GETTING INVOLVED ON CAMPUS 

Terra Firma is an NYU Florence campus initative.  Through talks, workshops, hand-on-experience and field trips, Terra Firma aims to facilitate a deeper appreciation of the gardens and agricultural land that form the Villa La Pietra estate, to more fully enjoy it and to use it as a mirror reflecting wider issues in the world. As of 2022 the estate has supplied the on-site Villa Natalia cafeteria with fresh, zero-miles, organic produce. 

For more information, contact Horticultural Associate, Nicholas Dakin Elliot at nd15@nyu.edu and look out for the workshops activities being hosted this semester in the Florence Flyer! 

Each semester, depending on season, student leaders, and on campus clubs and activities available, there will be different trips, initiatives, and activities offered where you can engage with sustainability in a variety of ways. Pay attention to the Florence Flyer to see the offerings during your semester!

Some of the trips and initiatives we have developed in the past semesters: 

• • Earth month and Earth Day activities in the Spring semester. 

  • Trip to the local Fattoria Bucolica  (farm estate), where students learned about the farm's sustainable practices, took part in a workshop on antique grains and flour and enjoyed a delicious free farm-to-table outdoor lunch. 

  • Sustainably conscious Viareggio Carnival. 

  • Producing didactic material explaning Villa La Pietra's approach to composting.

  • Olive harvesting in the Fall. 

  • Ecopsychology talk in the gardens. 

• If you feel inspired, you can create a student-led club that incorporates sustainability in a range of fields from fashion, to hiking/running or even food-focused. 

• This also opens up opportunities to collaborate with the NYU Florence Green Team with the goal of supporting sustainability-related initiatives on campus. 

• Limited funding available! Get in contact with the Office of Student Life at florence.studentlife@nyu.edu  for more info!