TRAINING AND DISSEMINATION
Communication activities involve all partners. They aim to give visibility to the SiMaSeed PLUS project and to transfer knowledge and skills in the field of sustainable ecological restoration in areas of the Natura 2000 network.
SiMaSeed PLUS also aims to transfer the knowledge necessary for the ex situ and in situ conservation of plant resources to the technical/scientific staff of the project partners.
To achieve this objective, training courses were organized by the Germplasm Bank of the University of Catania, both in its laboratories and in the field.
In the laboratories the training focused on the ex situ conservation of genetic plant resouces while in the field (Natura 2000 site “Isola di Panarea e Scogli Viciniori”) the training included practical tasks on alien plant species eradication, selection of suitable sites for plant translocaton and the reinforcement and reintroduction of Anthemis aeolica.
The conservation actions carried out during SiMaSeed PLUS and the scientific results obtained have been presented at international conferences such as:
- XV International Seminar Biodiversity Management And Conservation “Plant ecology and conservation in the Mediterranean area”. Linguaglossa (Sicily), ITALY / June 6th 10th 2023 from 6th to 10th June 2023;
- Island Biology 2023. Ecological and Evolutionary Processes on Real and Habitat Islands. 4th Conference of the Society of Island Biology (2-7 July 2023, Lipari, Italy).
- 4th Mediterranean Plant Conservation Week, Valencia Spain 23 to 27th October.
- 10th World SER Conference 2023, Darwin, Australia. 6th to 9th November, 2023 Online presentation
During the project activities, several seminars were organized aimed at university and secondary school students:
- From April to June 2023, 17 students from the Bachelor’s Degree Course in Biological Sciences (University of Catania), received training on the techniques for germplasm conservation;
- In April 2023, 20 students from the Secondary School Liceo “Boggio Lera” of Catania, visited the laboratories of the germplasm Bank of the University of Catania and participated to a seminar dedicated to the SiMaSeed PLUS project;
- From 5th to 13th June 2023 a theoretical-practical seminar, “Methodologies” for the estimation of genetic variability in endemic species threatened with extinction: the case study of Anthemis aeolica”, was realized at the Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences of the University of Catania. It was attended by 20 students from the Degrees Courses on Biology, Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences, Experimental and Applied Biology, Environmental and Natural Sciences,
- Internships at the germplasm Bank of the University of Catania interested 4 students from the BSc Degree Courses in Biology and in Environmental and Natural Sciences and 2 students from the MSc Degree Courses in Experimental and Applied Biology and in Environmental Biology.
SiMaSeed PLUS participates in the 2023 edition of the European Researchers’ Night (Sharper Night 2023), bringing the actions of the project and the activities of the Germplasm Banks to the streets.
