DIDACTIC PARK

The Didactic Park was the first created in Italy and has been working now since 1985. The natural environment surrounding the Ex-Abattoir constitutes an essential oasis for the city. Thanks to academic experts support and following what has been done in others European countries, the area is now specialized in environmental education. Children groups, foreign workshops and associations have been working in order to provide the environment and the tools necessary to an ecological and territorial study: forest and hedge, pond, biological crop, aromatic herbs, weaving, greenhouse, open school... The whole backed up by a large library, mineralogy room, exhibition hall and a food process laboratory. The didactic park acts also as a model: several schools in Veneto have already followed the initiative. Elementary and secondary schools attend to the lessons daily, training courses for teachers and consultancy services are also available. The didactic park was decisive when the National Council for Environmental Education chose the Cultural Workshop as its head office. The lessons are based both on experience and observation, they constitute a first approach to ecology, to a territorial study and provide a general environmental education: Pond Ecosystem, Forest Environment, Land's Life, Bread and Diet, Biological Crop at school, Caves in Event (organized by CAI Speleological Group). Every morning during the summer and in the afternoon the rest of the year, the Park becomes the place where children can gather after school. Under a qualified supervision, they express their creativity in the different workshops available.