FOLLOWING LAURA TO ACARBIO – Episode 3 : Daily life in Tramonti

Daily life in Tramonti has been the busiest and most peaceful experience I have experienced. Acarbio offers a lot of nature-linked activities such as harvesting , planting vegetables, going in the forest to collect mushrooms after rainy days …

In the region of Campania , there is a gardening tradition that works on terraces. The landscape here is mostly mountains which is a hard place to garden in flat fields. A thousand years ago , monks  decided to find a way and terraces were born. Due  to the previous Vesuvio’s explosions ( a volcano) , the ashes spread and the soil here is very fertile.

Considering that it is hard to have large  spaces they availed the terraces to their maximum . On one section you have 3 levels : the ground ( for pumpkins , potatoes, tomatoes , eggplants …) , the second is the grapes that are hanging on wood constructions and the third is trees ( chestnut , lemon , olives …) . The terraces can look messy and hard to work with from the beginning , considering that you have to climb to go to different parts of the garden and a lot of things are growing in the same spaces. But it is  so rich and efficient .

Having a restaurant kitchen in the office with the garden gives us a lot of experimenting possibilities and  to cook in a different way which is actually the simplest: taking what our garden has to offer.

For instance I have been doing a lot of different jams with the fruits that are growing here ( plums, figs , chestnuts …) . The more I spend time here the more it feels surreal to go to a grocery shop . We cook by ourselves all the time  whether in the office or at home with the volunteers. At lunch during weekdays I cook with the president of the association for the rest of the group and learn from him a lot from everything linked to nature and food. You can see here a gorgeous gorgonzola e pistacchio dish with handmade pasta.


I am not back home yet but I already miss Tramonti. This mountain became my friend and whoever tries to pull me away from her must be careful 🙂

Written by Laura Clement

THREE MOTHS INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE IN ACARBIO

My experience as an intern in ACARBIO was quite diverse, as well the internship required  various qualities. The basic survival kit from my perception is being flexible, patient, willing to help and being able to organize your own work. In first two weeks there was no direct action in projects for me specifically and  I was dealing with confusement and I could not clearly understand the working routine. It took me some time to adapt and find my place in the organization, but, luckily, not too long.

I came here with a hobby of photography, so a camera is the thing that is always with me. Soon after my arrival, we put in use this hobby of mine and I was happy to find my main duty here. The first project I was gained in was the project of Re Fiascone tomato.

Together with the journalist Maria Rosaria Sannino we went around local farms of Amalfi Coast who are cultivating Re Fiascone tomatoe and collected photo and video material.

We visited farmers going by Vespa which is the best way of transport in Italy how to truly enjoy the hottest daytime outside and at the same time to see the landscapes of the  Amalfi Coast.

Within the first week of project „Make it Blue”, new volunteers arrived and began their work on the beach, and I was there to prepare visual material about their activities.

This was a very enjoyable duty to be the one who captures flashmobs of the volunteers, their working routine and their free time and them having fun, because it all included spending time in the Minori beach, going around with pedal boat in the sea shore and hanging out with volunteers, and as well going for sightseeing to shoot the landscape of Minori for the videos. The feeling was far from a typical working day.

At this point the experience turned very pleasing, days with editing my visual material by the computer in the office were contrasted with shooting on the beach, in farms and in festivals.

Summer period is very busy so, we, the interns had to be flexible, to work when it is needed and to have a leisure time when we can. Despite that, I had lots of chances to travel in the coast, do trekking and hiking with my collegues and have a nice rest with wonderful landscapes in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My tip for a succesful internship in ACARBIO and enjoyable time in Amalfi Coast – be eager to find what kind of contribution you could give to the association and they will allow you to do the very thing you like doing and you’re good at.

Ischia Dolphin Project 2016: novità dal fronte della conservazione cetacei

Alcuni delfini avvistati durante il progetto

Le novità dal fronte della conservazione di delfini, balenotteri, capodoglio. Il progetto “Ischia Dolphin Project 2016”  ha visto percorrere oltre 4080 km in 81 uscite in mare totalizzando 707 ore di ricerca tra maggio e ottobre 2016 nelle acque delle isole dell’arcipelago Campano (Ischia Procida e Capri) e Pontino (Ventotene e Ponza).

Durante la campagna sono stati realizzati 45 avvistamenti di cetacei di 5 specie diverse, con uno sforzo di 67 ore di osservazione e di 304 km percorsi con gli animali: stenella striata (Stenella coeruleoalba) incontrata in 26 occasioni risulta essere la specie più avvistata, seguita da tursiope (Tursiops truncatus) con 11 avvistamenti e capodoglio (Physeter macrocephalus) con 4. Delfino comune (Delphinus delphis) e balenottera comune (Balaenoptera physalus) sono stati osservati una sola volta, mentre non è stato effettuato nessun avvistamento di grampo (Grampus griseus), nonostante sia una delle specie target del progetto.

Le evidenze scientifiche raccolte da IDP in oltre 20 anni di studio della cetofauna nell’area hanno permesso a Oceanomare Delphis Onlus di promuovere importanti azioni di conservazione per queste specie. Sono infatti ben 3 le zone candidate ad ottenere lo status di ‘Important Marine Mammals Area’ (IMMA) dall’Unione Internazionale per la Conservazione della Natura (IUCN): le acque costiere di Ischia (per tursiope e delfino comune), le acque tra Ischia e Ventotene (per grampo e balenottera), gli arcipelaghi Campano e Pontino (per capodoglio).

I risultati del Workshop sulla “Ricerca e Conservazione del delfino comune (Delphinus delphis) nel mar Mediterraneo”, tenutosi lo scorso aprile 2016 ad Ischia e promosso da ODO, in collaborazione con Oceancare e Biological Conservation Research Foundation di Malta (BICREF), sono stati inseriti tra i documenti ufficiali di ACCOBAMS – Accordo per la Conservazione dei Cetacei nel Mediterraneo, Mar Nero e aree contigue dell’Atlantico. In questo modo la comunità scientifica internazionale potrà revisionare e aggiornare l’ultimo piano di conservazione e gestione su delfino comune datato 2004, e gettare le basi per una rivalutazione dello stato della specie nella Lista Rossa IUCN.

Infine, Oceanomare Delphis Onlus ha presentato alla Commissione Europea i dati raccolti su tursiope nelle aree di studio (litorale romano e arcipelaghi Campano e Pontino) per evidenziare le zone di concentrazione per la specie, elencata nell’Allegato II della Direttiva Habitat, con lo scopo di stabilire nuovi Siti Natura 2000 per garantire il mantenimento a lungo termine degli habitat naturali e delle specie di fauna marina minacciati o rari a livello comunitario (Malta, 27-29 settembre 2016).

La campagna IDP 2016 ha visto la partecipazione di una squadra di 12 ricercatori e di 72 volontari da tutto il mondo: Australia, Belgio, Canada, Cina, Francia, Germania Irlanda, Israele, Italia, Portogallo, Regno Unito, Spagna, Svizzera, USA. Un team di blogger ha seguito la vita di campo dei volontari a bordo del veliero laboratorio Jean Gab: Jean Gab’s Diary.

 

Il 2017 da vivere con “gli occhi del mare”. Scatti subacquei nel calendario WWF 2017

Il Calendario 2017 del Wwf Terre del Tirreno

Il Calendario 2017 del Wwf Terre del Tirreno

Il calendario 2017 del Wwf Terre del Tirreno è dedicato al mare e alle sue bellezze, con le immagini fotografiche di Marco Gargiulo, già campione italiano di fotografia subacquea. Le foto ci portano in un viaggio meraviglioso lungo le due costiere, sorrentina e amalfitana: dal Banco di Santa Croce a Punta Campanella, da Sorrento all’isola di Capri fino a Positano. Continue reading

Flora illustrata del Vesuvio. Storia, paesaggi, vegetazione

La copertina del volume

La copertina del volume

Cosa si sa della vegetazione che arricchisce il vulcano tra i più noti al mondo? Il libro dei ricercatori del Dipartimento di Agraria dell’Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Massimo Ricciardi, Riccardo Motti e Adriano Stinca intitolato “Flora illustrata del Vesuvio. Storia, paesaggi, vegetazione” (Doppiavoce, Napoli), tratta in modo esaustivo e per la prima volta il tema del paesaggio vegetale che riveste le pendici del vulcano partenopeo.

Mentre molto si è scritto sulla sua storia, sulla sequenza delle eruzioni in primis quella della famosa eruzione del 79 d.C sono state invece molto più rare le opere dedicate alle piante che rivestono le pendici. In questo volume il paesaggio vegetale del Vesuvio e del Monte Somma viene analizzato in profondità, con rigore scientifico, ma con un linguaggio accessibile anche agli appassionati di botanica.

Accompagnano il lettore pinete, boschi, campi di lava e coltivi con piante che si spingono fino all’interno delle aree più urbanizzate. Una guida che per ricchezza delle immagini sarà insostituibile per quanti desiderino immergersi nella natura, lontano dai percorsi turistici, attraverso scenari naturali di grande suggestione e paesaggi evocativi.

Un’opera senz’altro da leggere per la sua valenza scientifica e culturale e anche per la vividezza di sprazzi di vita trascorsa all’ombra del Vesuvio.

(Il volume sarà presentato giovedì 27 Ottobre alle ore 18, presso la Biblioteca Comunale di San Giorgio a Cremano (Napoli) ospitata nella cornice di Villa Bruno in via Cavalli di Bronzo 22).

Maike: what I learned in Acarbio

It is very difficult to pack 3 and a half months of experience in Tramonti in only one paragraph, so I decided to write some lists instead, to give a little overview of what my Erasmus Placement internship taught me:

Things I learned:

  • To never mix two different kinds of dishes, like Pasta and Salad, in one plate
  • How to handle 30 People from 5 different countries and manage to do something with all of them on time
  • How to create invitations/ flyers with gimp or photoshop
  • “We will go in 10 minutes” doesn’t really mean that we will leave in the next hour
  • How to create a slideshow and edit videos
  • How to organise work camps, schedules and how to tell people what to do in a nice way (a smile and a “please” is always very helpful)
  • Everything about the Re Umberto Tomato

30 people to manage

30 people to manage

Things that surprised me:

  • How open, friendly and naturally everyone is talking to strangers
  • The appreciation of food as part of the day
  • The beauty of the Amalfi Coast and the valley of Tramonti
  • That the Sita busses manage to pass by each other without any damage every time on those narrow roads along the coast
  • That Italians indeed eat pasta every day
  • How stressful it can be to work independently and be responsible for everything
  • How much you work if you can decide your working time freely

My favourite moments:

  • lemon festival in Pucara with amazing food like pizza al limone and granita; and a perfect atmosphere in the castle through light and music
  • Pizza party at the office during the “Make it MedEATerranean” project, especially the dancing part where we learned sirtaki
  • Preparing the mussles we harvested ourselves at the rocks of Minori
  • Discovering a hidden beach on Capri Island
  • Walking along the Path of Gods, with the beautiful view on the peninsula, and afterwards having the last swim of the year in the sea of Positano

On the Path of Gods with Antonio and Ina

On the Path of Gods with Antonio and Ina

Things I will miss:

  • Sal de Riso ice cream
  • The sea (I honestly never swam in such soft water before)
  • Our office dog Vuva and her puppies
  • The view on the mountains from our office
  • Every single pasta dish prepared by Enzo, you are a wonderful cook!
  • Fresh cornetto from the bakery at night

My Birthday Party at the office

My Birthday Party at the office

And of course, I will miss everyone I met here! I had an amazing time, I discovered many new places, improved my organisation and video editing skills and learned about sustainability, other cultures and the work of an NGO. In total, it was an enriching experience in every sense and I am happy that I had the chance to be here. I really enjoyed the Italian mentality and will hopefully take a lot from it to Germany. A big thank you to Vincenzo, Antonio and Maria, for everything.

Farewell party for Maike

 

Maike Jebasinski

The experience of a new project

workshop make it blue 01

Make it blue 2016’ was a highlight during my internship at Acarbio. The project lasted for 1 month, but a few participants came here earlier to help the preparation, while some stayed here longer to explore this mountainous and coastal area. We cleaned the beach sand, as well as the crystal clear water with a pedal boat, and organised environmental activities for kids. The participants are a multinational, multicultural group from America, Argentina, Finland, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Italy, Russia, South Korea, Spain, and Vietnam.

cleaning make it blue

That was my first time working on something like this, so the experience was amazing. I had the opportunity to interact with people from different cultures, improving teamwork skills, and having fun together. At the end, I edited a video about the project, learning an effective way to use Sony Vegas, far different from the way I had always done.

visiting make it blue

During the project, the volunteers stayed in a kindergarten. They cooked, ate, drunk, and had fun together. They also had some culture and language exchange lessons. And in the evening, they went out and watched stunning firework by the sea. Not only helped the local community, they also spent time discovering the Amalfi Coast, beautiful Capri Island, Positano, Ravello, Villa Rufolo, and many other places.

What I learned in Acarbio

ach

Dear diary,

I am writing you with a broken heart knowing this is my last writing about this awesome life experience. After 3 months, now I know why some companies require their employees to have a previous work experience. Honestly I learned and I’m still learning a lot of valuable things that I would have never heard about in university classes. Acarbio is not a big company, so I can talk to my supervisors every day and even the president, and what make the things smooth is that when I came here, I found this association is like the family, a nice family which is open to us and make us one of them.
I am really proud of my accomplishments with the association, because I learned a lot of new techniques that I never heard about, especially that the people in this association master their work. And I even was connected to many departments at the same time like communication, IT, management, and so on.
We also had fun during this time. I went with some friends and colleagues to some exotic places of the area, like the beautiful Ravello, a really good place with exotic views and special delicious Italian food with reasonable prices.
To conclude I want to say thank you very much, to all the association parts and all the people I met as well as the the other interns I worked with. I want to let all of you know that I will remember you for my whole life and now you are my family as well.

Might this be just a goodbye!

Zahnoune Mohamed Achraf