“Urban trees: measuring their contribution to the heat island mitigation to improve citizens awareness and good practices" Wednesday 5 th of May the Professor Flaminia Ventura, Coordinator of the Project LIFE CLIVUT, and the Professor Fabio Orlandi of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the University of Perugia presented the Project LIFE CLIVUT to the students of the “School of Architecture Urban Planning Construction Engineering” of the Politecnico Milano, within the Master “Landscape Architecture. Land Landscape Heritage”. The Professor Nerantzia, teacher of the Course “European Landscape Politics and Projects”, invited the LIFE CLIVUT Team to present the Objectives and Actions of the Project to the Italian and International students of her Course.

During the lesson Professor Ventura and Orlandi shown the LIFE CLIVUT methodology used to calculate the ecosystem services of urban trees in the Mediterranean cities (CO2 stock, PM10 sequestration, temperature and Urban Heath Island mitigation) and the use of these evaluation for the management and planning of Green Infrastructures.

In addition, LIFE CLIVUT Team underlined the role of citizens in the collection of the datas needed for these evaluations and in particular the role of students of all school degrees, local Associations and Professionals who deal with public and private green. The Project is based on the “Citizens Science” approach, in order to involve citizens in the assess and promote their knowledge and awareness on the ongoing climate change, on its impact in the city and on the role of trees in the mitigation in the mitigation of climate emergency and encourage good practice for greenhouse gas decrease.

Finally, Professor Orlandi illustrated the role of the monitoring of ornamental trees phases in order to evaluate their adaptation to climate change and to the Heath Island Phenomenon. Hence, the LIFE CLIVUT Project realized in the four pilot cities three Phenological Gardens, used for Research and learning goals, and monitored by Project Staff and student as well.