An award ceremony for the certificates of merit assigned by the COMMON project as part of the Contest "We are all Med - Schools vs Marine Litter" aimed at raising awareness among schools towards the coastal pollution issues and proper waste management, was held this morning.

The representatives of Festambiente Legambiente and contact persons for the COMMON project, Valentina Mazzarelli, Melania Farnese and Angela Picciau, the Councilor for the Environment Elena Nappi, the head teacher Prof. Angelo Salvatore Costarella and the teachers and students who carried out the environmental education activities attended the event.

The Italian primary schools of Marina di Grosseto, Castiglione della Pescaia and Buriano, as part of a pilot area of the COMMON project, were awarded for the "Little friends of nature" project. The award-winning schools were selected for trying to develop common strategies to involve families and the community in student education, through the development of greater awareness of the impact of waste on ecosystems, especially aquatic ones, and of the importance of recycling as the main mitigation tool.

"In this first edition, the contest" We are all Med - Schools vs Marine Litter "- explained Valentina Mazzarelli, referent of the COMMON project for the pilot area of ​​Maremma - intended to enhance and support the commitment of schools in environmental education with reference to the fight against pollution of marine and coastal ecosystems and has seen similar initiatives in Tunisia and Lebanon, partner countries of the project. A job made even more complex by this pandemic. Environmental education and sustainable development in the various school levels and grades is however a fundamental tool for spreading that ecological awareness in the younger generations that will be able to condition current and future choices, also in the way of understanding and interpreting the development of this territory. In our area, the COMMON project is promoting awareness-raising and training activities on these issues aimed not only at the world of school, but also at local authorities and economic sectors. The We are all Med - Schools vs Marine Litter contest will also be re-launched in autumn 2021 and we invite Maremma schools to accept our invitation and join in large numbers ".

"There are moments in the daily life of a public administrator - explains Deputy Mayor Elena Nappi - when news like this arrives that makes you feel truly gratified in having contributed to the civic growth of your community, especially when it comes to younger children. The pupils of the kindergarten of the comprehensive school of Castiglione della Pescaia participated in the "Little Friends of Nature" project by winning the contest proposed by the COMMON project which aims to reduce marine litter using the principles of an integrated management in coastal areas. The attention that this municipal administration has shown for some time in the environmental field, with its many and continuous initiatives, has immediately involved the children and this certificate that comes from Legambiente is just one of the many confirmations. We were one of the first municipalities in Tuscany to become plastic free, but for us that was not a point of arrival, but a stage that now leads us to celebrate satisfied with how inside the schools, with the involvement of teachers, of the Municipality and of the families, we are all increasingly responsible for environmental protection and the importance of recycling ».

Precisely by virtue of the commitment about Plastic Free and the constant support for environmental education initiatives and sustainable development activated in schools, the Municipality of Castiglione della Pescaia also received the certificate of merit We are all Med - Schools vs Marine Litter.