It was an important day on April 3 at the “G. Binotti” comprehensive school in Pergola. A hundred people: from authorities to school leaders, from teachers to parents, ending of course with many children. The hubbub, the buzzing of the first bees, the pleasure of gathering in what has now become a regular event for everyone. And even the sun, a favorable omen and the first supporter of the small seedlings already sprouting in the garden.

The school garden in Pergola is undoubtedly the project that WWOOF Italy has been committed to for the most years. At the beginning what convinced, besides the goodness of the practices and ideas, was the esteem and trust towards our member Paolo Ciarimboli, for more than 25 years the main promoter of the project together with some teachers. The commitment on our part continues, however, convinced even now that Paolo has chosen to take a (small) step back, leaving the more operational role to Luca, who as a child attended this school and this garden, being so impressed by it that he came to make agriculture his profession and return to this little field to replace Paolo as teacher. A symbolic transition as well, but symbols are important.

And also symbolically important is the donation of Pergola’s Quarantino corn seeds that for the past couple of years the children, who have become custodians of this variety, have been making to farmers in the city and neighboring municipalities. The farmers who lined up that each receive a small bag with corn seeds inside that were grown by the pupils in this small field, thus committed themselves to the message of the day: let us cherish the past and sow the future.

It may be that a small engine, even an economic one, for the farmers in the area will start from the hands of these dirt-soaked children. It may be that many years from now some of these pupils will take Luke’s place, renewing the cycle. Certainly, even those from outside have been able to grasp here, even now, how important even a small garden can be in creating a sense of community and being well together.