Prada Group Debuts Forestami Academy
GREEN CULTURE: The Prada Group’s commitment to building a sustainable future are trickling down to socially charged projects as the company strengthens its ties with the Milan-based tree plantation initiative Forestami to debut the “Forestami Academy.”
Last year, the luxury group had revealed a partnership with the program spearheaded by Milan’s municipality, the Lombardy region, and other territorial entities to plant 3 million trees in the city by 2030 and help safeguard its natural environment.
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Now Prada is adding an educational component to the project, pledging the organization of workshops, panels and outdoor activities over three years geared at educating citizens on urban forestation.
“Urban reforestation is at the center of international debate and is particularly relevant for Milan, a city that wants and has to offer more and more greenery. In addition to supporting the Forestami project as a whole, the Prada Group has decided to launch the Forestami Academy, a series of workshops dedicated to all citizens offering educational opportunities on these topics,” said Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group’s head of corporate social responsibility and an advocate of the project.
“As a group, we have always valued education and promoting culture and we are sure that the deep knowledge of the Italian and international speakers will be a great source of inspiration for attending audiences,” he said.
Lectures and workshops in the first year will focus on “Knowing Forests and Where They Grow,” held by British Columbia University professor Cecil Konijnendijk, FAO member and professor Simone Borelli and representatives from the Netherlands-based Delft University of Technology. The outdoor portion of the program is to be spearheaded by Giorgio Vacchiano, associate professor of the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at Milan’s Università Statale.
Interested citizens can apply starting Tuesday and until April 21 on a dedicated website.
In 2024, the courses will center on “Urban Forestry: Well-being and Health,” while in 2025 they will focus on the subject “Plants and Their Presence in Cities.”
Forestami Academy is not the first educational program jumpstarted by the Prada Group.
Last year, it wrapped the second edition of its Sea Beyond project, a partnership between the group and UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission composed of three main initiatives: an educational module for students all over the world, the launch of the Kindergarten of the Lagoon — a program of outdoor lessons for children in preschool — and an educational path specifically designed for the more than 13,000 employees of the company.
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