The Adda River runs through almost all the provinces of Lombardy for more than 300km, following a meandering path. Its wanderings have left visible traces on the territory. In fact, over the centuries, the river has shaped valuable areas for biodiversity in the Lombardy plain and given sustenance to the Adda Sud Forests. Over the past few years, the climate crisis has eroded the area’s delicate woodland ecosystem. Extreme weather events, floods, and strong winds are the main threats to these forests. Our protective interventions aim to make the area’s trees more resilient by increasing plant diversity to encourage the action of all pollinating insects. Without them, there would not be so many fruits on our tables! In addition, herbaceous flora will be enriched along a peri-urban bicycle and pedestrian path.

In parallel, work will be done on a Natura 2000 Site, riverbanks and wooded areas. The goal is to contain the expansion of exotic species, collect the many crashes and dead plants from violent weather events and river flooding. Our project aims to make room for new trees, shrubs and plants that encourage pollinators. At both sites, Rete di Agricoltura Sociale will place hives with domestic bees, which will be analyzed by Milan State University as bio-indicators for environmental monitoring on air pollutants. The interventions will improve the condition of Adda Sud Forests, a green treasure to be protected.

This project is co-funded by the Lombardy Region’s Biodiversity and Climate Call (BioClima) and supported by Fondazione Cariplo. Bioclima is an initiative created within the framework of the Lombardy Plan and the LIFE GESTIRE 2020 project that aims to create public-private financing models to catalyze investment in biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation projects in Lombardy’s forests and protected areas.