Here we are again with our Big Green Footsteps, ready to work hard for this last year of project.

The following will also be the year of EXPO, “Nutrire il Pianeta, energia per la vita” or “feeding the Planet: energy for life” which as you know will take place in Milan and will be focused on biodiversity.  Many schools, included us, will be involved in didactical projects related to the main topics of EXPO. You can have a look to the English version of the site:

  http://www.expo2015.org/en/index.html

So we found an interesting connection between Big Green Footsteps and this important event and we decided to dedicate part of our work to biodiversity of spices and aromatic plants. We liked the idea of spices because we can do lot of different things with them. We can play with the senses, smell them, touch them, eat them, appreciate their vivid colors; collect them and let them dry or draw them, making your own herbal; cultivate them even at the hospital in little green houses; consider their origin which sometimes is very far from Europe and study their commerce during the ages: the quest of spices often opened new commerce roads and encouraged explorations; we can translate Roman or Greek texts to see how spices were used in ancient times: for example the precious saffron (which today is used mainly for risotto) was used to tint the matrons hair or textiles, or to make drugs, and its flower protected the newlyweds.

On Wednesday 1^st of October our science teacher Paola started with a wonderful lesson in the NP ward and on Friday we went out with a little group of students: we visited the market place near the hospital (which some of you visited last May) taking note of the seasonal fruits and their prices. Then we walked to Eataly, which is a very famous mall, comprising a variety of restaurants, food and beverage stations, bakery, and food items with a particular focus on territory and biodiversity. There we had a long stop at the spices corner: an inusual lesson plunged in a sea of different colours and of intense scents and fragrances.