Biodiversamente: Discover Wildlife Through New Eyes
As part of the Environmental Education and Sustainability Initiatives Program 2025/26, more than 100 students from two schools in the province of Bologna had the opportunity, between April and May, to experience firsthand what it means to study wildlife for management and conservation purposes. They took part in activities simulating the monitoring and field identification of terrestrial mammals and explored conservation genetics laboratories to discover how DNA analysis can contribute to understanding and protecting wild populations.
The students of the I.I.S. Ettore Majorana Upper Secondary School in San Lazzaro di Savena visited the ISPRA facility in Ozzano dell’Emilia, located on a former agricultural estate that is now a Site of Community Importance within the Natura 2000 Network. They took part in a variety of educational activities, including classroom sessions, laboratory work, and outdoor field excursions, as part of the teaching modules “Learning About Italian Mammals” and “Genetics for Wildlife Conservation.” These activities were organized by staff from the Technical Advice and Wildlife Conservation and Conservation Genetics units.
During the same period, staff from the Conservation Genetics unit visited the I.I.S. Belluzzi Fioravanti Upper Secondary School in Bologna, where they engaged students in exploring the applications of conservation genetics to wildlife management. The activities included presentations on molecular biology laboratory techniques and discussions involving the resolution of forensic case studies.
The Environmental Education and Sustainability (EAS) initiative will, as every year, be offered again to local schools during the 2026/27 school year.