Young researchers for Ethnobotany: the project “BE ETHNO: sharing traditions, sharing plants, sharing place, sharing future”

Since the 80s of the last Century, immigration in Europe has always been growing. Nowadays, the multi-ethnic Italian population is integrated in pluricultural urban contexts, where immigrant groups retain traditional knowledge of native plants. Does their bio-cultural heritage still influence the therapeutic and culinary practices? Within the framework of the call for “Young Researchers 2023” supported by Cariplo Foundation, the project “BE ETHNO: sharing traditions, sharing plants, sharing place, sharing future” was founded. The three-year proposal (2024-2027, ID:2023-1454) aims at a multidisciplinary approach, that conceives the Urban Ethnobotany as a tool to reach a deeper knowledge of the plants’ traditions of use of a selected foreign community. Four Work Packages are planned, starting with bibliographic research concerning the migratory phenomena in Italy, especially Lombardy region (Northern Italy), with the aim of focusing the foreign community (Reconnaissance investigation). Within the Citizen science polices, an ethnobotanical survey will be conducted in two urban areas, documenting the enduring traditional use of medicinal and food plants for daily needs. The same will be performed in the native country, aiming at comparing the traditional knowledge of the selected ethnic group in different geographical and cultural contexts (Ethnobotanical investigation). Primary data will lead to the selection of 1-2 species, symbol of the foreign tradition and worthy of laboratory insights under a taxonomic, micromorphological, phytochemical, pharmacological and nutritional point of view (Laboratory investigation). Finally, in an Open Science context, dissemination and communication actions will be organized at the G.E. Ghirardi Botanical Garden (University of Milan) by engaging key-informants (Dissemination actions). A dedicated area will be set, hosting plants traditionally used by the foreign community with a peculiar iconographic apparatus. Thematic itineraries and a bilingual booklet will be realized, making the Botanical Garden a place of natural and cultural biodiversity. (P. 0387)