The 2025 edition of the Festival Cansiglio in Vita, held from June 12 to 15, concluded with great success, animating the Cansiglio forest with a rich program of events dedicated to planetary health. The Festival, organized by the University of Padua and GAL Prealpi e Dolomiti within the framework of the CONNATURALP project, was a key opportunity to bring the project’s themes and goals to the local community, fostering a unique dialogue between science, nature, and society.
This year, the event addressed planetary health from the “One Health” perspective, central to CONNATURALP and supported by the international scientific community: human health is closely connected to that of animals, ecosystems, and the planet. Maintaining the health and balance of the Earth System, in all its environmental, social, and cultural components and their complex interactions, requires collective effort aimed at promoting well-being and equity — precisely what CONNATURALP seeks to demonstrate through its experimental activities in cross-border protected areas.
During the three days of the Festival, participants had the opportunity to explore these complex connections through various activities: multidisciplinary scientific conferences, documentary screenings, interactive workshops, excursions, guided nature experiences, and open dialogue sessions. The activities were designed to engage people of all ages, allowing them to directly experience the effects of nature on human health, including groups with specific conditions or pathologies.
A central moment of the Festival was the Scientific-Dissemination Conference “Planetary Health: Interconnections and Synergies among Environments, Animals, and Humans”, held on Friday afternoon from 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm. The conference represented an important occasion to present CONNATURALP’s perspectives to the local community.
The event adopted the multidisciplinary and systemic approach that characterizes CONNATURALP, focusing on the interactions between human activity and biosphere health. With contributions from experts in ecology and forest management, medical specialists, psychologists, animal health experts, and other scientific disciplines, the conference strengthened the network of knowledge and expertise at the core of the CONNATURALP cross-border partnership.
Notable participation from project partners included:
- Arnulf Hartl (Paracelsus University of Salzburg, Head of Institute of EcoMedicine, Austria) – “Nature-based Therapies: Clinical Studies & Evidence-based Health Tourism”
- Bruna Scaggiante (Department of Life Sciences, UNITS, Regional Coordinator LILT FVG) – “A Molecular Vision on Health and Longevity from a One Health Perspective”
- Verena Gruber (Lungau Biosphere Park, Austria) – “Visitor Guidance for Environmental Health: The Experience of the Biosphere Lungau Park in Austria”
- Laura Secco et al. (Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry TESAF, UNIPD) – “Planetary Health and Systems Thinking: A Conceptual Map”
The Festival confirmed itself as a valuable opportunity to hear expert voices, experience firsthand the bond connecting us to nature, and view both nature — and ourselves — with fresh eyes. The event demonstrated how CONNATURALP is building the territorial network necessary to translate scientific research into concrete practices, fostering a culture of planetary health based on awareness of the interconnections among all living beings and guiding future management policies for Alpine protected areas.
