This project has been developed within the Bosch Alumni Network (BAN) and financially supported by the International Alumni Center Berlin (IAC).
Rewildfires is one of the recipients of the network's grant for the 2022 Open Call for Sustainable Living Spaces.
Rewildfires is one of the recipients of the network's grant for the 2022 Open Call for Sustainable Living Spaces.
The project’s objective is to understand how Rewilding and forest shepherding can both streamline into creating
mosaic landscapes, in order to make Sicily not only resilient to wildfires but also a wilder place supported by its human communities.
Reasons for wildfires in Sicily are concentrated in the nexus of landscapes affected by three crucial factors: political and economic conflicting interests, the lack of balanced wild landscapes and poorly managed livestock which all three result in a high frequency of wildfires and landscapes prone to wildfires.
mosaic landscapes, in order to make Sicily not only resilient to wildfires but also a wilder place supported by its human communities.
Reasons for wildfires in Sicily are concentrated in the nexus of landscapes affected by three crucial factors: political and economic conflicting interests, the lack of balanced wild landscapes and poorly managed livestock which all three result in a high frequency of wildfires and landscapes prone to wildfires.
Project Timeline
The project includes an ongoing research phase as well as punctual method jams for system thinking training. Two milestones consist of a webinar and a field trip to Sicily with all experts visiting local sites.
1
Method Jams
With the help of our Method Advisor Ara, we explore systems mapping and arranging the ongoing research into a tangible visual map.
2
Webinar (July 2022)
Our local and international experts held a webinar offering their knowledge and experience on the context of Sicily regarding the research topic, fire ecology and grazing, and how Rewilding can be our ally.
3
Field Trip (November 2022)
The team goes for a 5-day field trip around Sicily exploring relevant sites, meeting people and projects and understanding opportunities for intervention through workshops.
Webinar
Speakers share their experience and knowledge on the complex and interconnected dynamics of wildfires, ecosystems and herbivores in three exciting inputs.
Rewildfires Webinar – Recording (28.07.2022)
Salvatore Bondì & Enrico Guzzo
Bird species and landscapes, a focus on Sicilian wildfires
David Martín
Fire Ecology, Silvopasturalism and Sustainable Land Management
Wouter Helmer
Rewilding; wilder nature as our ally
Bird species and landscapes, a focus on Sicilian wildfires
David Martín
Fire Ecology, Silvopasturalism and Sustainable Land Management
Wouter Helmer
Rewilding; wilder nature as our ally
Field Trip
Together with our expert guest we're travelling around Sicily 16-20th November to visit sites of interest and people of practice.
Rewildfires itinerary field trip
1) Caseificio delle Scale // Rosella
Rosella is one out of four women shepherds in Sicily. With her over 80 goats and some sheep she practices traditional grazing practices in the close-by mountain area around Palermo.
Further links: Facebook page, Slow Food
2) Bosco di Ficuzza // Rafael
Rafael takes us on a guided tour through the last integral forest ecosystem on the West side of Sicily: Bosco di Ficuzza. He studied this particular silvo-pastoral system over time and its impact on today.
Further links: publication on Bosco di Ficuzza, LIFE Desert Adapt project
3) Geloi Wetland // Manuel
This site is for sure the excellence project which goes towards Rewilding! They are managing ca. 150 hectares and created a true bird sanctuary situated within one of Sicily’s most polluted areas and heavily affected by intense agriculture.
Further links: website
4) Azienda Agr. Mistretta // Giusj
This farm manages a rather large territory and produces mainly olive oil. They also have various livestock including cows and sheep. Despite their non-burning practice they have not implemented any regenerative grazing practices yet.
Further links: Facebook page
5) Periferica // Carlo
Casa Periferica is a place for research, design and development. A space of over five thousand square meters regenerated into a cultural park and community hub, where organizations and people come together to share innovation, culture, art and sociality. Here is hosted the public event of Rewildfires!
Further links: website
Movimento Antincendio Ibleo (MAI) // Giovanni
The Movimento Antincendio Ibleo (MAI) is an informal and spontaneous citizen movement dedicated to the protection of the Ibleo mountains situated in the South East of Sicily
Further links: Linktree
Coordinamento Salviamo i Boschi // Mariangela
It unites several associations and informal citizen groups and puts forward their concerns and claims on a political level. Despite the detailed dossier with concrete suggestions and the numerous signatures supporting it via change.org, the political response has been disappointing.
Further links: website, petition, Facebook page
Rosella is one out of four women shepherds in Sicily. With her over 80 goats and some sheep she practices traditional grazing practices in the close-by mountain area around Palermo.
Further links: Facebook page, Slow Food
2) Bosco di Ficuzza // Rafael
Rafael takes us on a guided tour through the last integral forest ecosystem on the West side of Sicily: Bosco di Ficuzza. He studied this particular silvo-pastoral system over time and its impact on today.
Further links: publication on Bosco di Ficuzza, LIFE Desert Adapt project
3) Geloi Wetland // Manuel
This site is for sure the excellence project which goes towards Rewilding! They are managing ca. 150 hectares and created a true bird sanctuary situated within one of Sicily’s most polluted areas and heavily affected by intense agriculture.
Further links: website
4) Azienda Agr. Mistretta // Giusj
This farm manages a rather large territory and produces mainly olive oil. They also have various livestock including cows and sheep. Despite their non-burning practice they have not implemented any regenerative grazing practices yet.
Further links: Facebook page
5) Periferica // Carlo
Casa Periferica is a place for research, design and development. A space of over five thousand square meters regenerated into a cultural park and community hub, where organizations and people come together to share innovation, culture, art and sociality. Here is hosted the public event of Rewildfires!
Further links: website
Movimento Antincendio Ibleo (MAI) // Giovanni
The Movimento Antincendio Ibleo (MAI) is an informal and spontaneous citizen movement dedicated to the protection of the Ibleo mountains situated in the South East of Sicily
Further links: Linktree
Coordinamento Salviamo i Boschi // Mariangela
It unites several associations and informal citizen groups and puts forward their concerns and claims on a political level. Despite the detailed dossier with concrete suggestions and the numerous signatures supporting it via change.org, the political response has been disappointing.
Further links: website, petition, Facebook page
Outputs
Within the project cycle, three main outputs will be produced and shared. As a wider outcome, we hope to set a starting point for the next project cycle including the implementation of interventions, capacity building and exchange between partners, the involvement of the local community and the creation of an international consortium.
Systems Map
Mapping elements, flows and stakeholders in order to identify risks and opportunities for interventions.
Action List
Clustering the identified opportunities according to their potential impact and effort in order to condense them into a list of recommended actions.
Toolkit
A step-by-step documentation toolkit to enable other Mediterranean communities struggling with wildfires to carry out the same research process.
Team
Very happy to present the people who shaped Rewildfires who are bringing together vast experience and knowledge from international and local perspectives. Note: all partners are involved as individuals and not on behalf of their respective organisations.
- Wouter HelmerRewilding ExpertWouter has worked his entire professional life to put rewilding visions into practice. To achieve this he co-founded several organizations and companies like ARK Nature, FREE Nature and Rewilding Europe. He is currently available as an advisor on innovative hands-on initiatives at the interface between nature and society.
(picture (c) Rob Buiter) - David MartínPau Costa FoundationDavid is an environmental scientist with a strong interest in wildfire management. His areas of specialisation are biodiversity management and integrative wildfire management, the latter concerned with both the ecological and the operational management of wildfires.
- Salvatore BondìConservationistTotò has been working as conservationist, nature guide and scientific researcher before facilitating courses around permaculture related practices. He collects his experiences in the blog Saturi di Natura.
- Enrico GuzzoConservationistEnrico has a background in conservation biology (avian biodiversity in cliffs); he conducts environmental assessments for green energy and facilitation in small local realities that develop good practices and an ecological approach, regenerating urban ecosystems and agro-ecosystems.
- Georg MessererNature Guide & EcologistGeorg is a qualified Wilderness Trails Guide. He has spent the last 6 years guiding and training in the Bison rewilding landscape in the Tarcu mountains, Romania. He has been instrumental in developing nature based experiences in collaboration with locals and the local organisation WeWilder.
Guillem Armengol
Pau Costa FoundationAs a project technician Gauillem is in charge of coordinating and executing different projects and initiatives related to landscape management through extensive livestock farming and forest fire prevention, looking for an integral and dynamic management with the main territorial actors.- Ara NazinyanMethodology AdvisorAra is a Disaster Risk Governance Expert, and currently working for the United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia. Ara has been working with the UNDP and World Bank offices in Armenia, Albania, and Central Asia countries.
- Hanna RasperProject CoordinationHanna is a Designer for Social Impact. She develops free research projects with a strong emphasis on co-creation and participation. She is part of the Bosch Alumni Network.
- Giuseppe ScandoneProject TeamMedYWat (Mediterranean Youth for Water Network) Coordinator, Environmental Specialist and High School Teacher. BAN member and Regional Coordinator Italy.
- Giorgia FloroProject TeamArchitect, facilitator and independent researcher, expert in urban regeneration projects and strategies, with a focus on
sustainable mobility and the reuse of abandoned spaces. BAN member and Regional Coordinator Italy. - Giuseppe De SimoneProject TeamLegal representative of the Bellevue Association - Public Officials Together for Europe (BAFE), Customs officer proudly Sicilian. BAN member and Regional Coordinator Italy.
Rewildfires Newsletter
Sometimes it's hard to keep track of ongoing research. That's why we started a micro-newsletter, enjoy the read!
July 2022
Rewildfires News#1
We met some stakeholders from the field, went to a conference on wildfires in Sicily, wrote the first edition of the Sicily Dossier, had the introductory session on Systems Thinking with Ara, set dates for the webinar and field trip, started spreading the word online, met with Totò and Enrico – and we have a brand new logo!
READ NOW
September 2022
Rewildfires News#2
our milestone Rewildfires Webinar has been completed, we accompanied Enrico and Totò for some ecological monitoring, Rewildfires will be represented at the Fire Across Boundaries conference in Florence, we started mapping the territory as potential visit points for the upcoming field trip and last but not least – learned about some shocking trivia!
READ NOW
Ressources
Here is just a short overview of resources we came across our research and are more than worth sharing. Enjoy!
- Piano regionale Anti Incendio Boschivo (AIB) 202020
- L’Italia in fumo: Gli incendi del patrimonio naturale, i fattori di rischio e le proposte di Legambiente (2022)
- Feuerfront Südeuropa, NZZ Front, available on Vimeo (2021)
- Rewilding Europe: making Europe a wilder place
- GrazeLIFE: Grazing for wildfire prevention, ecosystem services, biodiversity and landscape management
- Rafael da Silveira Bueno, Daniel García, Mauro Galetti, Tommaso La Mantia, Trophic and spatial complementarity on seed dispersal services by birds, wild mammals, and cattle in a Mediterranean woodland pasture, Global Ecology and Conservation, Volume 31, 2021
- Pau Costa Foundation: raise awareness, research and manage forest fires and major disasters
- Saturi di Natura: il blog che parla di Natura a 360°
Sicily Dossier
In the beginning of our research we collected some of the essential information about Sicily to make the local context graspable for our partners. The result: our quick Sicily Dossier!
Incomplete Systems Mapping
The insights collected from desk research and talking with local people and international experts, we arranged in this interactive systems map.
Parlano di noi!
A collection of press articles about Rewildfires.
- Madonie Live (08.11.2022) Re-wildfires, contrastare gli incendi boschivi
- Telesud Trapani (08.11.2022) Mappare il fenomeno degli incendi boschivi in Sicilia e contrastarlo tramite la filosofia del Rewilding
- Palermo Today (08.11.2022) Pastorizia e paesaggi selvatici per prevenire gli incendi nei boschi: studiosi a confronto sul rewilding
- TP24 (10.11.2022) La lotta agli incendi boschivi in Sicilia con la pastorizia e la ri-naturalizzazione animale
Get in touch!
+49 171 295 71 31
rasper.hanna@gmail.com
rasper.hanna@gmail.com
Hanna Rasper
Palermo, Sicily
Palermo, Sicily
