Bosco Sacile

Bosco Sacile di Carlino (Sacile Forest of Carlino), in the Province of Udine, is an ancient lowland forest that lets us turn back the hands of time and take a leap into the past, to discover with our own eyes what the landscape of the Po Valley looked like hundreds of years ago If you enter the forest quietly, without making any noise, you may possibly see a roe deer prancing around, while the light filtering through the leaves creates light and shadow patterns on its coat. If you then close your eyes, you can be lulled by the gentle sounds of the slow but constant activity of all living creatures that live in the undergrowth, while the scents of flowers and plants awaken ancient memories. But there is something you need to know: man’s hands have not spared even this vast forest, which is the size of 115 football fields.

What has happened to Bosco Sacile over these years?

In recent decades, the ancient lowland forest has been subjected to uncontrolled, unsustainable logging and irresponsible forest management. To make matters worse, the forest was ravaged by extreme weather events such as the 2017 storm, which recorded winds of up to 120 km/h in the Friuli region. As a result, in 2018 the forest was in very poor conditions and remained unaccessible to the public for many years. Alessandro Arnosti, founder of Natura7 Agricultural Society and a huge forest enthusiast, fell in love with this wonderful forest and decided to look after it. He managed to buy it from the previous owners and, together with us, decided to embark on a journey to restore the area with the purpose of restoring the forest’s health and reactivating its recreational and educational functions A message that was also immediately embraced by the Italian company Miko Dinamica®, which decided to support the project and also embark on a path of sustainability with the goal of becoming a Climate Positive company by 2030; i. e., capturing more CO2 than is emitted as a result of its business activities.

Miko’s commitment in the words of its CEO Lorenzo Terraneo: “We are among the first Italian companies committed to safeguarding the planet through investments in FSC®-certified forests. We have chosen to look after a forest by following the MARC (Measure Avoid Risks Communicate) approach; a path of environmental and social responsibility conceived for companies that want to become climate positive. We measured our environmental performances, reduced them, and focused on capturing residual impacts. By taking up the Climate Positive challenge,” Terraneo adds, “we are taking our place amongst the actors of change into sustainable development. Technology, innovation and pioneering spirit are the ingredients we bring to the table.” The decision to involve citizens in a reforestation project such as this testifies to our desire to restore a forest heritage that must not be abandoned. Tackling the climate crisis requires actions like these, in which planting new trees is accompanied by management of existing forests.

This forest is part of the Associazione Forestale di Pianura (Lowland Forest Association).