On July 8, 2025, from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., the participatory focus group entitled “Nature-Based Solutions for Stormwater Management in Urban Areas: The Case Study of Catania” was held at the Botanical Garden of the University of Catania – Aula Giacomini. The event was organized by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A) of the University of Catania, in collaboration with the Municipality of Catania and IRIDRA, and in partnership with CSEI Catania and Legambiente Catania, under the patronage of the Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences of the University of Catania.
The initiative is part of the European project CARDIMED (Climate Adaptation and Resilience Demonstrated In the MEDiterranean region), funded by the Horizon Europe 2020 program. Its main objective was to promote an open and shared dialogue with local citizens and associations about the upcoming demonstration intervention (Demosite 4.1) planned for the next few months at Tondo Gioeni in Catania. This intervention includes the construction of an urban raingarden, designed by IRIDRA in collaboration with the Ecology and Environment Directorate of the Municipality of Catania and the Di3A department.
Following participant registration, the event was opened with institutional greetings from Gianpietro Giusso Del Galdo (Director of the Botanical Garden and the Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences at UNICT), Lara Riguccio (Municipality of Catania – Green Infrastructure Planning and Works Service), Viola Sorbello (Legambiente), Francesco Sorbello (Representative of Confcommercio), and Giuseppe Luigi Cirelli (Scientific Coordinator of CARDIMED and professor at Di3A).
Scientific presentations followed, led by professors from Di3A and technical experts from IRIDRA (including Anacleto Rizzo), addressing topics such as the use of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) in stormwater management (Giuseppe Cirelli, Feliciana Licciardello, Liviana Sciuto), urban planning and regulatory frameworks, and urban hydraulic challenges (Francesco Martinico and Viviana Pappalardo).
Representatives from various local and national organizations also contributed, including WWF, LIPU, Rifiuti Zero Sicilia, Zero Waste Italy, Fridays for Future, Rinascimento Green, 350 Sicilia, Diametro, UNICEF, and SEMU, expressing their perspectives and visions for the territory.
At 5:00 p.m., the actual focus group session began, introduced with a methodological overview by Dr. Emanuela Rita Giuffrida. This was followed by facilitated discussions, organized into four thematic tables and led by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, PhD students from Di3A, and project collaborators (Emanuela Rita Giuffrida, Alessia Marzo, Alessia Rizzo, Vincenzo Scavera, Juliano Silva Rezende Mudadu, Tatiana Rizzo, Gabriele Gullotta). The discussion was complemented by a social moment with refreshments (granita break) and concluded with a shared summary of the key points that emerged from the session.
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