In Aprile, after the fourth meeting of the Comenius project "@ll togheter for environment" , We had a beautiful experience of excursion in a protected area of our region, the Reserve of Monte Rufeno, in the northern part of Lazio, bordering Tuscany.
Description of the area:
The Monte Rufeno Natural Reserve covers 2,893 hectares located in the north -northeast region aquesiano . It ' an area rich in biodiversity , especially in terms of flora , which have been recognized more than 1,000 different species of plants ; It was established in 1983 by the Lazio Region and is managed by the Municipality of Acquapendente .
The reserve is ideal for hiking and sightseeing in the protected area . It is a forest of oak interspersed with small plots in pine where the reduced human intervention of the past 30 years has allowed the development of entities of flora and fauna of great interest . The reserve also has a rich and varied animal community that includes the freshwater tortoise , the harrier and the wildcat .
In particular, they are home to 122 species of vertebrates : 11 amphibians , 11 reptiles , 67 birds and 33 mammals .
Several are the points of interest that characterize the Reserve: the biodiversity. the toy library, laboratories and herbarium multimedia Museo del Fiore, which opens its doors to the world of flowers, illustrating its evolutionary aspects and ecological relationships with the animal world and the world of man, until the presentation of the local tradition of Pugnaloni.
Located in the surrounding of the Museo del Fiore is the Botanical Gardens, built on two plots separated from the old road between Torre Alfina and Acquapendente. The purpose prince of the Botanical Garden is to preserve, research, teach, protect and explore the nature around us, making use of educational workshops to better explore the botanical knowledge.
Therefore impossible not to mention the Felceto Casale, home of rural traditions and building used as a museum and educational life of the country; They have been maintained the original provisions of the rooms and the interior are exposed authentic items that introduce the local rural culture.
At the north end of the reserve lies the Bosco Sasseto, extended over an area of over 50 hectares, it is a unique example of forest high forest mesophilic deciduous trees and is home to a rich fauna and flora with rare elements in Lazio. The hill on which it stands is the remains of a volcanic system: the large boulders of lava that can be seen along the forest are the result of the fragmentation of some lava flows descending the slope leading to the valley of the river Paglia. The uniqueness of this forest which owes its name to the spectacular geological substrate is linked to the presence of trees such as oak, turkey oak, hornbeam, beech, holly, ilex some with height exceeding 25 meters and diameters that can often reach a meter.
Inside the woods Sasseto stands a mausoleum in Gothic style where the remains of the Marquis Edoardo Cahen, former owner of the castle of Torre Alfina.
The Astronomical Observatory New Pegasus is a center for research, teaching and dissemination of scientific, especially astronomical, located on top of Mount Rufeno, within a pre-existing farmhouse of the early twentieth century.
The structure was designed so it can be used by all, schools and private visitors, at all times of the year, day and night, both for direct observation with telescopes of the major astronomical objects, and the realization special packages of interactive learning at the request of individual schools. In fact, the observatory, in one of the inner rooms, it also houses a planetarium able to artificially reproduce the vision of the night sky with all its movements.
Description of the two-day activities:
We organized it with two classes and the aims were to approach the students to a direct and scientific observation of the nature, in a preserved landscape, and of stars and sun in a particular location of the site where you can find an observatory.
Here attached one of the relation by a group of students which well describe all activities:
The classes met autonomously on board the coach to Riello inViterbo . Once in Acquapendente , we got the bus to reach the reserve and we reached the car park of the observatory. After a short walk we came to the house in the middle of the woods; we placed the luggage and then get together for dinner and soon after educational activities in contact with nature started, immerged inthe nature for observe animals, rocks, flowers and plants.Towards 7:00 p.m. Se started observing the stars until the late night. The next day after breakfast we did a hike in the reserve where the professor described the environment and the protected species. After the excursion We gazed at the sun with a special telescope making insights on the solar system. At end of the lesson we gathered for lunch and after arranging the kitchen and the rooms we went down to the parking to take the shuttle towards Acquapendente . From there, the class went independently at home, filled with new competences taught from a direct and scientific observation.
Excursion to Monte Rufeno Natural Reserve
