Trees and new people for the planet
Francesco Ferrini
“Protecting the environment is the fundamental question of the era we’re living in, the one that will decide whether there’s still a place for mankind on this planet. Our future and that of all other creatures on Earth seem to be unbearably threatened by the constant attacks on the integrity of the natural balance, on the complex interactions between different species of plants and animals. In the years to come, protecting nature as a whole is going to become absolutely essential for the survival of the biological system with which we are inextricably linked.
Everything that belongs to the natural world is absolutely precious, and even if it seems otherwise, this is particularly obvious in the increasingly crowded urban ecosystems, where life’s available space is drastically reduced. Even in the urban agglomerations, every form of existence must be protected, birds, small mammals, micro-organisms in the soil and on plants, vegetation in general, trees and everything else, everything must be protected and cherished like a precious flower, because every part of the whole has an indispensable function. Suffice it to say that those who live next to vegetation, even if it is only the vegetation of a good park, are generally found to enjoy better health, and even to have a more efficient intestinal flora. We must fight back against the daily attacks on nature, the wild cementation, blow by blow, street by street, with green and peaceful resistance, in the metropolis, in the villages, where the possession of a botanical heritage is even more useful and necessary than outside the urban areas. There must be a reason why it has become a commonplace to speak of green gold. The search for global health must become our mantra, restoring the wellbeing of the planet, inside and outside the urban agglomerations, something that will then be returned to man and all living species.”
Among the topics covered: the minimum green requirement for a dignified human existence, defending biodiversity, the importance of trees in fighting pollution and mitigating the effects of climate change.
Biography – Professor Francesco Ferrini
Francesco Ferrini is full professor of Arboriculture and Arboreal Cultivation at the University of Florence. He is a former president of the Italian Society of Arboriculture and received the International Society of Arboriculture “L.C. Chadwick Award for Arboricultural Research” in 2010 and the ISA Award of Merit in 2019. He is a member of the Accademia dei Georgofili, the Accademia della Colombaria and the Accademia Italiana di Scienze Forestali. Coordinator of the Scientific Committee of GEA (Green Economy Agriculture), President of the Scientific Committee of the Academy of Biophilia, and President of the Pistoia Rural Nursery-Ornamental District since 2021. He has published about 380 papers, presenting research results at conferences in Italy and abroad. His books include Amico Albero (with A. Fini, ETS editions, 2017); A proposito di alberi (Giorgio Tesi Editore, 2018); The Earth Saved by Trees (with L. Del Vecchio, 2020), Green Resistance (with L. Del Vecchio, 2021) and Trees and New People for the Planet (with L. Del Vecchio, 2022) for Elliot Editions. He is co-author of the Handbook of Urban Forestry published by Routledge in 2017.
