As part of the Genoa Living Lab, the National Research Council (CNR) initiated engagement activities in collaboration with two high-schools (Marconi-Delpino and Gianelli) in the municipality of Chiavari.
Seminars were held in both schools on the topics of climate change, extreme events and geo-hydrological hazards (landslides and floods). Students were also given questionnaires to understand their level of awareness on these issues, and the motivations that might lead them to change their attitudes/behaviours regarding climate change, promoting understanding, protection and adaptation.
Some groups of students, in particular, were then involved in Citizen Science activities and were provided with:
- a webApp designed and implemented to classify and report floods and inundations,
- photographs and videos (available on the social media) of recent flooding events that have occurred in their area (november 2014);
By cross-referencing videos, pictures, and webApp reports, the students were able to verify and record in the field the level of severity of the extreme event that occurred in their area, assessing, for example, the extent of the flooded area, the height of the water, and the damage suffered by citizens and merchants.
The activities then continued in the GIS laboratory where the students were able to compare/integrate the results of their work with official data from the authorities and regarding the past extreme event.
