It’s been a pleasure to work along with the team of local volunteers. We've taken the opportunity to brainstorm about the role of art in raising awareness of sustainable initiatives and discussed various ways to combine art and local programmes focused on ecological conservation.
The Aeolian Islands are registered as UNESCO World Natural Heritage and maybe because it's an island with very limited resources, there seems to be a greater awareness of everyone's role in society with regards to ecological practices. Also because people understand that in most cases, they attract savings. For example, there is a great awareness of limiting the use of water, electricity and absolutely everyone here recycles. Solar panels are widely used, and fishermen follow strict governmental guidelines. Plastic in the ocean however, is still a great issue worldwide, including here.
So it’s been a tough morning under the Sicilian sun but at least 10 bags of rubbish were collected along the shore and surrounding areas of a small beach here in Lipari Island. Mostly small plastic pieces, bottle lids and pieces of fishing nets were found, which at especially dangerous for the fish, birds and turtles.
Looking forward to meeting more locals and getting involved in multidisciplinary initiatives involving art. Stay tuned to get to know how.
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