Legambiente is one of the most important environmental organization in Italy. It was born in 1980 thanks to the first experience of ecological informal groups that were raised in the middle 70′. The organization counts on 115.000 members, +1000 local organizations, +30.000 young students involved in our environmental education activities. Think Globally, Act Locally: we try to make people understand that it is by making local changes that we can create a better environment for everyone on a global scale. Scientific Environmentalism: every initiative to defend the environment is carried out according scientific data. Every time we say ‘no’ to something that may be environmentally hazardous, we suggest concrete alternative.
Legambiente Prato, local group was born in the middle 80′. Since then it has pursuit many aims. Promotion of healthy life styles, Substainable development especially connected to the improvement of eco-touristic and naturalistic routes in local green areas, raising awareness on Climate Change, Carbon-based Economy and Lifestyles as well as active citizenship to promote inclusion and participation are important topics constantly developed by our local organization. Local citizenship and volunteers from all over the world are the main target we work with, focusing on youngster citizens like children, their families and students.
The regular activities we carried out are:
–> Environmental Education: We work all year long with thousands of students from ground to higher education level promoting educational workshops on Water, Energy, Climate Change and Biodiversity topics. We run out also Hiking and nature discover workshops for students and adult groups.
–> National Campaigns and local Festival: in order to raise awareness among citizens on crucial environmental topics, Legambiente Prato organizes thoughout the year many events which also takes place in all ItalY: “Clean up the world”, “Polluted Air- Mal’aria”- “Tree-fest” are just some examples of national campaigns taking place in Prato with the collaboration of local administration and other organizations. Local events like “Volunteerism Fest”, “Urban Eco festival”, “Energy days”, “Book-festival”, “chinese community festival” are public moment when Legambiente Prato can cooperate with other organizations and citizens bringing its expertice through workshops, seminars, infopoints on environmental topics as well as promoting its activities and volunteering programme we are involved in.
–> Rifugio Cascina Le Cave: Legambiente Prato manages a mountain hut in the biggest natural reserve of Province of Prato. This mountain hut offers a service of hostelling and restaurant to hikers and tourist and especially during spring and summer the main activities consists in promoting environmental education workshops and hiking routes for students, summer camps for children and youngesters. In the future we also want to organizae Youth Exchanges and Training Course under the Erasmus+ frame.
–> Erasmus+ programme: Legambiente Prato is an accreditated organization since Youth in Action programme. We have been hosted almost 40 EVS volunteers in the last 10 years, and sent to european organization more then 20 volunteers. We are currently promoting in our local area the opportunitunities for youngsters and youth workers related to Erasmus+ programme and in the next future we foreseen to enlarge our actions among this programme.
–> National and international workcamps: In the last 15 years we’ve been organizing several national an international workcamp which took place in the Province of Prato (Montemurlo, Vaiano, Cantagallo, Carmignano). Workcamp are a concrete example of civic engagment, revitalization of local communities and discovering of hidden beaty outside the classic touristic routes.
–> Local volunteerism and cooperation with other organizations: Legambiente Prato always try to work in cooperation with other local partners in order to raise creativity and ideas for promoting cultural life in our town. We cooperate with the local assembly of Youngsters, with a local children teatre which has been built in a old industrial court of Prato, book shops for children, organization dealing with environment, recycling, public commetee for the defence of garden and green areas of Prato. This are just some examples, our aims is to promote volunteerism and active citizenship as a learning tool to enrich the cultural experience and give, especially to younger members of our organization an oppotunity to raise their creativity, improve their entrepreneurship, which is necessary in the turning economy and social asset we’re currently living in. We are therefore involved in the promotion of structured volunteerism opportunities such as National Civil Service for italian and European volunteering Service for Italian applicants.
Executive Board
President: Giacomo Agabio
Executive members: Ilaria Protti (vice-president), Paolo Balestri, Elena Canna, Maria Rita Cecchini, Tommaso Chiani, Giulia Padovani, Andrea Scarimbolo, Marco Monzali