Nature Based Solutions on the river environment: an example of cross-disciplinary sustainable management, with local community active participation and visual art as science transfer tool

Abstract

An attempt to link phytomanagement, art and social involvement is presented. The “Remediation” Project started up from the search of sustainable solutions for the management of a riparian area in the city of Rome. With the participation of citizens, researchers carried out a preliminary survey on the presence of metals within the target ecosystem and a demonstrative experiment on phytoremediation. Several social and cultural events have been organized in connection with the scientific part of the project: a public debate, an art exposition, a performance and two workshops at the experimental field. The Project demonstrated that through art it is possible to raise curiosity on scientific issues; the participated survey on metal pollution highlighted the strict interconnection among environmental matrices (soil/water/bioma) and thus the risk of contamination transfer; the demonstrative experiment, even if very basic in order to be easily approached by citizens, showed the great potential of Nature Based Solutions.

Keywords:

• Nature Based Solutions
• environmental art
• citizen science
• phytoremediation
• art and science

Acknowledgements

The Remediation project was part of EUREKA! ROMA 2019, promoted by the Municipality of Rome (Roma Capitale) and realized in collaboration with SIAE. Authors wish to thank the Climate Art Project, Auditorium Parco della Musica, Insieme per l’Aniene Onlus, Idroponica spa, Extinction Rebellion Rome and the Smart Contemporary Art Foundation. We also thank Sara Alberani, Anna Cestelli and everyone involved in the project.

Author contributions

A.C. conceived and coordinated the project “Remediation,” created and organized the performance and the installations at Auditorium Complex; L.P. supervised and performed the experimental work on plant growth and coordinated the manuscript redaction and submission; S.R. and E.A. organized the soil sampling procedures and carried out chemical analysis; M.C. and P.B. coordinated and realized the pilot experiment on phytoremediation and performed the data elaboration; all authors wrote the paper as regards their part.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).