In collaboration with ARPAL, we organised a laboratory dedicated to children between 11 and 19 years old at the Genoa Science Festival: an opportunity to learn how to navigatesafely in the Ligurian Sea, even if only virtually
The Genoa Science Festival is back again this year, and will be held between October 21 and November 1 in different areas of the city. This year’s theme is Maps, and the laboratory developed by CIMA Research Foundation in collaboration with ARPAL, the regional environmental protection agency, is dedicated to them: “Who wants to be a sailor” is a virtual mission at sea in which participants will have to make decisions on which routes to take, based on weather conditions and the potential impact on habitats and species encountered, both on the coast and in the open sea.
The workshop allows participants to discover the weather patterns and biological parameters that can influence the presence of cetaceans and marine biodiversity in a given area, thanks to the support of various multimedia materials. And then… the game begins! Participants are divided into two teams and become captains of a boat: they will have to arrive at the predetermined port through the safest route for navigation and for the preservation of the marine ecosystem, answering to the questions of a quiz!
The proposed activities arise within the Interreg SICOMAR Plus project, of which CIMA Foundation and ARPAL are partners, and represent one of the last steps of a path aimed at strengthening the safety of navigation in the cross-border area. The project, in fact, has led to the publication of two different studies, one dedicated to the analysis of the dynamics of the habitat of some cetacean species that inhabit the Pelagos Sanctuary, and the other to the identification of stable hotspots. The results of these works contribute to limit the risk of collisions, which represents a problem both for the conservation of cetaceans and for the vessels themselves; together, the studies help to identify the areas where cetaceans are concentrated, especially in certain periods of the year (for example during the summer, when in particular fin whales move to feed), and therefore represent an important support for the management of maritime traffic (we have talked about it here). The results of the studies have also been used for the development of specific training courses for maritime personnel and for students, technicians and researchers involved in marine weather monitoring, so as to make them a practical tool for experts in the field and those employed in this field.
The workshop that CIMA Research Foundation brings to the Genoa Science Festival is a further step in the dissemination of this knowledge. From publications and strictly scientific research activities, then passed on to experts in the field, in fact, the information about our sea and the cetaceans that inhabit it are now brought to the citizenship – and to the youngest, in particular – with the aim not only to provide the tools to enable the interpretation of models and maps, and to spread knowledge about the important ecological role of cetaceans, but also to understand the basis and the importance of protection and safety policies in an environment, the marine one, which is an integral part of the Ligurian environment.