows the project through with such passion, so that it becomes
an ecosystem. That is exactly what the company “Agugiaro & Figna Molini S.p.a.” decided to create, near its mill in Collecchio (near Parma), involving CINSA (Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per le Scienze Ambientali, Interuniversity National Consortium for Environmental Sciences).
Following the project since its beginning, in 2021 has provided a fascinating opportunity for better understanding how “a forest is born”: how the soil-scientists study the characteristics of a specific plot of land, how ecologists, architects and forestry scientists give birth to, and shape,
a landscaping project with the trees and the shrubs most suitable for the features of the soil, so that over time the naturalness and biodiversity of the forest will be enhanced; a project requiring a minimum of resources and interventions, while at the same time providing areas for recreational, educational and research purposes.
The result of the awareness and passion of both scientists and entrepreneurs, the “Bosco del Molino” project is recognised at national and international level as a laboratory for gaining insights into how a forestry planting develops, aiming at being a virtuous, replicable model.
A forest of approximately 13 hectares, a few kilometres from Parma and a few minutes by bike from Collecchio, nestled in the plain of the Emilia region, at the foot of the hills bordering on Liguria and the Lunigiana region. A thorough study of the area from an historical, administrative and environmental point of view has made it possible to harmonise the project with local reality, with all its constraints but also its opportunities: 9.8 hectares of forest, 2.5 hectares of poplar grove, service-areas, clearings for collaborators and guests of Agugiaro & Figna, local schools, associations and citizens.
The goal: to add value to the area and create an ecological corridor from the Taro River Park to the agricultural land, where the traces of Roman centuriation are still visible, between Collecchio and Parma.
“Bosco del Molino” is its chosen name: an ecosystem inextricably connected to the urban fabric of the Emilia region, designed for growth together with all the people who will want to contribute to its enhancement and maintenance.
Virginio B. Sala has a degree in Philosophy at the State University of Milan. He has always worked in the publishing industry (non-fiction), first as a copy-editor of “Le Scienze” (the Italian edition of “Scientific American”) and then taking on managerial roles for Franco Muzzio editore, Mondadori Informatica, Apogeo. He is a co-founder of Tarka edizioni. Science, technology and music are his main interests.
