Fondazione Mission Bambini and Mediobanca join forces for the environment, planting a thousand trees at Gaggiano near Milan
Fifty Mediobanca Group staff involved in the initiative, developed in conjunction with Associazione Selva Urbana
Gaggiano (Milan), 22 November 2022 – a thousand new trees have been planted at Gaggiano, on the outskirts of Milan, through the combined efforts of Fondazione Mission Bambini and the Mediobanca Group. Fifty of the Bank’s staff gave up a day’s work to take part in the company volunteering exercise to plant different types of native trees to reforest two areas in the municipality of Gaggiano, namely Orti San Vito and Vigano-Zona Industriale. The initiative was developed in conjunction with Associazione Selva Urbana, which handled the process of mapping out the territory and identifying the most suitable areas for reforestation, and with the town council of Gaggiano.
The partnership between Fondazione Mission Bambini and the Mediobanca Group was launched at the start of 2021, with an inclusive education project for over 700 children and young people at two schools in disadvantaged areas in and around Milan. The project also included providing psychological and emotional support for the children by redeveloping the outside areas from an educational perspective and enhancing the schools’ provision in terms of computer equipment. The activity formed part of an innovative format devised by Fondazione Mission Bambini known as Social Team Building, addressed to companies to help them combine corporate volunteering with training, and this new reforestation activity forms part of the same project.
“We are pressing on with our commitment to combine education and the environment: together with the Mediobanca Group and Associazione Selva Urbana, we have planted another thousand trees on the outskirts of Milan, which will not only improve the air quality in the area, but will also become an educational opportunity for schoolchildren here. The news stories we read every day remind us continually how important it is to teach our children and young people about the need to protect biodiversity and nature”, said Goffredo Modena, Chairman of Fondazione Mission Bambini.
“We’re delighted to be promoting this new reforestation activity in conjunction with Mission Bambini, as further confirmation of our commitment to the fight against climate change. Our efforts in this area have been supported by the involvement of our Group colleagues, who have taken part enthusiastically in all the reforestation initiatives we have promoted at national level in recent years”, added Giovanna Giusti del Giardino, Head of Group Sustainability at Mediobanca.
Gaggiano is one of the outlying municipalities in the suburbs to the south-west of Milan, on the border between the urban/industrial areas and the Parco Agricolo Sud, the latter dominated by intensive monoculture farming. Planting new urban and semi-urban forests in this area is especially important, in order to implement a greenbelt around Milan; to filter out the polluting agents that come from the city and from the intensive farming, and to create new environmental and bio-diverse areas within the Parco Agricolo Sud itself. The project will not only serve as a greenbelt for environmental purposes (i.e. filtering air particles, water, noise, temperature and climate), but will also improve the landscape as an area of natural beauty as well.
The following persons attended the event: Marzia Zucca, Councillor for the Environment and Territory of the municipality of Gaggiano; Goffredo Modena, Chairman of Fondazione Mission Bambini; Giovanna Giusti del Giardino, Head of Group Sustainability at Mediobanca; and Chiara Pice, Social Relations and Communications officer, Associazione Selva Urbana.
