Villa La Rogaia, art helps nature. Extraordinary gift idea for ecoconscious business owners

PRLog (Press Release) - Nov 09, 2009 -
"ArteNatura" olive tree adoptions are particularly interesting for enterprises which want to signalize to their business partners clients and the public that they are decided to accept responsability for our environment and for cultural values.
Giving an "ArteNatura" olive tree adoption as present to business partners or incentive for employees is a strong symbol for a business philosophy oriented on sustainability and profound interest in culture.

This is the basic idea of the "ArteNatura" project:
Next to an olive tree planted especially for those who take over an adoption or give the adoption as present, there will be set up a stele made of natural stone which bears the name of a person of your choice (upon request).
The stelae, created by the sculptor Wolfgang Sandt, are inspired by Etruscan sculptures. The slender pillars have a height between 5 1/2 and 6 ft, about the size of a human being.
They evoke thoughts of tree guardians or protecting spirits. Indeed each stele “protects” the small olive tree in the first years of its life, until the tree rises above it and finally the sculpture finds shelter in its shadow.

At the same time La Rogaia Adopt An Olive Tree Project is a valuable contribution to the protection of environment. The maintenance of olive trees and the olive harvest on the impassable steep slopes in Umbria and Tuscany are costly and labour intensive. This has caused the abandonment of vast stretches of formerly cultivated olive groves.
Ancient groves used to be set up on terraces, which were supported by dry stone walls in order to prevent erosion. These walls have been built by the olive farmers during centuries of hard work and have become a characteristic landmark of Umbria and Tuscany.

Unfortunately a big part of these walls, which are also home to many small animals, are more and more threatened by decay. An important part of work consists in fighting against this decay in order to preserve this natural habitat. This even might help to attract more and new species of small animals. In the course of the last decades some of the ancient olive groves around La Rogaia have been overgrown by Mediterranean macchia, a typical low woodland with broom, wild roses, laurel, holm oaks and many other trees and shrubs. This has formed a multitude of wonderful new microenvironments. The clearing of this Mediterranean macchia, with the only objective to regain a maximum production of olive oil, would cause unjustifiable ecological damage. Therefore it is an important aim to make the olive trees accessible again and to give them the care they need for surviving and thriving without destroying the existing biodiversity.

Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/10406732/1