On Sunday 20 September, Università Iuav di Venezia, as part of the Interreg GREW project, presented the Climate Custody Agreement signed with the associations Ekos Club and Archeoclub d'Italia – Venice branch, which promote the Ecomuseo dei Lazzaretti Veneziani, marking a new commitment to safeguarding the Northern Venice Lagoon. The initiative, entitled "The Ecomuseum as climate custodian", took place in two sessions (11 a.m. and 3 p.m., both fully booked) with a new excursion of F'Orti, the project that the Ecomuseum has dedicated for years to the island system at the Lido inlet.

The Iuav staff of the GREW project guided participants in discovering what a Wetland Area Contract and a Climate Custody Agreement are, two tools for adapting the lagoon to climate change. From the island of Lazzaretto Nuovo, home of the Ecomuseo dei Lazzaretti Veneziani, the excursion continued aboard the "Piero III" bragozzo, sailing among the islands of Sant'Erasmo, Sant'Andrea and Le Vignole, passing in front of the Bacan and the Mo.S.E., to retrace the evolution of the area from ancient times to the present, between critical issues and potential. On this occasion, two new information panels were inaugurated concerning the Ecomuseum's commitment within the Wetland Area Contract, with particular regard to the Sentiero delle Barene (Salt-marsh Trail), the naturalistic and educational path on the island of Lazzaretto Nuovo, acknowledging the important civic and educational role it plays in safeguarding and enhancing the environment of the Venice Lagoon.

The Climate Custody Agreement was created within the framework of the Interreg GREW project, coordinated by Università Iuav di Venezia, which promotes participatory governance tools for adapting to climate change and protecting cross-border wetlands between Italy and Croatia. Custody Agreements are voluntary tools that promote the conservation and enhancement of natural, landscape and cultural resources through sustainable management actions, environmental protection and the strengthening of ties with the territory.

"The Custody Agreement we are signing with the associations of the Ecomuseo dei Lazzaretti Veneziani is an important milestone," explains Maria Chiara Tosi, director of the Doctoral School of Università Iuav di Venezia and scientific coordinator of the project, "as it steers the care actions long promoted for the lagoon towards new demands linked to the climate crisis. The ambition is to extend this new form of governance to the other local stakeholders involved in the GREW project."

"The associations Ekos Club and Archeoclub d'Italia – Venice branch have taken part in the Wetland Area Contract for the Northern Venice Lagoon since its beginning, supporting its valuable collaborative dimension between institutions and different local stakeholders," adds Giorgia Fazzini for the Ecomuseo dei Lazzaretti Veneziani. "The climate custody commitment signed confirms and relaunches the activities and involvement of the many citizens and experts who, starting from the island of Lazzaretto Nuovo, build a long lagoon adventure every day — one that next year will celebrate half a century of the project, motivating us to carry on even further."