As an overarching goal, this project aimed to empower adult learners, particularly farmers, landowners, and concerned citizens in the Matera region, who face increasing soil degradation, desertification, and extreme weather events. These community members are eager to change how they work with the land, gain green skills, and contribute to climate resilience. Additionally, we sought to strengthen cooperation between Rocciaviva and ERF, promoting mutual learning between a locally rooted, community-led model and an internationally connected restoration network. Specific objectives included: enhancing citizen science capacity to monitor and respond to ecosystem degradation, creating a mobile app to support restoration regionally, nationally and at a European and global level, and fostering innovation in adult education through local learning spaces. We also aimed to improve partners’ skills and experience in working with Erasmus+, language skills, and ability to engage in future EU programmes, while disseminating results locally and across Europe to inspire broader climate action.
We applied to this project to strengthen European partnerships and build our capacity in working with the Erasmus+ programme, especially as Rocciaviva had not yet received KA2 funding. The project responded to urgent needs in the local community of Matera (Italy), where farmers and landowners feel powerless in the face of increasing land degradation. Extreme weather events, especially floods and droughts, are intensifying, and soil fertility is rapidly declining. Local people are aware that ensuring a prosperous future for their region requires changing how they work with the land. They are highly motivated to learn and take action. The project addressed clear needs: increasing environmental literacy through citizen science, empowering adults to identify and reverse ecosystem degradation, and developing a web-based monitoring application to improve restoration impact. It also enabled staff exchange, the development of learning materials, and the creation of digital tools to support and scale community-led ecosystem restoration efforts locally and across Europe.