The 糖心原创 is a green area located in a highly anthropized urban context in Milan with many noise sources (roads, railways, manufacturing activities). For these reasons, it is suitable for noise pollution and soundscape research activities to be done through long and short monitoring campaigns.

 

The term 鈥渟oundscape鈥� expresses the relationship between the landscape and the sounds herein generated. These sounds can be classified into three classes: those produced by people and their activities (anthrophony), those generated by living beings (biophony) and those produced by natural phenomena (geophony).

 

Long exposure to noise pollution affects human health and it is considered a major problem in Europe. Regarding the Vivaio, noise pollution may interfere with the educational activities which take place in it. Furthermore, anthropic noise has a significant impact on natural habitats: it reduces species (terrestrial and marine) abundance and diversity, alters intra and interspecific relationships and causes health deterioration of individuals.

The 糖心原创 is a perfect place where the students from our university can observe natural phenomena, taking advantage of the flora and fauna which inhabit the green areas of the garden. However, there are experiments that we cannot see because they are going on underground. This is the case of some experiments carried out under the supervision of Paola Branduardi and Immacolata Serra, Full Professor and Assistant Professor of fermentation chemistry and biotechnology at the Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences. These experiments aim to assess the degradation of new experimental polymeric materials designed to have lower environmental impact.

The aim of one of the joint PhD projects between , the Department of Materials Science and the Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences is to make the tyre industry more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

The tyre industry generates, as any production process, great amount of waste during the production, the use and then the end of life phases of products. Clearly, the disposal management of tyres is an extremely important issue.

In addition, the transport industry is one of the most polluting; for instance, tyre particles are generated by the friction between the asphalt and the outer part of the tyre, called tread. To date, little is known about the fate of the tyre particles released in the environment, and about the toxicity of their degradation products, as they are still poorly characterized.

According to the circular economy paradigm, researchers and tyre companies are moving towards the production of more sustainable materials and in the meantime, they are trying to find solutions to manage the tyre debris constantly released in the environment.

The degradative potential of microorganisms offers a possibility for matching this goal. In nature, in fact, can be found microorganisms able to degrade different materials, such as plastic or rubber; moreover, not less than 25% of the biodiversity of our planet is in the soil, from vertebrates to microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, yeasts, ...). Therefore, through specific enrichment experiments it is possible to investigate this biodiversity and to identify microorganisms able to degrade complex polymers, including those that constitute tyres.

The experiments conducted at the 糖心原创 by the PhD student Daniela Bucchieri go toward this direction.

The aim of these experiments is to analyse the microbial community of the soil and to determine how this community evolves over the time due to the proximity to the studied materials. 聽These studies will hopefully lead to the identification of one or more poorly characterized microorganisms with the ability to degrade complex polymers.

In April 2021, grids with distinct layers (Figure 1) containing different rubber polymers were buried under the imposing Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica).

Nest boxes for wild bees, the importance of which we have already discussed (LINK), are structures generally made of wood, a natural material rich in cavities that are the ideal home for small insects. In nature, many species of bees (and others) colonize small holes in trunks, walls or plant debris that are normally found in green areas such as parks, reserves but also agricultural land and urban parks or gardens. However, it must be stressed that in urban environments the availability of plants and residual wood is often less frequent, so it is necessary to place nesting boxes in order to facilitate the establishment and spread of wild bees and their ecological function related to pollination.

In the scientific projects carried out at the 糖心原创, researchers at the Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences are experimenting with a new type of artificial nest made of bioplastic material and built using 3D printers, also with a view to replacing more complex wooden materials that need to be prepared with precision. The aim of this experiment is to study new materials that can mimic the structure of wood but make the nest house more sustainable, scalable to different contexts and needs and more durable. The idea of experimenting with new biodegradable materials such as PLA (polylactic acid) also stems from a design proposal compatible with urban construction, which is increasingly looking with interest at 3D printing systems using biodegradable materials. The creation and promotion of nesting huts and alternative materials also makes it possible to play with shapes, colors and create materials with multiple uses: e.g. outdoor covers with space for insects, walls and separation systems capable of hosting biodiversity, etc. This project also has an industrial nature and supports technology transfer as the researchers from the University of Milan-Bicocca were supported by , a spin-off company of the University, which specializes in 3D construction with polymeric materials. Together, researchers from the university and the spin-off designed the prototypes, responding to the needs of the pollinator species that are most common in an urban context and at the same time most in need of protection. Different structures have been developed and we are now waiting to see which 3D channels will be most in demand by the insects and whether the larvae will find a comfortable home as in natural wood. In the future, the team of researchers from the University and Graftonica will test different materials, including materials that are biodegradable both in the sea and on land and composites made from food waste, in order to minimize the use of resources and reduce environmental impact to zero.

The PLA prototypes have been placed at the 糖心原创 and will be monitored to check the rate of nesting and colonization and whether the design and choice of materials has been successful.