200 new “Trees in the suburbs” for Rome: the mission starts in Tor Bella Monaca
Environment — di Simone Santi
On the occasion of the national Day, a Roman association planted 15 young trees in the suburbs: the goal is to reach 200 by February.
200 new “Trees in the suburbs” for Rome: the mission starts in Tor Bella Monaca
On the occasion of the national Day, a Roman association planted 15 young trees in the suburbs: the goal is to reach 200 by February.
Street art, a bicycle repair workshop, a pine wood, a facility managed by an association made up of Associazione 21 luglio, Università di Tor Vergata and the association Psicoanalisi contro, which runs many initiatives for children from families in difficulty in the Tor Bella Monaca neighbourhood: and within this facility, the Polo ex Fienile, an urban vegetable garden and, from today, around fifteen new, young fruit trees.
The Alberi in periferia initiative
Tor Bella Monaca is, par excellence, the tough suburb of Rome, but seen without prejudice it can also be a pleasant discovery: and it is here that Alberi in periferia came today, on the occasion of the National Tree Day, to plant the first of the 200 trees that the association, in its first year of existence, plans to give to the city between now and the end of February, which corresponds to the most suitable time of year for planting.
This is in fact a return, because it was right here in Tor Bella Monaca, a year ago, that Alberi in periferia put down some of its first roots — 15 trees, mostly Mediterranean scrubland species: acacias, albizzias, black locusts — which today are joined by other young saplings, including an ambitious avocado tree. "It was an initiative that came about spontaneously and was supposed to end there, with a small fundraiser," explains the president, Andrea Loreti, "but instead we saw such great participation that we kept going. Because we felt the need to put into practice an environmental awareness that, compared to a few years ago, already exists: what is sometimes lacking is grounding it, making it concrete."
A matter of environmental justice
Not just anywhere, but strictly in the suburbs: "We want to do this here, because as well as tackling pollution we want to beautify these places, to bring a different narrative about the suburbs. People who live in these areas are often not only poorer and have fewer opportunities, but also live in a less healthy environment. It is a matter of environmental justice." Last year Alberi in periferia planted 100 trees; this year, as mentioned, the goal is to double that, with initiatives already in the pipeline, including one next week at a primary school, and soon another 50 trees that will provide shade at Villa Somaini, also in the eastern part of the city, "where we want to create a real community orchard."
All of this certainly not by relying solely on their own resources — which are based on tree donations from private individuals or from the Servizio giardini del Comune, or on self-funding through subscription-based theatre, music and poetry events — but in synergy with many other local associations, such as the Libera assemblea di centocelle and Brigate Verdi, which also today, for National Tree Day, simultaneously planted another 5 trees among the streets of Centocelle and an equal number — five one-year-old cork oaks that will grow in the shade of the great Quercia della Certosa, a true landmark of the Casilino district, 15 metres tall with a trunk circumference of 3.5 metres. Who knows whether, a hundred years from now, some of the trees planted today will have grown just as large.