On Saturday 19 November, on the occasion of National Arbor Day, Reggio Emilia is once again distributing free trees that citizens can plant in backyards, gardens and other private spaces to contribute to increasing the city's green heritage.
On Saturday 19 November, on the occasion of National Tree Day, the free distribution of trees that citizens can plant in courtyards, gardens and other private areas to help increase the city's green heritage returns to Reggio Emilia.
From 9.30 a.m. to 1 p.m., 4,000 young trees made available by the Emilia Romagna Region as part of the 'Mettiamo radici per il futuro' campaign will be distributed free of charge in Piazza della Vittoria. There will be a number of stands where visitors can ask for advice and information on the correct way to plant and grow trees.
There will be around 900 maples, 800 cherry trees, 800 mirabolani, 500 brooms, 200 white mulberries, 200 cypresses, 70 tamarisks, 230 lagastroemias, 150 liquidambars, 150 bagolariums. Those who will not be able to pick up a tree on Saturday morning can turn to the Sassi Garden nursery in Via Vico in Villa Cella from Monday 21 November.
"Environmental protection and the ecological transition are everyone's responsibility, because each of us is called upon to play his or her part in what seems to be the challenge of the century,' says Councillor for Sustainability Policies Carlotta Bonvicini. 'With this initiative we want not only to raise the city's awareness but also to stimulate individuals to contribute actively, each in his or her own small way, to combating climate change and pollution. Planting a tree offers everyone the chance to participate in this great collective commitment that we must take on with awareness and urgency".
THE FORESTRATION PLAN - The initiatives are part of the actions of the Urban Forestation Plan carried out by the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, which have allowed the planting of about 5,271 trees in public areas in the last two years and will reach over 12,600 in 2022. To these will be added another 7,000 plants distributed in squares in November 2021 and in April 2022 planted in private green areas.
According to the most recent report on the Urban Ecosystem by Legambiente and Ambiente Italia on the performance of cities, Reggio Emilia ranked fifth in Italy for the availability of trees on public land per inhabitant, equal to 84.9 trees for every 100 citizens, with an endowment of 60.7 square metres of public green space per inhabitant.
NATURAL URBAN - The increase in the green heritage not only contributes to the reduction of pollutants, but also has a considerable mitigating effect on temperatures. To counter the effect of the so-called 'heat islands', the municipality has launched experimental forestation projects aimed at bringing nature back into the city, increasing the biodiversity of public parks and making citizens aware of the need to rethink the relationship we have with nature even in urbanised areas.
In particular then, in four public parks that will become 'climate-friendly parks', real 'naturalisation' experiments are being carried out. In one of these, Biagi Park, measurement sensors have been placed to continuously monitor the impact on the microclimate through environmental-climate parameters of temperature, air humidity and precipitation. The monitoring, carried out as part of the European project Life CITYAdap3, will continue until September 2024. The data collected will be made available and consultable in real time on a specific web platform where it will be possible to view trends and variations. The monitoring will be carried out by the Consorzio di Bonifica Emilia Centrale, selected for its technical skills and because it already has an extensive network of monitoring stations in the territory.