American students' forest grows

April 18, 2024, parque de San Bartolo a Cintoia, District 2 of the city of Florence: at 11 a.m. on a sunny early spring morning, the planting of thirty new trees donated by students from Elon University, North Carolina and the Institute for American Universities (IAU), who are spending a semester at Accademia Europea di Firenze, our school of Italian arts, language and culture that also hosts university programs, begins.

The initiative, which came about in collaboration with the City of Florence, thanks to the support of University Councilor Elisabetta Meucci and Environment Councilor Andrea Giorgio, involves planting a tree for every student who arrives in the city, thus building a lasting bond between the students, who become for all intents and purposes citizens of Florence, albeit temporarily, and the community that hosts them.

This spring's planting follows last fall's planting, which included as many as 81 trees, bringing the “American student forest” to an impressive 111 plants. These wonderful trees have populated a public park in the Florentine suburbs, helping to improve the lives of neighborhood residents. As an institution that has made sustainability one of the founding values of our educational mission, we are also very proud to have observed how this initiative has helped our students develop a greater awareness of their environmental impact.

Our forest will grow again: next fall we will plant 90 new trees, and help make Florence greener and more beautiful!