At the midpoint of the LIFE Olivares Vivos + project, the partners met last week in Tuscany (Italy) to analyze the progress of the project’s actions and outline the next steps for this year. The meeting addressed key topics such as training courses – which will soon also be available in Portugal, Italy, and Greece – and the second biodiversity measurement, which will determine how flora and fauna have changed in the demonstration olive groves after the implementation of the Olivares Vivos model.
This coordination meeting also provided an opportunity for members of the teams from Spain, Portugal, and Greece to visit farms located around Florence. Two olive groves, Santissima Annunciata and Olivart, showcased how the actions carried out by Olivares Vivos to restore biodiversity are yielding positive results. In fact, some of the wildlife cameras installed on the farms captured remarkable activity, including the presence of wolves in one of the areas.
D.R.E.Am Italia, the partner responsible for developing the LIFE project in Italy, took the opportunity to organize an event connecting the other Olivares Vivos members with key stakeholders in Florence. During the event, a presentation of the LIFE Olivares Vivos + project was given, emphasizing how restoring nature provides an opportunity to improve resilience and achieve true sustainability in olive groves. “Olivares Vivos is working at a European level to improve agricultural biodiversity, and in our country, it has implemented its model on four farms located between Tuscany and Lazio. The initial results are already promising, and we are now analyzing how flora and fauna have improved in these olive groves,” explained Paola Semenzato, the project coordinator in Italy.
The event was enhanced in the best possible way: with a gastronomic touch. It is worth noting that Olivares Vivos oils are among the best in the world in terms of quality and are the only ones that, thanks to their certification, guarantee that every recipe made with them contributes to the restoration of agricultural biodiversity. To bring this to life, the event featured Andrea Perini, popularly known as “the extra virgin olive oil chef.” This Tuscan chef presented a culinary proposal in which the various varieties of Olivart EVOO starred in every dish, including creative salads with wild herbs, traditional local stews, and a dessert drizzled with EVOO that served as the perfect finishing touch.
