Po Delta, from the pink oyster to IGP rice to durum wheat pasta: a project that redraws the territory

A unique territory, with extraordinary biodiversity, outside the mainstream tourist circuits and the object of a rediscovery as a destination for a slow journey, in contact with nature: the Po Delta , the largest Italian wetland, is one of the areas in which climate change is having the most evident effects. A naturalistic area today at the center of an innovative project that connects in a new way the world of the university and research and the actors of the territory, companies of excellence first and foremost: "Le Mappe del Delta" is a path that was born from the Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Nutrition (BCA) of the University of Padua in collaboration with the Veneto Regional Natural Park of the Po Delta and the Goletta LAB Foundation as part of the third mission, or initiatives dedicated to the dissemination of research activity beyond the confines of the academic context. The entire project is curated by Studio Bleu , a company specialized in science communication, through projects that make it accessible to different audiences.

In the first phase, professors, researchers and technical staff of the department, nature guides of the Park, agricultural and fishing entrepreneurs at the helm of excellent local businesses got involved to design new paths together. Training activities to improve the communication of their research and opportunities for dialogue and networking with local stakeholders were accompanied by thematic working tables to intercept and activate possible shared research and innovation projects. From excellent food production - including clams threatened by the blue crab and the pink oyster produced in the Scardovari bay, but also rice and honey from the Delta Park - to avifauna - with almost 400 species of birds recorded - to the protection of wild fauna and the development of new tourism offerings connected to it: many themes were at the center of the meeting between researchers from the university and the territory, here are just a few examples.

Threatened Clams and the Sustainable Tidal “Farmed” Pink Oyster

Among the research activities that involve the professors of the department, the study of the impact of pollutants on clams, one of the symbolic products of the territory, today threatened by the invasion of the blue crab that has caused a collapse in production.

The researchers' study also investigates the composition of the clam microbiome, which is useful for identifying their origin. The Caleri Lagoon, located between the Po di Levante and the Adige, in addition to being an area with great biodiversity, is an "open-air research laboratory" for projects developed with clam farmers. The research also focuses on the production method of the pink oyster, farmed with an innovative, sustainable and unique method based on the solar tide designed and patented by Florent Tarbouriech and imported into Italy, in collaboration with the French fish farmer, by Alessio Greguoldo: the oysters are glued one by one, by hand, on ropes that are in turn connected to a winch that lifts them from the water, reproducing the effect of the Atlantic tides. The frequency of the rises, established thanks to a timer powered by photovoltaic panels, allows the growth of the product to be managed. Companies and universities are also working together to study solutions that can protect the production of molluscs - clams and pink oysters - from the invasive alien species.

PGI rice and the increase of the salt wedge

The subject of the BCA department's research is also the organic production of wheat in the area, of alfalfa intended for healthy and sustainable animal feeding and of Delta PGI rice, which is characterized by large grains, high nutritional value and the cultivation method three meters below sea level. Rice production is born from small businesses, almost always family-run, which have adopted circular economy models: an excellence also in this case threatened by phenomena connected to climate change, from the increase of the salt wedge - that is, the underground movement of sea water towards the hinterland - to the increasingly impactful presence of coypu that destroy the banks.

Rare Honeys: Research Against Food Fraud

Barena honey, produced by bees from the limonium plant that grows in hostile environments, but also lavender and alfalfa honey, are rare and typical products of the area. The collaboration between the researchers of the department and the beekeepers of the Po Delta, which in the former elementary school of Ca' Cappellino in Porto Viro also hosts a museum dedicated to the nectar of the gods, is currently focused on supporting the development of a short and safe supply chain and on the development of increasingly sophisticated analysis tools to guarantee the geographical and botanical origin of honey, avoiding the risk of food fraud.

The project: a hub for wildlife

The valorization of the territory as a treasure chest of biodiversity, slow tourism and the protection of avifauna and wild fauna are themes that run through several projects involving the Regional Park and the BCA department. This is the case, for example, of the Goletta Catholica, known for being Legambiente's first Green Goletta, used in the past for monitoring water quality and today - restored, refitted and moored in Albarella - used mainly for activities carried out thanks to the collaboration between the founders of the Goletta LAB Foundation - Fondazione Cariparo, Ente Parco del Delta del Po, Legambiente and the University of Padua (BCA Department): monitoring of cetaceans and dolphins is accompanied by activities with schools on board the moored schooner. Another ambitious project is on the horizon: in the territory the Department and Park are working on the creation of a hub dedicated to the conservation and recovery of wild fauna, a research laboratory for students of veterinary medicine and Animal care courses, but also a space in which to propose dissemination activities open to citizens, tourists and schools, involved in activities on themes related to human-animal coexistence, the impact of climate change and the conservation of biodiversity. The hub will consist of two physically separate but integrated structures: the custody center located in the area of the Ex Ceac, already under renovation, and the "Bonello" center managed by Veneto Agricoltura.

Projects that intercept the dimension of slow tourism, to which the territory with its 80 thousand hectares and a population of "just" 73 thousand inhabitants, with its wealth of ecosystems and fauna in and out of the water, is naturally suited. Between humid environments and fishing valleys, lagoons and reed beds, dunes and sandbanks, among turtles, flamingos and dolphins, without forgetting the many species of birds, the Po Delta lends itself to cycle tourism, but also to horse tourism and bird watching as well as obviously to tourist navigation on small boats, often with the expert guidance of local fishermen who know every nuance of the landscape and who read the transformations that have occurred over the decades.

Podcasts and maps to tell the territory in a new way

The project also includes a communication activity to tell the Delta in a new way, among the outputs there are in fact four podcasts with the voices of those who live and study this unique territory, suspended between land, water and sea and three original maps that develop the story of the project through three itineraries - from the Botanical Garden of Porto Caleri to the museum of bees of Ca' Cappellino, from the archaeological interest center of San Basilio to the Oasis of Ca' Mello, the Sacca degli Scardovari - and propose a tourist-scientific narration full of suggestions that crosses the story of the naturalistic aspects with the valorization of the scientific research activity and the excellence of agriculture and the fish panorama of the territory. Maps and podcasts will be presented during an event scheduled in the territory next spring.

The final phase of launch and dissemination of the project, currently underway, is part of a new third mission project of the University - RINASCO - Regenerate Together Nature Environment Health Consciously - an initiative involving six departments of the University of Padua (BCA, MAPS - Animal Medicine Production and Health, TESAF - Department of Territory and Agro-forestry Systems, DAFNAE - Department of Agronomy, animals, food, natural resources and environment, DCTV - Department of Cardio-thoracic Vascular Sciences and Public Health, DNS - Department of Neurosciences).