Article written by the students of the PCTO of the Liceo Archimede of Acireale with the youth mountaineering group of the CAI Section of Acireale
The students of the PCT project of the Liceo Scientifico Statale Archimede of Acireale in agreement with the CAI Section of Acireale, with Professor Felicia Cutolo (Asag member and companion of the Section) as tutor, together with junior members and eaglets of the sections of Acireale, Bronte and Catania participated in the “Unna mountain of health” excursion, which the Medical Commission of the CAI Sicily, adhering to the initiative of the Central Medical Commission within the Festival of Sustainable Development 2024 of ASviS (spread throughout Italy in the period from 7 to 23 May 2024) organized in the Timpa Falconiera of Santa Tecla (La Timpa Oriented Nature Reserve of Acireale), with the patronage of Cai Sicilia and with the participation of Cnsas and Otto Ag Sicilia.
There were many participants… more than 70 members and supporters.
The Dr. Antonino Cucuccio, presenting the aims of the Central and Peripheral Medical Commission, brought the greetings of the president of the Ccm Carla D’Angelo, of the colleagues of the Medical Commission of the Cao Sicilia (Franz Zipper, Guglielmo La Bruto, Filippo Zerilli, Maurizio Famoso) and of the president regional CAI Sicily Francesco Cascio which was followed by the interventions of the president of the Acireale section, Salvatore La Rosa, of the representative of the TAM group of the Acireale section, Edoardo Boi, of the representatives of the Alpine Rescue Alessandro Bella and Alfio Ferrara, of the president of Otto Ag Sicily Umberto Marino.
The excursion was very interesting for us young people: it had naturalistic, geo-volcanological, history and local traditions values with the testimony of botanical experts, local historians, farmers and beekeepers. We were thus able to get to know our territory better and appreciate its intrinsic characteristics! We all found ourselves together for a nice Santa Tecla walk on the Timpa Falconiera, not only to promote psychophysical health and individual well-being, but also to raise awareness among all of us on issues such as sustainability, the protection of biodiversity and habitats, respect of the environment and the damage that we very often, even unconsciously, do to it. Well, the great challenge of our 21st century is to provide equal opportunities for growth simultaneously with both economic development and environmental conservation. If we do not want to compromise the possibility of future generations to continue to develop, we must reduce the current anthropic environmental impact and adopt a model of sustainable development based on the protection of the territory and its resources, this excursion must also serve this purpose.
But the most important theme of the day was the promotion of health, an indicator recognized in objective 3 “Health and well-being” of the 2030 Agenda. In particular, correct behavior and lifestyle habits affect our health. Furthermore, in the era of climate change due to global warming caused by the greenhouse effect and the hole in the ozone layer, as we have already said, it is even more evident that health is conditioned by the environment and that a healthy lifestyle is fundamental for your physical and mental well-being.
So let’s take care of ourselves and save the planet from climate change as soon as possible!
The Dr. Antonino Cucuccio (president of the Cai Sicilia Medical Commission) addressing young people indicated some rules of lifestyle and physical activity “Walking safely is good for the body, mind and soul (if in company and in the mountains even better ).
He then focused on the importance of a balanced diet and correct hydration and on the advice to avoid cigarette smoking, substances of abuse and alcohol due to the harmful effects on health and in particular in adolescence on a brain at the moment of maximum growth and plasticity.
