The dream that seemed to be unattainable has become reality for the students of the E. Majorana High School in Latina and for all those who worked and coordinated to achieve the desired goal. In fact, the fantastic experience of the students is coming to an end and with great success Ludovica Rock e Julia Galli on their return, after two months in California at the University of San Diego’s Oceanographic Institute (Scripps). The girls, among the various activities of analyzing water, air, sediments, etc., tried their hand at counting microfibers and microplastics present in samples of marine waters from Lazio, including those from Ventotene, sent by the CNR Polar Science of Venice to Scripps.
The adventure has just begun for the third of the 5 students from the province of Latina, deserving of international recognition, Michael Bradascio who will be involved in the extraction of microbial DNA from African water samples. After more than a year of work, the Citizen Science project of the Majorana high school, which intends to contribute to the achievement of common global objectives for the protection of the planet by exploiting the potential of the network and social communication channels, had already brought the first result with the departure of the student Anna Galli engaged in the scientific mission by sailing boat in the Arctic waters of Norway, between the city of Tromso and the island of Soroya, alongside
the crew of Gate To The Artic made up of activists, scientists and filmmakers.
But it is the active involvement and synergic action of all the resources involved that made the positive conclusion of the initiative possible, which came with the departure of the students towards San Diego, thanks also to the Province of Latina that contributed to the realization of their trip. Great credit goes to the President of the Province of Latina, the Gerardo Stefanelli who, informed of the students’ results, showed great sensitivity towards the learning opportunities they would have had if they had continued their studies at the well-known overseas institute and the availability of the professor Dimitri Deheyn of Scripps who led the field work in the Arctic.
The students’ story
From there they communicate their impressions of the experience Julia Galli e Ludovica Rocca: «We went to Scripps Institution of Oceanography for the first time with our professor. The building is called Hubbs Hall and it was built right on the beach, right in front of Scripps Pier, where the Pacific Ocean begins. Easy to take postcard photos from there. At Prof. Dimitri Deheyn’s lab we were greeted by Avery Dougherty who runs the lab. She’s the one who showed us the epifluorescence microscope for the first time, and she’s the one who taught us how to use it.”
The teachers
«We realize that this is a unique experience for students of our age who come from Italy, not only because we can handle sophisticated instruments but also because we have the opportunity to participate in wonderful events together with other scientists. At the moment the most beautiful one for us was being invited as VIP guests to the seminar that Prof. Deheyn held talking about his research on the thermal properties of penguin chicks’ plumage. It was at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, in the evening. After dinner on the terrace overlooking the ocean, we followed his presentation inside the structure where the enormous tanks that reproduced the ecosystem of the marine kelp forest were illuminated. We are excited to return to the laboratory every morning, not only to sit in front of the microscope but also to follow seminars by scientists who come from all over the world to talk about any aspect of the ocean system. A few days ago we happened to listen to Vladimir Ryabinin, a Russian oceanographer who is now head of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. Who are the students we have made friends with? Guys from China, India, Saudi Arabia, Northern and Eastern Europe as well as Americans of course. And yes, often in the late afternoon we dive into the sea with the surfboard, everyone does what they can, standing up on the wave is difficult».
This is how the doctor tells it Manuela Ruggieri, educational referent and coordinator of the project in schools during the current school year for the Majorana high school: «The educational proposal of the initiative was born with the aim of achieving some of the ministerial objectives: to raise awareness among young people about safeguarding the planet through the use of social and transversal skills of different disciplines, linked to education and active citizenship, to introduce them to the world of scientific research and to prepare them for their professional future in international and local contexts. Initially, the idea of having students spend a period of study at Scripps seemed like a difficult or difficult undertaking to achieve. Then, the expansion of the initiative that made the Majorana institute the leader of the educational project in schools, required a complex and meticulous organization that saw it working in a coadjutant action with the AIPU, Dr. Pretto, universities, other schools, public and private bodies. It is the close collaboration of the rich network of human resources composed of the internal and external teachers involved, the management and the secretariat of Majorana, the families of the students, the staff involved of Scripps up to the involvement of the Province of Latina that has allowed us to achieve the long-awaited result”.
«The President Gerardo Stefanelli accompanied by his staff, welcomed by the manager Dominic Aversanowanted to meet and personally congratulate the 5 students of the high schools of the province of Latina who obtained prestigious results. He also subsequently paid them homage with a letter of presentation and commendation as a reward for the commitment shown in scientific research through his representatives”.
The doctor reports Patricia Prettowith a background in environmental microbiology and work in bioremediation of contaminated sites and responsible for the MicroMar Global project in Italy, which he proposed to the Majorana Institute and prepared the students for the mission in Norway and the study period in San Diego: «It was a personal need to vent my concern about environmental problems and to find reassurance in the involvement of young people in science. This is why I started from scratch with the MicroMar project, which coincides with the vision and network of Prof. Deheyn’s Scripps on a more global scale, based on interests, intercultural exchanges and scientific exposures through citizens and which today is under the name of MicroMar Global. The collaboration with the Majorana was born by chance, thanks to the meeting with the director Aversano and Dr. Ruggieri who taught there and who adapted and coordinated the activities of the project first within the high school and then on national and European territory, managing the bureaucratic part with the Californian university institute and the relationships with families. I had the opportunity to get to know the students thoroughly during the entire school year in which they learned to count synthetic microfibers on microscope photos that the Scripps Institute sent. We were able to establish a very close collaborative relationship that led them to write a CV and have an interview in English via webinar with Dimitri Deheyn, the professor at Scripps University who would then host them in his laboratory. Professor Deheyn has dedicated his entire life to oceanography, dealing with pollutants among other things. Now he is a very well-known researcher regarding the problem of microplastics in the environment”.
Il prof Deheyndi sfuggita al telefono mentre andava all’aeroporto ha solo detto: «Students are doing great! The girls told me that aside from learning about science, techniques, cultures, experiences, laboratory stuff, what they witnessed the most was how the science works, how a lab functions, how research is managed how projects are written and implemented… the
process of leading to scientific work, the replicates, the planning…this could be made more clear in the text. Also they realized where their passion was…and what they want to do in the future».
The Province of Latina
“It was exciting to share with the students this path of scientific citizenship that I hope can extend and include other Pontine institutes in the subsequent phases. – declared the President of the Province of Latina Gerardo Stefanelli who last March 22nd had met the study group at Majorana for the presentation of the MicroMar project on microplastics in the sea – These are unique opportunities for the kids, who can get to the heart of the environmental issue
experimenting in international teams the great opportunities that scientific research offers. For this reason I had no hesitation in supporting their internationalization project, thinking not only about how much this could represent for their personal and professional growth within a curriculum, but also about the role of tutors and disseminators that they can
assume for the entire school community. We need to develop a new global consciousness, to find a medium between the scientific world and public opinion, a channel that shortens the distances and leads us to develop the next step of that widespread environmental attention that today we call sustainability. The issue of microplastics concerns our seas and is not so far from our daily lives. Research today offers the possibility of influencing a change that needs to be cultural first and foremost. Young people are the legs on which innovation and research walk, natural amplifiers of what happens in the world. I therefore hope that as an institution I can promote new opportunities like these and that the experience of the Majorana students can bring young people ever closer to science.”
