Commitment to initiatives to protect the environment is part of Orti di Mare’s philosophy – or way of being.
Below, you can discover the main things we have done over the years. A short story to which we will be happy to add new chapters also with your support.
The Taste Trail of Lacona lies to the south of the island near the plain of Lacona.
Since 1997 our agricultural production has been certified organic. To enrich soil fertility, we use the green manure. We also take measures to encourage the presence of natural pest control.
We use only sustainable raw materials to prepare all the food and products that can be bought and tasted at the Rural Restaurant and Market Café. We buy these raw materials from farms that we know directly. For example, we use cheese from wolf-friendly, soil-friendly farms and meat from animals that are naturally fed, do not use antibiotics and are reared in the wild.
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For about 8 years, we adopted and now completed, a project to safeguard the native Monterufoli pony, which is on the verge of extinction, by hosting a genetic garrison composed of a stallion and two mares, and releasing the new-borns into the wild.
We have always been actively engaged in opposing the arrogance of the hunting world and in obtaining the eradication of non-native wild boar from the island, in order to safeguard biodiversity, crops and road safety. In collaboration with other friends, we have drawn up a research project aimed at defining the exact state of the situation and countering the misinformation artfully fed by hunters, proposing the adoption of effective measures.
To promote the dissemination of scientific reasons for a healthy and sustainable diet, we have produced the booklet Microbiota, Nutrition and Health , and a comic strip on the microbiota for children, both translated into English and German.
In 2018, we created the Lacona Beach Supporters Facebook Page to protect the dune ecosystem as well as to inform and communicate observations to safeguard the dunes and the beach.
We also drafted a Report on the Lacona Dunes, which aims to summarise the body of knowledge, critical issues and possible actions for their conservation and enhancement.
We collaborated with the Tuscan Archipelago National Park (PNAT) to replant the bulbs of sea lilies (Pancratium maritimum) that had been washed ashore during the sea storms and to carry out emergency replanting of the dune area after damage caused by the storms.
Over the years, we have collected acorns of holm oak (Quercus ilex) and cork oak (Quercus suber) and sown them in the area to encourage the re-emergence of climax vegetation in succession to the Mediterranean shrub.
We have worked to contain the spread of the Mediterranean pine blastophage (Tomicus destruens), which spreads from plant to plant and requires targeted action on the affected plants to stop its proliferation
We have created a small library room named after Raffaello Foresi, a Renaissance patriot, man of letters, theatre critic, mineralogist, prehistoric archaeologist and agricultural entrepreneur in Lacona.
We have published the book Raffaello Foresi. Il bell’elbano and we have collaborated in the production of a series of information material published by PNAT.
We proposed the dedication of the Environmental Education Centre of the Dunes of Lacona to Raffaello Foresi. The proposal was accepted by PNAT.
We are progressively phasing out the use of disposable materials, replacing them with washable cups, plates, cutlery and napkins.
We have adopted drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting systems, building cisterns and reservoirs. We also use sprinkler devices and controlled water release through reducers and flow control on taps and showers. We regularly service the systems to avoid waste.
To fuel our wood-fired oven, we use farm waste from pruning, supplemented with wood from the cutting of alien species, in a forest management style that respects the structural arrangement of the natural vegetation.
We only use fully biodegradable detergents and sanitisers that respect the ecosystem and the safety of those who use them, certified Ecolabel and Cradle to Cradle. We have produced a booklet to explain this choice.
We have created and made available to all our guests an InfoPoint with about 20 square metres of information and photos on the history and nature of Elba, its flora, sea and hinterland, beaches and paths, to encourage the discovery of Elba and promote an evolved relationship with the island’s environment.
Periodically, from May to October, we organise tours to discover the farm and the surrounding area, through valleys and mountains, to show the nature of the island, raising awareness of a respectful and conscious way of enjoying it.
In building the company’s structures, we not only used recycled materials where possible, we also adopted the principles of bio-climatic construction.
We have installed highly efficient energy generation systems with heat pumps, thermodynamic solar systems and photovoltaic systems.
