Forest of Montopoli

Nowadays we know that trees positively affect the environment we live in by moderating the climate, improving air quality, reducing the flow of rainwater and the concentration of CO₂ in air. Quantifying the benefits that plants give is an extraordinary tool to understand how important our natural heritage is. The reforestation project starts from the idea of  regenerating a former industrial area in the Municipality of Montopoli, previously used for intensive pig farming, and to calculate the environmental benefits. The project foresees the maintenance of the existing trees, the rest of the surface is intended for the consolidation of new trees: some of medium size, some forest plants and finally some woody cuttings of fast-growing species. The idea is to create a new wooded area, which can be visited thanks to a path that minimizes its impact on the ground surface but allows people to live an experience in contact with nature, with the goal to raise awareness and trigger virtuous behaviors towards the environment and the territory. The project includes a wooden walkway that winds along the length of the area and that connects a set of elements also made of wood including a ring between the foliage, an observation tower, a classroom, a rest deck, a natural amphitheater and the recovery of the existing tanks in which aquatic plants will be planted. The result will be an immersive journey into nature that will develop in the middle of a constantly evolving forest. The walkway runs both on the ground and suspended on pilotis at about 2.70 meters high to allow those who visit the forest to immerse themselves in nature from completely new points of view and invade the wooded area as little as possible. The path intentionally covers an infinitesimal area with respect to the forest, precisely to let the process of re-naturalization take place undisturbed and the visitor can bear witness to this rebirth. The path is thus a unique and enveloping experience, interspersed with elements that from time to time become new connections with the territory and the forest.