Università Roma Tre

For Roma Tre module, seminars on the Goals offered from the University

For the module on Life and Earth Sciences
Each student can complete the familiarisation process with the goals of the Global Agenda 2030 by carrying out a circumscribed scientific and outreach activity in the Parco Regionale Tevere Magliana (on the right bank of the Tiber in the XI municipality). This area, on the basis of a series of scientific themes described below, is well suited to the application of some of the Agenda's sub-objectives in order to contribute to the cultural and naturalistic enhancement of the Park's territory.
1. The Park stretches for one kilometre on the right bank of the Tiber River behind an area of heavy urbanisation, identified as a marginal area of the city, where a well-managed green space and a place for cultural and naturalistic exploration could greatly benefit the wellbeing of the citizens of the district and beyond.
2. The Tiber River along the park has a particularly beautiful, well-preserved and clean natural bank, although it is located downstream from the city centre. Upstream of this, the construction of the anthropogenic embankment has reduced the hydrogeological risk of the neighbourhood behind it. In addition, a section of the Roma Sud cycle path, used by cyclists and for other sporting activities, is currently located on its summit.
3. The plants that currently populate the area come both from anthropogenic interventions and from the natural vegetation formation of the riparian environment. The anthropogenic interventions are recent: redevelopment from 2009 to 2014, including the creation of a system of cascading pools with a phyto-purification system, and historical, the Eucalyptus trees and the tree species of the genus Prunus. The historical interventions, dating back to the 19th century, are linked to the engineer Bonelli, to whom we owe part of the reclamation of the marshy "Due Torri" property, on which the Park area lies, with the use of impressive water-scooping systems and the subsequent use of the drained land for vegetable gardens (artichokes and other vegetables), vineyards and orchards. The endemic essences of the river environment are poplars and willows, mainly, and the perennial grasses Arundo donax and Phragmites australis. In the limited grasslands, wild grasses and brambles, some of which are weeds, contribute to making the Park a pleasant natural environment and an expression of a sought-after biodiversity.
4. In the area of the park next to the open-air theatre there are some sculptures made by the students of the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, with lithotypes from the nearby Colli Albani (evidence of the Latium volcano) and the Latium-Abruzzo Apennines (evidence of Meso-Cenozoic tetid marine environments). Their characterisation in terms of lithology, lithogenetics, geology and anthropogenic use is part of the tradition of the so-called geo-lithological open-air museums spread throughout the world for the dissemination of geological culture in the territories surrounding the cities that host them.

In summary, each student or small group of students can choose to carry out one of the following specific activities.
1. The census and GIS mapping of the essences present in the park, accompanied by a botanical and iconographic record. This material could be the basis for the creation of explanatory panels to be included in a botanical trail in the park and for the training of some students who, in the final phase of the course, could offer the public a programme of guided tours to discover the area.
2. Monitoring the environmental effectiveness of the phyto-purification plant.
3. The analysis of the Tiber river waters for the study of biodiversity and the pollutants they contain.
4. The analysis of the river system and of the natural and anthropic terracing with reference to the role that the river plays in the city. Particular attention will be paid to the anthropic modification of the area and its relationship with the distribution of the plant essences present.
5. Characterisation of the lithotypes used to create stone structures for the creation of a guided tour of them as evidence of the Meso-Cenozoic and Quaternary geological evolution of the Latium territory.
6. Air quality monitoring through the installation of solar-powered instrumentation, as part of a larger project that will begin in 2021 at Roma Tre.
7. Communication to the public of the scientific contents elaborated through the realisation of a conference at the end of the work, a series of guided visits, a video on the various phases of the project and on the events of interaction with the public.

Published and unpublished materials provided by the lecturer