- Concorso Giovani Ricercatori Cercansi -

Edizione 2017-18

Think Nature, act local

A project of scientific study,

of natural protection and of public outreach

Scuola Ladina di Fassa - Ladin School of Fassa Valley

Pozza di Fassa (TN)

3LSA and 4LSA classes, a.s. 2016-2017

Edoardo Mich, Martin Pederiva, Thomas Pederiva, Matteo Rigoni, Annis Zeni

and the other students of the classes involved in the project.

PAT/RFS116-01/02/2018-0061902 - Allegato Utente 1 (A01)

The project is related to a Rete Natura 2000 site, a little fen in the Dolomites Mountains, called

The Roncon fen. During the outdoor research and the subsequential indoor study and elaboration

a group of students of the local high school was engaged in scientific methodologies peculiar to

ecological studies such as the measurements related to the ecological features of this type of

habitat and in outreach activities such as the publication of a didactic booklet and public

presentations of their results.

The Ladin School of the Fassa Valley is the institution that is responsible for the

education of all the pupils and students in a little area of the Dolomites Mountains, the

Fassa Valley.

Think Nature, act local is a school project concerned in environmental research and

protection. In the spring of 2016 we applied to a funding and we were lucky enough to

receive some money to develop the activities that we wanted to pursue.

As the object of our study we decided to choose a little protected area of the Natura

2000 network, the Roncon fen, only a few kilometers away from the school. This site is an

alkaline fen of about 2,9 ectars, and has been defined as a SAC, a Special Area of

Conservation, because it is a very interesting and vulnerable site, rich of biodiversity.

We wanted to start from Nature, considering its different aspects, especially those

concerned with ecology, and studying them in detail and to engage also in the protection

of this site, driving some attention of the local administrations and residents. This the

reason of the name: Think Nature, act local.

The goals of the project

Our project had various goals, some educational and some practical, among them:

- to deepen our knowledge of the environment and especially about the methodologies

used in ecological studies

- to engage ourselves in various practical activities on the field for the study of the

habitats of a natural ecosystem

- to develop a public action of outreach and increasing awareness about the local

environment and to promote practical actions for its protection.

The actions of the project

During the practical study in the fen we collected many data: cartographic data,

vegetational data with presence and frequency data, the ground water level, the depth of

the peat, characteristics of the water and we estracted some core samples.

At school we studied in detail the materials, we classified mosses and plants, analysed

some chemicals parameters of the water samples, such as pH, salts and nutrient

concentration and analysed some peat samples taken from the cores. All these activities

are peculiar to ecological studies and research.

As we processed the data we began to write a document, an outreach publication that

includes general information about fens and bogs, detailed information about our activities

and the suggestions of how to manage the site and promote its protection and

enhancement.

We met institutions that are involved in the management of the fen and asked to sustain

our suggestions for conservation and to carry out practical actions for its protection. We

have already presented officially our project to the other classes of the school and are now

organising the presentation of our results in a public meeting with the community and the

local administrators.

Results

Our scientific data are quite interesting: we managed to compile a list of mosses and

plants that are present in the fen and it could be fundamental for those who will decide to

study this fen in the future and will need to compare the data, we analysed the water

samples and found out that the water is excidingly rich in salts and has a high

conductivity, we measured the depth of the peat layer and found out that the thickness is

quite relevant in some areas, despite the limited extention of the wetland. The

measurements of the pH and the nutrients' concentration are compatible with the type of

mire and the natural poverty in the nutrients that is usually a constant feature of the fen.

We managed to complete our text about the mires and a little book of 96 pages with

text and photographs has been published in november 2017. It is a scientific outreach

publication with a general part about the mires, a part about Roncon fen and our studies

and a part with our suggestions for a better protection and management of the area.

We presented our study to the other schoolclasses and headmaster during an official

meeting. We met also the institutions that are responsible of the protected areas of the

province to meet us at the site and it was a good occasion to discuss the future of the fen

and our ideas. These institutions have accepted some of our claims and requests and in

the spring we would together plant some trees in the area of a woodcut that wouldn't

have been done and also to arrange the nearby crossroad that would allow the fen to

retain more water. We received some compliments from the supervisors of the institutions

that protect interesting natural sites and for us these are already very good results.