Category Archives: Compositions

pibinko.org Newsletter #11: CAILM…S

Compositions

Where C is for culture, A for ambiente (environmento), IL for innovazione libera (open innovation), M for Music, and S for Sport.

C

June 28, 9PM, Torniella, Second edition of the palla a 21 ball construction course.

June 30, 6PM , Massa Marittima (GR), opening of the photo exhibition by Alberico Mattei and Martina Busonero.

A

The 2017 BuioMetria Summer Campaign has started, as a collaboration of the University of Pisa, the National Research Council’s Institute of Biometeorology, and the BuioMetria Partecipativa project.

IL

Sunday, July 2 AM, in Piloni, Tuscany, there will be an update of the Farma Valley Community Map.

M

June 29, Venturina Terme Etruschi from Lakota in their duo line-up, @ Neibar

S

Sunday, July 2, the 7th Farma Valley MTB trophy …with other sidebar events.

Ten years ago, today (more or less)

On June 11 I shot the photo which I then used in tens (possibly over 100) occasions, combining flyers, leaflets, and presentations, to present the Farma Valley.

On June 15 we shot the video on the palla a 21 primer, which was shortly after the video on the rules of the game according to Mario and Bob.

On June 30, 2007, we had a mini tournament of palla a 21 (with four teams: Torniella, Piloni, Scalvaia, Ciciano), as the last event before our departure for Chicago.
During the event, there was a funny situation which was recorded and edited in a short video called “clearing the field“.

Here is some context: during the games, there was a Summer storm, lasting about half an hour. All the players and the spectators dashed for cover. While it was raining, somebody arrived in the square and parked where he saw fit, which happened to be in the worst spot of the field, i.e. in front of the service line. Clearly this person was not somebody from the villages, or seeing a completely empy square would have rang a bell about palla a 21 going on.

As the sun came out again, the player returned to the square and noted the car. Since it was not possible to contact the owner, they decided to make some space….unfortunately we do not have footage of the owner when he came back…but I can say he was not angry…he just drove away with a very puzzled expression.

BMP Interview #5: Rod McDonnell

Compositions

Rod E. Mc Connell, Canadian, President of the Alberta Dark Sky Association, tells us about his experience, starting from the Edmonton area, and gradually reaching wider horizons.

Q: How did your involvement with the light pollution issue start?
A: My involvement with light pollution began over fifty years ago when I entered university.
At home in the country my beloved night skies were studded with brilliant stars but, in the city of Edmonton, their numbers were dramatically reduced. In 1963 or ’64, I wrote to city council complaining of the light pollution which blocked my view of the heavens.
However, 1960’s society was not ready for lessons in energy conservation or light waste,
trespass and pollution (Light-WTP). The curt letter I received emphasized the City knew
what it was doing and did not need the recommendations of some kid from the country.
There were even derogatory comments in the local newspaper regarding my concerns.
In November 2009, at my nature preserve 150 km northeast of Edmonton, I really
became aware of how light pollution from Edmonton and area had increased over the years.

An Edmonton taxpayer, I decided to take on the city. Determined to save my dark skies, reduce this waste and cut light pollution, I gathered information on light waste, its costs and its effects. I also formed a group and invited other interested people from
different backgrounds to join the “Alberta Dark Sky Association,” a loose association of
professionals who had similar objectives.
Realizing that we would never win the battle with the City over “light pollution,” I
strongly recommended that we create a program which would emphasize reduced
light/energy waste while reducing costs, improving city lighting, citizen and
environmental health, all items city council should find attractive. I proposed that we call
the initiative the “Light-Efficient Community” program (copyrighted.) This phrase
describing our goal could then be quickly, easily and positively understood by all and
greeted with approval rather than fear or anger.
Definition:
A Light-Efficient Community (LEC) is one that uses lighting intelligently and
responsibly. It uses the most effective, efficient artificial lighting available to minimize
energy waste, glare, light trespass and light pollution. A Light-Efficient Community
employs sound planning, designs, measures, legislation, fixtures, technologies and
good lighting practices to reduce its energy costs and carbon footprint while preserving
the natural environment and ensuring health, safety, security and a high quality of life
for all.
Prime Principle:
Light only what needs to be lit only when it needs to be lit with the most efficient light
source of appropriate intensity and colour without creating direct light trespass on
neighboring properties and the night sky. Keep your light to yourself!
This initiative eventually met with council approval and the Edmonton “Light-Efficient Community Policy” was adopted August 21st, 2013. We are in the process of making changes to streetlighting and will shortly begin work on “Phase 2 – Exterior Community Lighting” and a “LEC Educational Program.”
We have and continue to consult with other communities in creating and adopting the
LEC program throughout Alberta and elsewhere. Our work extends far beyond Edmonton
and encompasses communications and efforts to reduce Light-WTP on an international
basis. To assist in these efforts, I have created a web site
(www.Light-EfficientCommunities.com)
which offers a short course and many resources for the LEC advocate. I am also currently
producing a film (“Demons in the Light”) which will help educate all sectors of the
communities in which advocates work. (Useful modules from the film are now available
on Youtube.com. – Search for “Light-Efficient Communities)

Q: Is the Alberta Dark Sky Association (ADSA) affiliated to the International Dark Sky
Association, or is it an independent operation?
A: The ADSA is a completely separate organization from the International Dark Sky
Association though several of our members also carry IDA memberships.

Q: When was the ADSA created? How many members does it have?
A: The ADSA was created in 2009. Members: Our number of associates approximates 100
with anyone having an interest in Light-WTP welcome.

Palla a 21 ball construction course in Torniella: how did it go

Compositions

In a nutshell, between 3.15 and 6.30PM on Saturday, June 17, we recorded:

  • Two new ball makers: Valentina and Amos (who drove one hour from the plain to learn)
  • Old-time makers back on the scene: Claudio and Fabiano
  • Thinking about it: Andrea L.
  • Enticed folk: several people (kids, teens, and adults), including many from Torniella or Piloni who had never seen a ball made (while they very often see it played).
  • As a sidebar item, the reading of excerpts from an environmental impact assessment on the Farma River Barrage (1988)
  • Memories about the game of palla a 21, and other more or less related stories: a lot.
  • If you are interested to learn the fine art of making a ball, write to palla21@attivarti.org

The next event in the Farma Valley will be on Sunday, July 2, 2017 . If you are a tough MTB rider, you can compete for the 7° Farma Valley MTB trophy, or if you are in for a casual stroll, you can opt for the non-competitive ride which is attached to the race. (see articolo dedicato). Last, but not least, we will may see some updates for the Farma Valley Community Map.

Thanks again to Ilo Ferrandi, our tutor.

…meanwhile, the training for the July-August tournaments is progressing…

 

(click on the image to see more detail)

Geomusic at GIT 2017 (Gavorrano, Southern Tuscany, June 12-13, 2017)

Compositions, Maps

Our geomusical activity continues, after the launch at the Farma Valley Winter Fest (December 17, 18 and 19, 2016), the presentation at the FOSS4G conference in Genua (9-2-2017), the international webinar for Geo4all/ASPRS (7-4-2017) and the lecture at  Politecnico di Milano (30-5-2017).

At the 12th conference of the Geomatics and Information Technologies section of the Italian Geology Society (aka: GIT 2017), held in Gavorrano, Southern Tuscany on June 12 and 13 2017 we presented:

  • A poster called Participatory methods for territorial protection and promotion centered on a free/open source approach: case studies from Southern Tuscany( (by Andrea Giacomelli, Mario Straccali, Andrea Bartalucci, Claudio Spinosi)
  • An oral presentation by  Etruschi from Lakota’s, Dario Canal, on the subject of Participatory mapping in a geothermal area: first steps from the Cecina Valley.
Dario Canal at the beginning of his talk (a wide-angle shot would have worked better!)

We don’t know of geologists going to contests for professional musicians…in our case we had a young professional musician and singer giving a talk in a geoscience conference (and kudos to Dario for taking up the challenge).

This was not a weird experiment, since we are collaborating with the band on on participatory mapping projects, and they are actually based in an area of great interest for geology (and geothermal activities), but surely it was an unusual and stimulating presentation.

Should you be interested in collaborating with the Val di Cecina participatory mapping campaign, which follows the work started in 2015 in the Farma Valley, please write to  info@pibinko.org.

 

An update of the Farma Valley Billboard (as of June 3, 2017)

Compositions

After the quick’n’dirty first setup of the Farma Valley Community billboard, here is our first update. You can find it entering the village of Torniella from the South, on your right, just after the post office.

In addition to an updated and enriched list of events, going through August, we added a proper title on the top left, and highlighted the palla a 21 ball construction course,  scheduled for Saturday, June 17, in Torniella, as this is the first time for a very peculiar initiative.

We also remind you that the billboard includes both initiatives taking place in the central part of the vally (essentially, the hamlets of Torniella, Piloni and Scalvaia and their surroundings) in addition to events where organizations based in the valley are invited in other locations (at present, this applies to: Banda di Torniella, BuioMetria Partecipativa, and palla a 21 teams).

May 2017: MoU between Attivarti.org and CNR IBIMET signed

Compositions
Il poster presentato nel settembre 2016 alla quarta conferenza internazionale “Artificila Light at Night” a Cluj-Napoca, Romania

A memorandum of understanding was signed by the Italian National Research Council’s Institute of Biometeorology and Attivarti.org.

This act creates a liaison between a research organization and a small NGO active in outreach activities providing a formal setting for the joint initiatives that these two subjects have been conducting for over three years, starting from the work undertaken within the “Loss of the Night Network” on artificial light at night.

Among the outcomes of this collaboration to date, we can mention the experimental campaign undertaken in March 2015 between the Farma Valley and the CNR Campus in Florence(cfr. blog di Attivarti.org) and the aticle for the  International Journal of Sustainable Lighting published in February 2017.

The Loss of the Night Network project ended in October 2016, but Attivarti.org and CNR IBIMET saw the interest in continuing some form of coordinated activitiy, focusing on two topics. The firs is research, outreach, and technology transfer on artificial light at night and light pollution. The second is about experimental campaigns, especially conducted in citizen science mode.
Both these lines of activity fall in a path which was started nine years ago by the BuioMetria Partecipativa project, which is gradually consolidating and receiving increasing attention not only in the research field, but also by other public and private organizations. The points of contact for the activities are Luciano Massetti for CNR IBIMET and Andrea Giacomelli for Attivarti.org.

The CNR Institute of Biometeorologystituto di Biometeorologia was founded in 1970, and has grown in the years researching numerous topics on agrigulture and environment. Its headquarters are in Florence, and it has other offices in, Bologna, Sassari and Roma.

Attivarti.org was founded in 2011 by a small team of interdisciplinary experts who were collaborating since 2006, to deal with NGO aspects of promotion and protection of lesser known assets in the areas of culture, environment, and open innovation with a strong participatory component. The base of the association is in Torniella, a hamlet in the Farma Valley, Southern Tuscany, but the team operates internationally.

For more information: info@attivarti.org o l.massetti@ibimet.cnr.it

A moment of “civic” engineering at the Politecnico di Milano

Compositions

With the Etruschi from Lakota missing from the scene, on this round, during the lecture on Land protection and planning: interdisciplinary experiences from ten years of projects from a lesser known area of Southern Tuscany, I showed the unplugged version of Il contadino magro (i.e. The Skinny Farmer) taken from the Apr. 7 webinar for the GeoforAll network and the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS).

The lecture was in fact the continuation of the webinar, removing information not relevant for an Italian audience (like the slides on where is Italy), and adding some analyses conducted over the past couple of months, such as the analysis of demographics for some of the hamlets in our area with data since the 17th century, and slides on various initiatives which were not mentioned in April (work on alien species reduction, managemen of hydrogeologic hazard, etc.)

Thanks again to the  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the  Politecnico, and namely to Alessandro Ceppi and Marco Mancini, for the hospitality.

pibinko.org Newsletter #6: articles on magazines and ancient ball game construction courses

Compositions

Please note: if you or your friends would like to receive these communications by e-mail, you can subscribe to our mailing list on http://www.attivarti.org/lists (selecting the option for the English-language newsletter).

This said, the public side of this week will be quiet, in preparation for the May 30 presentations in Milano (AM at the  Politecnico and PM at the Lucernate Community Centre).

Meanwhile you can:

Also: be sure to keep an eye on  http://www.pibinko.org/calendar, with five events coming up in June, all in Southern Tuscany (during the Summer season we will tend to roam a bit less, so you will have more opportunities of visting us in our base in the Tuscan hills.

For more information: info@pibinko.org

BuioMetria Partecipativa at the University of Pisa (May 16, 2017): how did it go?

Compositions

A very interested audience, composed both by students, researchers, and full professors from the University of Pisa (plus a guest from the S. Anna School of Advanced Studies) attended the seminar summarizing the experiences by CNR IBIMET and the BuioMetria Partecipativa project in the fields of light pollution and promotion and protection of night skies. In the same occasion, we also had a glimpse of the activities which the Pisa University will develop over the next two years, following an initial set of studies started in 2015.

Luciano Massetti from CNR IBIMET in the first part of the seminar

The seminar also represented the opportunity to lay the foundations for the upcoming Summer round of night sky quality monitoring within the BuioMetria Partecipativa project.

Thanks again to the Department of Biology, and especially to Elena Maggi and Lisandro Benedetti Cecchi, for hosting this event.

The next occasion to hear it from the BuioMetria Partecipativa project will by in Milano on May 30. There will be a morning lecture at the Politecnico di Milano, followed by an evening talk at the library of Lucernate, just North of the city. The morning talk will have a wider scope (but will still touch the issue of light pollution), while the evening talk will be focused on how to use artificial light with more awareness (than the average of what we see happening roaming over the past nine years on this topic).

For more information info@pibinko.org

 

Pibinko.org Newsletter #5: Pisa tomorrow, and highlight for Milano at the end of the month

Compositions

If you have not yet seen the summary of the “No music allowed, episode 1” event on May 9 in Torniella, you can check it out HERE.

Then, we will be waiting for you tomorrow afternoon (May 16) at the University of Pisa, close to the leaning tower. We will give a lecture from 2PM to 4PM on research, outreach, and citizen science applied to artificial light at night, and then have a “debriefing” from 6 to 2PM at la Torre del Luppolo. The presentation of the event is HERE.

You should then take note of the two presentations we will have in Milano on May 30. In a sort of “double-feature” event we will first give a lecture at the  Politecnico di Milano (from  10.30AM to noon), and then have another talk at the Lucernate Community Hall (from 8.45PM to 10.45PM). Summing these two events you should have an exhaustive view on the projects for m(‘)appare, BuioMetria Partecipativa, and for the intertwining of culture, environment, and open innovation which we have been developing for over ten years from the Southern Tuscan hills.

The presentation wll also be the opportunity to learn directly about the  pibinko.org + attivarti.org , focusing on the Summer, but already including some hints for the colder months, and providing indications on how to participate in person.

Finally, I would like to recall that there are still 47 days to contribute to the  Etruschi from Lakota crowdfunding campaign, to print their third album. The campaign is going pretty well, but is not yet complete. You can see what this is about from THIS PAGE.

For more information: info@pibinko.org