NEWS

Following the two classroom meetings at the Triennale Milano - titled "What is an Urban Forest?" and "Where are urban forests?" - the third and final meeting of this year of the Forestami Academy was held today, outdoor at the Parco Nord Milano.

Today's lesson, titled "How is an Urban Forest formed?", was moderated by Maria Chiara Pastore – Forestami Scientific Director and researcher at Politecnico of Milan, Giorgio Vacchiano  – associate professor of the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the Università Statale of Milan and architect Stefano Boeri – Forestami President.

“In the growing context of urbanization and climate change, the creation of urban forests and their management represent a sustainable and innovative solution” -  Giorgio Vacchiano explained during the meeting - "It is crucial to enhance climate services, and urban forests can become true "air conditioners" for cities, cooling urban areas during heat waves, absorbing CO₂ and pollutants and contributing to climate change mitigation. Special attention should be paid to creating favorable habitats for biodiversity, both animal and plant, and to managing invasive exotic species, a challenge to the urban ecology. Looking at the best urban forests around the world provides a comprehensive and inspiring overview of how they can transform our cities into more sustainable, resilient and livable environments".

The around 100 citizens participants, after a theoretical introduction, were able to take a closer look at the peculiarities of the urban forests of Parco Nord Milano and the different tree species present. They also participated in clean-up activities. At the end, guests were gifted with a small elm tree to be planted outdoor or to be taken care of until October 21^st, the day dedicated to Custodiscimi (literally “Take care of me”), an initiative proposing to look after a forestry plant for a dedicated period of time and returning it, to be planted into new forests.

Furthermore, on this occasion the Prada Group announced its contribution to support the restoration of Parco Nord Milano, one of the most important green lungs in the metropolitan area covering 800 hectares, which was damaged by a severe storm last July. Damages to the trees and the forest ecosystem were extensive: over 200 fallen trees, some of them almost centennial, others severely damaged. In addition, the irrigation system was compromised.

Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, declared: “The Prada Group is deeply attached to Milan, a city that increasingly understands the importance of greenery. We deeply care about this: for this reason we enthusiastically supported the Forestami Academy and today we feel our duty to contribute to restore one of the most important green areas in the city"