The Value of Getting Your Hands Dirty: Landscape as Heritage in Education

The topic of landscape is not sufficiently addressed in the Italian school; the focus should include both the landscape perception and reading and the management and care activity. Peri-urban agricultural landscapes, often residual and degraded, can offer the opportunity to discover a heritage of tangible agricultural permanencies and intangible knowledge. They are ordinary places, close to schools and residences, often hidden in the dense city. An experiential activity was carried out during the recovery phases of the water meadows of the Lambro Park in Milan. The ancient farmers taught the gestures of ancient crafts to adults and children, thus encouraging intergenerational rapprochement between the elderly and young people and between farmers and citizens. While the restoration of this historic and identity agricultural common good of Milan agriculture was carried out, the basis for its management over time and its social sustainability were laid: people with fragility were employed, a professionalizing course for watermen was created and educational activities for students of various schools and different grades have been organized. The first results of the experimental activity conducted in 2022 are presented here.