By Sonia Santucci | Project Leader
The season of the summer camps for children from Central Italy is almost to an end. Two camps were completed and the third one is in progress in these days.
The opportunity, launched by IBO Italia and FederGev in the early Spring, has been positively welcomed by families and all the camp shifts had full of enrollments.
In the first shift, from 20th to 29th June, the participants were 14 coming mainly from the province of Macerata, in the Marche region.
The second shift, from 4th to 13th July, saw the participation of 20 teenagers (15 – 17 years old) mainly from the provinces of Macerata and Perugia (Umbria Region).
In these days, 17 children from 11 to 14 years old are spending their last days of camp in Ferrara. They come mainly from the areas of Perugia, Ascoli Piceno, Teramo and Rieti.
Participants have been hosted in a big house located some kilometers from the city of Ferrara.
Below, you can read a summary of the interesting activities in which teenagers have been involved, thanks to the precious support and collaboration of our educators Silvia, Chiara and Elisa!
Tuesday.
Arrival - Each summer camp started on Tuesday when some staff's members of IBO Italia and FederGev volunteers went from Ferrara with three vans to collect participants from their place of residence. Due to the distance, participants reached the location of the camp in the late afternoon.
Wednesday.
Morning: Presentation of camp program: daily activities, outdoor visits, organization of housekeeping management in shifts.
Afternoon: Guided Visit to the Pomposa Abbey. A religious and historical place of interest located some kilometers from the sea. The Abbey is famous for its wall paintings dating back from the Middle Ages.
Thursday
Morning: presentation of Federgev Emilia Romagna, the partner association of this project. Federgev Emilia Romagna is an accreditated association of the National Civil Protection and it had been an important role in the relief activities in the areas of Central Italy affected by the earthquake. The participants had the opportunity to learn more about National Civil Protection, its institutional tasks and its methodology to intervene in natural disasters.
Afternoon: visit to the Dunes of Massanzatica. Not far from the location of the camp, it is an example of the local eco system in the Po Delta, the most important river in Italy. An eco guide illustrated to participants the geological explanation of the dunes and the main specimen of the local flora. Participants had been involved in an environmental care activity as the eradication of weed plants.
Friday
Morning: Federgev Emilia Romagna involved participants in an environmental education activity in the local Forest of Porporana, an area near the city but with a high environmental value, biodiversity tanks and ecological nodes important for its maintenance. Participants had been involved in cleaning some areas and paths of the Forest from garbage.
Afternoon: visit to a local center of environmental protection, the Nutcracker center. Activity of wooden bird nest restoration and installation.
Saturday
Morning: guided visit of the city of Comacchio. A small city far few kilometers from the sea that is famous for the canals that cross the city center, like a small Venice. Visit to the local Museum of marinated fish: Comacchio is well-known for the breeding and the processing of the eels.
Afternoon: Free time at the beach.
Sunday
Federgev Emilia Romagna organized a visit to the Park of Gessi Bolognesi. The park, situated on the first hills of the city of Bologna, includes a strip of chalky outcrops, which gave birth to a karst complex of extreme interest. As far as the past mining activities are concerned, the Bolognese plaster is one of the main naturalistic areas of the region, with valleys, plateaus, rocky valleys and cliffs that shape the landscape and have a vegetation characterized by Mediterranean variety and species linked to higher altitudes.
Monday
Full day to the beach.
Tuesday
Guided visit to the city of Ferrara and its main famous monuments. The Castle and the Diamond Palace. The guide led participants through the city center and its Middle Ages and Renaissance districts.
Treasure hunt through the streets of the center.
Wednesday - Full day to the beach.
Thursday - Return to home. IBO staff and FederGev provided the transport.
Educators and participants have shared daily life and activities for over 7 days, creating new relations and friendships. Each participant has brought an adding value, with his/her experiences, expectations, attitudes as, for example, the two boys of the second shift camp who often played music with their accordions in the evenings.
Thanks to GlobalGiving and all our donors to support this opportunity for young people from Central Italy!
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