Volunteering among Italians has been declining in recent years, even as young people report real concern about environmental challenges. That concern doesn't always translate into action: many students say sustainability matters to them, yet struggle to turn that into concrete, everyday choices.
Closing this gap calls for genuine opportunities to practise active citizenship, not just talk about it.
The project
The project trains teachers in Roots & Shoots, the educational methodology devised by scientist Jane Goodall, which guides students to observe their own local area, identify its real needs, and design concrete, participatory actions that benefit their community. Once trained, teachers can apply the methodology independently with new classes year after year, creating a genuine multiplier effect well beyond the initial group of participants.
Through this approach, students take on an active role: getting to know their local area, working through participatory design, and carrying out real actions with a tangible benefit for the people and places around them, building scientific thinking, civic and environmental competence, critical judgement and a sense of responsibility towards animals and biodiversity along the way.
Who the project is for
The project's direct beneficiaries are 25 teachers from different Italian regions, selected in order of registration and participation in the training course.
Its impact reaches further: in the first year alone, around 2,500 students and over 5,000 community members are expected to benefit indirectly, with the replicability of the Roots & Shoots methodology set to grow that impact further in the years that follow.
Project name: L'eredità di Jane Goodall. Roots & Shoots: educare una nuova generazione alla cura del mondo
Proposing organisation: Istituto Jane Goodall Italia ETS
Area of intervention: Inclusion & Social Development
Country: Italy