Parma, March 4, 2026 - The new program of the Campus Garden target project, funded through the call for cultural and social activities of students of the University of Parma for the year 2025-2026, opens.
Situated in the Science and Technology Campus, in the area of Cascina Ambolana Moroni, the Campus Garden is a green space that has been gradually transformed over the years into a place of high biodiversity, where students and students can actively participate in the care and maintenance of the environment.
The creation of a Food Forest, a biodiversity pond, educational stations dedicated to composting and ecosystem support, along with the installation of artificial nests and furniture to improve the usability of the area, have helped strengthen the naturalistic vocation of the place.
These interventions, made possible over the years with the support of University funds dedicated to student associations' projects, have had a twofold objective: to increase biodiversity and make the space more livable and welcoming for the student and academic community. At the same time, through events and initiatives also open to citizenship, greater awareness was promoted about the environmental challenges of our time and the concrete actions we can take starting from the local context.
In addition to encouraging the enjoyment of the place and bringing the University's students closer to a naturalistic context, one of the main objectives of the project aims to involve the academic body, offering an innovative educational opportunity to develop theses and other educational activities related to the issues addressed.
This year's program consolidates some activities already implemented and aims to involve more and more people, strengthening the sense of place.
Here are the activities planned for this edition:
- Production and installation of descriptive tags on the plants in the Campus Garden, in collaboration with the professor Davide Persico in the context of his Naturalistic Museumology course, involving students in this activity.
- Monitoring and maintenance of artificial bird nests installed in 2025 and relocation of batbox, made by students in collaboration with professor Paola Maria Valsecchi in the context of her Applied Ethology course and with the involvement of the Associazione Ornitologi dell'Emilia-Romagna (ASOER).
- Installation of a bicycle maintenance and repair station, in the area in front of the Cascina Ambolana. This installation will be a focal point for student bicycle repair, creating a place for gathering and knowledge exchange, and will be inaugurated with a small repair workshop. The inauguration is scheduled for March 26 at 1:30 p.m.
- May 8 (date to be confirmed) - Musical performance with Carlotta Sarina: a young artist from Salsomaggiore who has combined passion and talent for music with environmental activism and who will be featured in a new, engaging artistic performance.
- June 4 (date to be confirmed) - Waiting for Unsustainable: screening of a documentary on issues related to environmental sustainability. The organization of the screening will be carried out in collaboration with the association 24FPS and the university professors of the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services course, who will involve students in the selection of the documentary.
The appointments will be accompanied by social moments, such as sustainable aperitifs organized together with the associations involved and the network of local producers.
The Campus Garden project has also been presented in the context of EU Green Research Week as an example of living lab and as a replicable model in other universities.
All activities are free and open to the university community and citizenship.
