The “Navi di Maggio” initiative took place on Tuesday 7 May at the port of Livorno, an event, consolidated for years, aimed at students of city schools who had the opportunity to visit some boats equipped with the most modern technological instruments for the protection of the marine-coastal environment and to participate in environmental educational workshops set up at the Old Fortress.
The event is part of the European Sea Day program – “Italian Port Days” with the aim of raising citizens’ awareness of the importance of the oceans and seas, involving young people in particular and was organized by the Authority Port System of the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea in collaboration with the Port Authority of Livorno, ARPAT, Guardia di Finanza, CNR-IBE, ISPRA, Fire Brigade, Consorzio Castalia, F.lli Neri, Impresa Tito Neri, Labromare and Port of Livorno 2000.
During the morning, around a hundred students from the “Cappellini” Nautical Institute, the “Razzauti” primary school and the “Michelangelo” secondary school took turns visiting the Polaris, the new ARPAT oceanographic vessel and the other dedicated vessels to control and safety services at sea and in the port of Livorno.
In small groups the kids boarded the new Polaris catamaran, specially designed for the scientific monitoring of the sea, and saw the instruments and specialist equipment (ROV, parametric probes, wire-guided camera, the Multi Beam Echo Sounder and the Side Scan Sonar) that the marine biologists of the Agency’s Sea Sector use to carry out the monitoring, control and sampling activities envisaged by the Marine Strategy on the marine and coastal waters of Tuscany, including the islands of the Archipelago, also through scuba diving.
The purposes of the investigation activity on biological and chemical matrices were illustrated to the students to detect, for example, contaminants in the water column, in pelagic habitats, in coastal sediments and also to investigate protected benthic species and map the conditions of the coral habitat, of the prairies of Posidonia oceanica as well as for the sampling of microplastics and waste floating in the sea, where the presence of plastic waste is constantly increasing.
After the visit of the boats the students participated in the activities of the educational laboratories set up by ARPAT and CNR-IBE in the suggestive Canaviglia hall of the Fortezza Vecchia.
The marine biologists of the ARPAT marine sector have set up two laboratories dedicated to Posidonia oceanica and at the Pelagos Sanctuary “the home of the cetaceans”.
In the table dedicated to Posidonia oceanica the children interacted with the biologist to understand his fundamental role. Posidonia is not an algae, but a marine plant endemic to the Mediterranean that forms extensive prairies and is a tireless producer of oxygen, a refuge for numerous species of animals and a natural barrier against the erosive action of the sea. The students were able to observe how ARPAT monitors the health of the posidonia meadows in the Tuscan sea.
Finally, the important role of posidonia leaves was underlined, which we often find accumulated on our beaches. They represent neither waste nor a sign of degradation, but in addition to slowing down the erosive action of the sea, they are an indication of high environmental quality. signaling the presence and proximity of lush meadows of this marine plant.
To stimulate the participation of the children, there were moments of play with quizzes on the marine ecosystem and biodiversity.
The other table was dedicated to the Pelagos Sanctuary, the “home of the cetaceans”, a protected area which includes all of Tuscany, and the species that populate it. The children enthusiastically listened to the marine biologist who illustrated the various species of large marine cetaceans and turtles and were able to touch first-hand some of their bone finds recovered in recent years along the Tuscan beaches by ARPAT, in support of the regional network of the Tuscan Observatory for Biodiversity.
The students were particularly surprised to discover how the turtle Caretta caretta in recent years it has been nesting more and more on the beaches of our region. For this reason, the Agency, together with other partners, is participating in a specific European Life Turtlenest project to implement the protection of nesting sites and also raise awareness among tourists and swimmers to improve the conservation of this species of sea turtle.
The image gallery of the day (external link to the ARPAT flickr channel)
