Regenerating and Inhabiting the Valley: Techniques and Experiences for a Thriving Territory

On 3 June 2025, the Italian case study of BIOTraCes held a major public event in the Simeto Valley (Sicily), as part of the Facciamo la Valle community festival. The event brought together researchers, local actors, and national experts to reflect on how renewable energy is shaping landscapes, ecosystems, and social relations in one of Italy’s most dynamic rural regions.

In the lush setting of Munnu Farm, nestled in the heart of the Simeto Valley, farmers, researchers, and community members gathered for a day of hands-on learning and deep ecological reflection. The workshop, titled “Regenerating and Inhabiting the Valley: Techniques and Experiences for a Thriving Territory”, was co-organised with Jennifer Harumi Tanaka, a farmer and researcher based in the Simeto Valley, and led by Filip Micoletti, an educator from Vallone delle Pezze (RG) specialising in permaculture and syntropic agriculture.

Designed as both a practical and theoretical experience, the workshop explored regenerative agricultural methods as a means to heal the land and rebuild relationships between people, ecosystems, and place.

Participants engaged in discussions on topics such as:

  • The social lives of plants and their roles in biodiversity
  • The co-evolutionary processes between flora and fauna
  • The evolution and resilience of ecosystems over time

A highlight of the day was the collective sowing of a MUVUCA—a diverse mix of seeds used to restore soil health and promote ecosystem regeneration. This hands-on activity allowed participants to see firsthand how a multi-species approach to agriculture can cultivate abundance, biodiversity, and resilience in degraded soils.

But the workshop was about more than just agronomic techniques. It was an invitation to reimagine the future of agriculture in the Simeto Valley and beyond: a future rooted in mutual care, ecosystem awareness, and solidarity between local farmers and communities. In particular, the day focused on micro-regenerative practices inspired by syntropic principles, adapted to the valley’s unique ecological and cultural context and in response to the escalating challenges of climate change.

Throughout the day, networks were strengthened and new relationships were formed—between people, but also between people and the land. The workshop exemplified how grounded, place-based knowledge can foster regenerative transformation, not only of agriculture but of the valley as a whole.

The event forms part of BIOTraCes’ wider ambition to understand and support community-led transitions towards nature-positive futures. Held within the Facciamo la Valle festival, which celebrates ten years of civic engagement in the Simeto Valley, it demonstrated how biodiversity, energy and participatory governance can be meaningfully linked on the ground.