Turin school builds a Nature Classroom

It is one of the first twelve in Italy to implement this WWF initiative

Last week, the IC Salvemini school in Turin inaugurated its WWF Nature Classroom (or Aula Natura) as a way of combining education and a healthy environment. It is also a way of making better use of schoolyards, which are often neglected and underutilized. The school administration is optimistic that the open-air classroom concept will stimulate the curiosity of the primary school pupils and help them feel engaged and comfortable with the green environment and its dynamics.

There are 40,000 schoolyards in Italy alone

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) wants to introduce nature in the urban nooks and crannies, and it has zeroed in on one of the best spots where this will take root, both literally and figuratively speaking – the schoolyards.

Currently, in Italy, there are more than 40,000 schoolyards, according to WWF. Many stay completely unused or not usable, or they are nothing more than a small concrete ground, used only for short recreation activities.

The IC Salvemini Classroom was created by reproducing natural environments of the region, with the aim of creating biodiversity. It is located on an area of 230 square metres and counts with bird nest-houses, feeders and plants that attract pollinating insects. Students will be able to try their hand at numerous activities and stimulate their senses by discovering a world previously unknown to them through fun and games.

It is located in a garden on Via Coggiola where a pond has been created, bordered by shrubs and flower beds with aromatic plants and tall trees. There, children can, in an authentically green spirit, recover their contact with nature without leaving the city, according to the philosophy that the school has been promoting for some time.

The space inaugurated in Turin is one of the first twelve of the fifty such nature classrooms that will be built throughout Italy by 2024.