What colour is a tree?
It may seem like an obvious question, with an equally obvious answer.
And yet, with just a little imagination, that answer changes. Trees can be yellow, purple or red. They can grow from a leaf, a piece of recycled cardboard or the imprint of a child’s hand. They can even become a story waiting to be told.
That is exactly what happened in Carcare, a small Municipality in the Province of Savona, where creative workshops organised by CIMA Research Foundation for primary school pupils encouraged children to look at nature through a different lens.
“When we work with children, our goal is not simply to explain nature, but to help them experience it. If a tree becomes a colour, a game or a collaborative artwork, it also becomes something they remember and feel connected to,” says Barbara Alessandri, environmental educator at CIMA Research Foundation, who led the activities.
The workshop began with a song dedicated to trees. Children then discovered that everyday ingredients such as turmeric, paprika, chlorophyll, red cabbage, beetroot and coffee can be transformed into natural pigments. Finally, through bio-painting and creative recycling, each child created their own Fantasy Tree.
It was not a science lesson. Nor was it simply an art workshop.
It was both.
As they experimented, the children observed. As they created, they discovered that forests are much more than collections of trees. They are complex ecosystems that support biodiversity, regulate the climate, protect soils and contribute to reducing environmental risks. These concepts may seem abstract at first, but they become remarkably tangible when experienced through hands-on activities.
This is the essence of environmental education. It does more than communicate scientific knowledge – it builds relationships: between people and nature, between curiosity and understanding, between what we observe every day and what we gradually learn to appreciate. In doing so, the environment ceases to be merely something to study and becomes something we feel part of.
The workshops were organised as part of the activities promoted by the Environmental Education Centre (CEA) of Cairo Montenotte, in collaboration with the Municipality of Carcare, the Carcare Comprehensive School and ANFOR Liguria.
Earlier this year, to mark the International Day of Forests on 21 March, new tree species were planted in the school garden as part of the Municipality’s urban tree inventory project. A simple gesture, yet one that will continue to grow over time. Planting a tree means investing in the future, but it also means learning to see the places where we live with new eyes.
The workshop carried that message into the classroom.
Rather than being a one-off event, it formed part of a broader educational journey dedicated to environmental stewardship and biodiversity conservation. Because environmental awareness does not emerge all at once. It grows gradually – just like a tree.
And sometimes, it begins with nothing more than a splash of colour on a blank sheet of paper.
You can read more in Fantasy Trees on CIMA’s Art & Science website.
