Valentina CAPOCEFALO, Cultural and Environmental Heritage, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
Nowadays soil sealing represents one of the multitude environmental issues which affect the growing urban areas in Italy. Urban and peri-urban horticultural projects often settle in abandoned places or marginal areas: these practices offer to the territories and their inhabitants a concrete alternative to paving and its dangerous consequences. Nevertheless, conventional horticulture is characterized by a considerable number of practices which can generate negative impacts on the environment and, in particular, on the hydrological resources. Regenerative agriculture can overcome the barriers created by conventional horticulture and generate positive spin-offs in the ecosystems. Among the solutions identified by regenerative agriculture, some have an important impact on limiting water waste: for example, through the presence of trees and crops and/or trees and crops residues on the surface, soil cover allows to storage water which otherwise would evaporate. The introduction of agroecological principles and practices into the urban horticultural projects can increase their environmental sustainability. Furthermore, this choice could convert them from sustainable projects into regenerative ones, improving substantially the quality of the soil.
The case study presented is located in the eastern part of Milan, in an urban area affected by a process of transformation mainly linked to the construction of a new metro-line. Here an ancient farmhouse managed by Cascinet, an association founded in 2012, hosts a conventional horticultural project, an outdoor educational project and the Food Forest, characterized by a rich variety of plants, some beehives and a pond. The presentation will offer a reflection on nature’s contribution to people (NCP), which will be the basis to illustrate the relevance of this experience in preserving hydrological resources, through the valuable cooperation between academic knowledge and competences and the civic engagement.
Mots clés : urban agriculture|regenerative agriculture|nature’s contributions to people (NCP)|civic involvement
A103888VC