Project Description:
An abandoned municipal country house and a small wood have become the symbol of a project to redevelop the Carpaneda area in recent years. Here, in a strip of countryside between the outskirts of Vicenza and the industrial areas, in one of the Italian regions with the highest rate of land consumption, Veneto, activists and citizens have been cultivating a dream for four years: to protect this place, make it a common good and give life to the city’s first agricultural park.
The CARPINO project wants to involve the inhabitants of the area, with particular attention to young people, the elderly and migrants, in three lines of action, together with researchers, activists and volunteers: a ‘scientific camp’ to analyse biodiversity, an oral history school to collect stories and memories, and art workshops to experience these places with new meanings and suggestions.
Project Type: Kickstarting Grant
Theme: Justice and Equity, Climate
Mentor: Jane Prophet
The CARPINO Project: Environmental Sciences, Social Sciences, and Arts for the First Transdisciplinary Citizen Science Campaign in Vicenza, Italy
How and to what extent has biodiversity changed in Carpaneda? This central question guided the CARPINO project (CARpaneda for Participation, INclusion, and Observation of biodiversity changes), which explored biophysical elements through a science camp, stories and memories via an oral history school, and emotions through an art workshop.
Carpaneda, a peri-urban area in Vicenza (Veneto, Italy), is rich in biodiversity but threatened by land consumption and urban expansion—issues particularly acute in northeastern Italy. The area features small residential zones, farms, cultivated fields, an urban lowland forest (also functioning as a retention basin), and an abandoned farmstead known as “Cascina Carpaneda,” owned by the municipality. Located at the intersection of industrial zones and rural municipalities, Carpaneda faces mounting development pressures.
In this challenging context, a group of activists and citizens is working towards a shared vision: to protect this space, reclaim it as a commons, restore and reactivate the old Cascina, and transform it into the House of Agroecology. Supported by IMPETUS, these activists, together with experts, researchers, and artists, organized a multidisciplinary citizen science campaign, forming a team that also included a scientific coordinator, project managers, communication specialists, and representatives of local non-profit organisations.
The project has strengthened advocacy efforts with the local government, focusing on co-designing innovative solutions for the shared administration of the area.
The campaign prioritized inclusiveness, engaging nearly fifty citizen scientists, including young people, elderly residents, and individuals from migrant backgrounds. Participants contributed to mapping stakeholders, data collection, and analysis. Some residents became active organizers and continue to support the initiative.
Three workshops, held on September 7, 8, 13, 14, and 15, culminated in the 2024 Carpaneda Ecofestival, a three-day event celebrating art, agroecology, and participatory science. Project results were shared with 280 attendees and will be refined and publicly available. The festival’s vibrant atmosphere fostered collaboration and enthusiasm, while the workshops raised awareness about Carpaneda’s potential.
With support from IMPETUS, CARPINO enhanced its team’s skills in management, ethics, and community engagement, leveraging a transdisciplinary approach. Regular mentorship sessions helped the team articulate CARPINO’s key strengths: combining natural sciences, social sciences, and the arts to address complex challenges.
The project has a clear long-term vision: to protect Carpaneda, recognize it as a common good, and transform it into an agroecological hub for education and cultural activities. This vision includes joint management by citizens, associations, and the public administration. The activist group, enriched by the involvement of citizen scientists, researchers, and others, will continue striving towards these objectives. Additionally, the citizen movement advocating for Carpaneda’s recognition, together with the CARPINO team, aims to establish an agricultural park—the first of its kind in Veneto. This initiative seeks to safeguard the land and serve as a replicable model for other areas of the city.
CARPINO is a project by La Piccionaia S.c.s in collaboration with Assemblea Cascina Carpaneda Bene Comune, Comunità Vicentina per l’Agroecologia, Laboratorio Spazi Rurali e Boschi Urbani, Scienza Radicata, AISO, LIES, and VeZ.
