Cultivating value: create job while preserving landscape
Cultivating value: create job while preserving landscape
Summary
Irrigated winter meadows are an ancient agricultural practice to manage water during wintertime and producing high amount of grass and hay; it shaped the identity of the past Milan landscape and in XVIII and XIX century and was appreciated worldwide. Now is endangered due to industrial agriculture and urban sprawl and it is quite unknown by the Milan citizen. Today this practice could provide a knowledge for managing water and increase biodiversity. The best practice restores some water meadows in the peri urban area employing people with fragilities (mental disease, unoccupied, migrant), integrating mechanical and manual techniques, teaching a new job; it also involves schools and citizens in practical daily maintenance activities.
- Landscape restoration;
- Farm restoration;
- Water management course for fragile people;
- Cheese production;
- Cleaning and repairing activities with pupils and teens;
- Historical investigation
We are working within the AQUST Milan rural metropolis, the Metropolitan agreement between institution (region, metropolis, municipalities) and farmers’ association in order to improve sustainable and shared development of the urban-rural linkage. In the last 5 years we have acknowledged an increasing interest from citizens request about water meadows and the role in improving landscape quality in term of visits, conferences, publications, bike tours, offsite team building.
- New job creation (manager of water irrigation, environmental and cultural guide)
- Biodiversity enhancement in peri-urban context (birds, grass, hedgerows, soil)
- Restoration of an agricultural heritage (farms and landscape)
- Knowledge diffusion and awareness raising, improve respect for ordinary life place
- Lombardy Region
- Municipality of Milan;
- Politecnico of Milan
- Ticino regional park
- Cascina biblioteca social cooperative
Organization
Politecnico di Milano
Region
Europe and Central Asia
Geographic scope
Regional
Local
Themes
Capacity-Building
Environmental Resilience
Water & Sanitation
Youth & Livelihoods
Sustainable Development Goals
Goal 6 - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Goal 11 - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
New Urban Agenda Commitments
