Forestami Academy: a journey through plants, cities and micro -organisms with Paola Bonfante, in collaboration with the Prada Group.
The first appointment of the third year of the Forestami Academy took place on Thursday 15 May on the Milan Triennale. This is the training and awareness project that is promoted by Forestami in collaboration with the Prada Group. The initiative was designed to make the public aware of the role of greenery in urban areas. The project started with a meeting entitled “Planting in the city”, dedicated to the complex interaction between vegetation, environment and public health.
The introduction of the works was Maria Chiara Pastore, scientific coordinator of Forestami and Professor of the Polytechnic of Milan. The main lesson was entrusted to Paola Bonfante. Professor who emerged from plant biology at the University of Turin and partner of the Accademia dei Lincei, it is one of the most authoritative Italian voices in the field of plant microbiology.
A world to discover
In the morning, Bonfante accompanied the participants on a fascinating journey in the world of carrots and micro -organisms. He also investigated the hidden but crucial role of the microbial communities that live in symbiosis with plants.
He was inspired by the famous confirmation of the biologist Edward O. Wilson: «More room for nature, we indeed give them half of the earth». The rapporteur emphasized the challenges with regard to the management of Urban Green. Nowadays more than ever fundamentally for the wells of the cities. Literary quotes and rigorous scientific system intertwined in his intervention.
“Nobody is an island, completely in himself; every man is a piece of the continent, part of the whole,” said Bonfante. The evocation is for the English poet John Women to underline how the plants, since their arrival at the mainland 470 million years ago, have always lived in complex relationship networks with other species, visible and invisible.
The topics that are being tackled
Under the subjects dealt with: the absorption of CO₂, the impoverishment of urban soils, the selection of plant species that are suitable for the metropolitan context. The importance of understanding plants and micro -organisms as an integrated biological system, the evolution of which is closely linked.
Bonfante repeated that “Urban Green is not considered not alone, it is a living, dynamic and multifactorial system”. Management even requires a forward -looking political vision and scientific. A warning about the fact that Green can also become an index of social inequality. It is clear that if it is not reasonably distributed under the neighborhood neighborhoods.
The day ended with a didactic walk in the Sempione Park, in which the participants had the opportunity to recognize the most important tree species. This is due to the expert guide of Fabio Campana (Agronomo, Parco Nord Milano), Andrea Montorio (Agrotechnician Doctor) and Riccardo Tucci (Forestry Doctor, Executive Technical Officer of the North Milan Park).
With this first meeting, Forestami Academy has launched a clear message: understanding the language of plants and their invisible networks is today one of the fundamental challenges for urban, social and environmental future.
The second meeting of the 2025 cycle will be held on Wednesday 18 June in the Milan Triennale. While the last appointment is planned for September with an experience on the field.
Forestami Academy: Knowing, participating, acting
The Forestami Academy, open for citizens, students, technicians and professionals, offers a free program of frontal lessons and field activities. The goal is to form a new urban ecological consciousness. The meetings last approximately three hours (from 10:00 to 13:00) and organize up to 100 participants per session.
Registrations are open on Forestami Academy and Prada sites.
Forestami: The project
Forestami was born of a study by the Polytechnic of Milan, on the initiative of architect Stefano Boeri, with the support of Fondazione Falck and FS Urban Systems, to explore the potential of urban forestry in Milanese metropolitan territory. Nowadays it is a project that is being promoted by a vast institutional network that includes the municipality and the metropolitan city of Milan, the Lombardy region, the North Park and the South Milan Agricultural Park, ErsAF, the Cariaplo Foundation and countless territorial and university reality.
The aim is to plant 3 million trees by 2030, which improves air quality, contrasting climate change in increasing social and environment.
Since 2025, Forestami has been structured as an ETS Foundation (third sector body), able to collect donations and to develop projects throughout Italy to promote a culture of shared and inclusive greenery.
The Prada group: Culture and Sustainability
The Prada Group, partner of the initiative, stands out for the commitment in the field of education, scientific research, empowerment of women and environmental protection. Thanks to its activities in the luxury and culture sectors, the group works together with institutions and realities of excellence to promote the sustainable growth of the communities.
