S.ofia Bonicalza, 23, creator of the Care4Seals project; Ivana Appolloni, 49, general manager Ball of Pink Onlus; Emanuela Evangelista, 54, president Amazônia Onlus: here it isand three winners of the Terres de Femmes Awardestablished by the French foundation Yves Rocher to support female entrepreneurship projects in the ethical, environmental and social fields. A program that has been providing financial support for 21 years, in 50 countries, to female entrepreneurship projects in the ethical, environmental and social fields, rewarding 500 women up to now.
The lost monk seal
Sofia Bonicalza.
“It’s as if I’ve always known that. Nature, between the mountains and the sea, has been my love since I was a child, when I was running around with my dog in Chamois in the Aosta Valley, at my grandfather’s. I have chosen without hesitation Marine Ecology at the University of Nice and now the specialization in Biodiversity of wildlife and ecosystems in Edinburgh, for the moment at a distance ». Sofia Bonicalza, 23, from Milan, is already back in the field, that is, at sea, to continue the research on the monk seal, at the center of the Care4Seals projectwith which he won the sixth Italian edition of the Terres de Femmes Award, from the French Yves Rocher Foundation.
What does this award mean to you?
Personal gratification, but above all a step forward forassociation Gruppo Foca Monaca Aps. With the funds obtained – € 10,000 means a lot to us – we will continue the Care4Seals project.
How was the project born?
An internship in Greece with the Tetis Research Institute on dolphins and seals – in the Aegean there are several examples – was a convict. It was 2019. On my return I immediately contacted the Monk Seal Group of Rome, by the documentary maker Emanuele Coppola, who has been dealing with this species since 1976, almost extinct years ago in Italy, but now with intensified sightings in Puglia and Calabria, and also Sicily and Tuscany, more sporadic in Sardinia. A good sign for the ecosystem. Technology helps us track attendance.
How?
The monitoring takes place with a protocol developed in 2020 by Professor Elena Valsecchi, molecular ecologist at the Bicocca University of Milan, with whom we collaborate. Environmental DNA samples are taken from multiple locations. Traces of genetic material dispersed in the water make it possible to identify the presence of the monk seal, even before sighting it. To collect as many samples as possible, we try to exploit the concept of citizen science, that is, the collaboration of citizens. The ideal distance for harvesting is 100/200 meters from the coast. A kayak is enough! Photo-traps inside ravines and caves are also very useful.
Create a network
How do you recruit volunteers?
We try to involve people and create a sample collection network in various locations. We also organize training courses, the Weeks of the monk seal, for biology students and enthusiasts, with lessons on the animal and its environment, research techniques and a practical approach to the sea through breathing, yoga and freediving. We have three planned this summer. The aim, in addition to scientific research, is to raise public awareness to get used to living with seals, little known, threatened by intensive fishing and other factors.
Is he all studying or does he reveal other passions to us?
Athletics. I practiced it at a competitive level and to continue, in parallel with the research, I moved to Rome, where I train in the same field as the Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs. Sport gives me a lot on a mental level, but a lot gives me my family who have always supported me in all my choices.
It’s love?
I have a boyfriend, Lorenzo, met on a boat in the midst of sperm whales and whales. He has a degree in Ecology and Biodiversity, works as an environmental consultant, but mainly deals with cetaceans and cetacean bioacoustics. Common interests bind us very much. How do you relax? Friends, readings and nature photos. From Rome, when I can, I go to the Abruzzo National Park in search of bears and wolves.
Dreams and projects?
I will finish my studies next year, probably with a thesis on the monk seal. Then I will decide whether to start working or continue with a doctorate and take the path of the academy. But perhaps I am more inclined towards something that is a bridge between science and society, an intermediate figure between the researcher and the rest of the world.
“Therapy for the environment”
Ivana Apolloni.
Winner of the second prize, with the project “The thread that unites“, Is Il Gomitolo Rosa Onlus of Biella which has been promoting knitting in hospitals since 2012. An idea suggested by the senologist Alberto Costa, who had noticed less anxiety in cancer patients engaged in small manual jobs, such as crochet. The turning point with the director general Ivana Appolloni, 49, at the non-profit organization since 2018: buying and recycling Italian “greasy” wool (that is, waste, freshly shorn and dirty). A special waste, expensive to dispose of, polluting and often abandoned in the fields.
With the support of the Lane d’Italia Agency and the Lanificio F.lli Piacenza, “The Thread that unites” transforms the scraps into balls of certified pure virgin wool, after washing, carding and spinning. Thanks to the prize of five thousand euros, an additional three thousand will be added to the annual 12 thousand balls, the result of 500 kg of extra recycled wool. To be distributed with special “lanatherapy” kits in an increasing number of health facilities (and lessons held by 1,500 volunteers). In addition to pink, which identifies breast cancer, 13 colors have been added for other pathologies. The project born as a focus on women’s health has now also extended to men.
Save the forest
Emanuela Evangelista (photo Barry Cawston).
The third Terres de Femmes Award went to the biologist Emanuela Evangelista, 54, president of theAmazônia Onlus associationwhich since 2004 has been carrying out a project for “Protection of the Amazon forest: Jauaperi National Park”, where he has lived permanently since 2013. An area protected by law, which guarantees 1,500 natives the right of residence and an active role in the management of the territory. Among a thousand difficulties: from sustainable economic development to education, work and health care. In the absence of institutional economic resources, the association organizes environmental education and professional training courses, trying to fight poaching, also widespread for food needs.
The objectives are: environmental protection; improvement of living conditions in local communities by protecting their identity; offer of economic alternatives, which reduce urban migration. With the three thousand euros won thanks to the Terres de Femmes Award, Evangelista and Amazônia Onlus will build a management plan for the co-participated park, providing river patrols, drones for fire control and intensification of ecotourism, as an alternative to livelihood poaching.
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