BIODIVERSITY LAB | Educational Farm | Fattorie "Il Filod'Erba"

Biodiversity lab

Legislative Decree N°42 - 22nd January 2004
"Code on good culture and landscaping, following the logic of Article 10, Law N°137, 6th July 2002."

In realization of the Article 9 of the Italian Constitution, the Republic which protects and values cultural heritage, exists to preserve the memory of the national community and of its territory and to promote the development of culture. Government at the level of state, region, province, and commune collaborate on this work; private proprietors in consideration of cultural heritage guarantee conservation.

Good cultivation and landscaping constitutes cultural heritage; as such good landscaping refers to real estate or areas constituting an expression of historical, cultural, natural, morphological, or aesthetic value; and other areas delineated by law.

The children enter a room containing a simulation of two food markets, represented by two baskets of apples, each one placed on an opposite side of the room. One basket is full of apples of the same size and color, and the other contains apples of various colors and sizes. Which will the children choose to go to and why?

It's presumed that the children will go where there is more variety; we can see there are many diverse characteristics to these apples: color, shape, size, consistency, taste, smell, and even other aspects not immediately perceivable (for example the period of maturation the harvest, or the many different possible uses). The children give us evidence of the advantages offered by the variety of apples over those apples which are all the same, arriving at the concept that diversity signifies richness, greatest possibility of choice, and best resource of nutrition (a process opposed by those who for years brought multinational tendency towards uniformity and globalism).

To differentiate the involved productions and their social consequences: if everyone cultivated the same product, there would be no sense in having a market at all, and then people would lose the possibility to obtain and exchange information. If production was diversified, one would have not only the occasion to exchange goods but also to expose themselves to the methods of cultivation along with them - their problems and possible solutions. In this way there is a spread and overall conservation of knowledge tied to experience and tradition, which can also serve as a base for scientific research conducted with modern technology - a unity of tradition with science.

Elimination of varieties of plants signifies a reduction in the possibilities of crossing in order to better the species for the extraction of desired qualities. To some not saving a species of plant signifies modification of the natural equilibrium within a certain environment. The disappearance of plants is followed by that of particular insects and then by that of predators large and small, and so on and so forth along the food chain.

Cut open an apple and we can see inside to the seeds: in order to conserve the species, is it enough to simply re-plant them? No, the rosacea flowers, from which grow the apples, must be pollinated by bees in order to become fruit. The plant is also in danger of being attacked by parasites. So, the presence of hedges in a "bio-diverse" environment favors the presence of natural enemies to those plant parasites.

Bees and beehives are often victims of wasps and hornets - who have practically no enemies (aside from the winter cold). Recently a Japanese research team published a curious discovery: when a wasp enters a beehive, a large quantity of bees encircle the intruder (raising its temperature using their own body heat) The wasp cannot survive at high temperatures, so the bees are doing this to protect the queen as well as the whole of the hive. Likewise, from each and every species it is possible to learn their ways of living and build upon their "ingenuities" (for example, birds and airplanes).

The children are then invited to write that which they normally eat in the course of a day.
From that information, an example can be made of how any food, even the more sophisticated foods, can be reduced to its base elements of animal or vegetal product: so saving nature is then guaranteeing our own survival. Then the children must write (or simply indicate) first the fruits and vegetables that they eat, then; those that they know; and lastly, we all go outside together to see which types of fruits and vegetables there are (which were not mentioned among those which they normally eat or those which they know). New knowledge is then gained and put to use. Examples could include the poppy, the dandelion, elderberry, wild garlic, rapunzel, burdock, and more. One could say: look at what was I was missing. How many of these types of herbs/ fruits/ vegetables do I like? Now I know, whereas before I didn't even know they could be used!

It is explained to all that when you fall ill you can then find medicine in nature. A notable medicine such as aspirin can be obtained thanks to effective studies of willow bark, which other populations have used for curing their own illnesses. Other herbs for curing illnesses include: camomile and valerian, poppy, garlic, etcetera. At one time we cured illnesses using only plants, which continue today to be the base for many medicines, and as such are always the subject of further research for additional substances that could possibly be used, for example: digitalis (foxgloves) for the heart, sunflower for rheumatism, snowdrop for Alzheimer’s disease, aloe as a purifier, licorice for digestion, etcetera.

Our lives are intricately tied to the presence of oxygen and it is well known which plants are important for the production of oxygen. Less trees means less oxygen and air more full of pollution, and worse quality of life for us, but this is also true for the plants and animals from which we derive all of our nutrition, thus worsening all of our food supply. It is important to stress the fact that each and every action initiates a series of consequences from which we could be the possible victims.

We take walks around the countryside. Along the walk, point out for the children the various plants that grow spontaneously, explaining their eventual use. This spreads knowledge and recognition of our resources which in turn generate a greater possibility for the survival of more people. We emphasize also those plants which do not serve us directly but still have their own role, and could be utilized for example by insects. Flowers attract bees, which are fundamental for the pollination of flowers upon the apple tree, thus permitting the production of the fruit; returning to the concept of the interdependence among the rings on the chain of life.

In the outdoors the children have a way of observing how we are like hedges in many respects. One importance of the hedge is to give hospitality to diverse species of birds, which often constitute natural predators of insects and parasites harmful to cultivation. Here the battle against infestation is conducted in a natural way, without the introduction of insecticides or other chemical substances. A "bio-diverse" countryside is lots more fun than one that is “mono-cultivated” and without birds and insects!

Our ecosystem: the collective body of all the organisms and environmental factors with which the various species interact (for example: a lake, a forest, etcetera). Together the environment (biotope) and all the existing living animals and plants (biosphere) live with reciprocal influence. In an ecosystem you can distinguish mineral substances, non-living organic or autotrophic organisms, green plants, distinctly heterotrophic organisms (including herbivores and carnivores), and saprophytes which decompose organic or inorganic substances. All together they make up the food chain. The balanced equilibrium of various diverse ecosystems is often compromised by human activity - with grave consequences for the same human society (pollution, deforestation, species extinction, etcetera).

-Silica gel for the conservation of seeds: What does it do? Can you do something similar at home?