Italy
participants
The main goal of the activity was to educated erasmus students on biodiversity and on alien (invasive) species through a lecture and field experience. There was also a secondary goal: the cleaning of the area of the park where we went for our activities.
The activity was organized in a park in Modena that presents a very evident presence of invasive fauna in its ponds. In particular nutrias (Myocastor coypus) and yellow-eared turtles (Trachemys scripta).
The activity consisted in a picnic followed by the cleaning of the area of the park where we were seated. During and after the picnic the volunteers explained to the Erasmus the damages that the invasive species can do, with a particular focus on the wetlands of the Po Valley. Then the erasmus students were encuraged to observe the invasive species with their own eyes. There was also a brief explanation of the ecological role of the endemic species of bird that lived in the park like the waterhen (Gallinula chloropus) and the common mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).
