PUBLIC This methodology was experimented and drafted in the tropical garden of Monte Palac, at Monte, close to Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, from 20 to 24 February, with European teachers during the peer-to-peer training mobility. It has similarly been the object of implementation with different audiences, high school students with weak results, from Cortina d’Ampezzo and Trieste, Italy

KEY COMPETENCES
 Communication in the mother tongue
 Social competences and citizenship
 Humanist culture and expression of sensitivity

OBJECTIVES
To implement a pedagogical strategy placing the garden as vehicle to
 enhance reading, creative practice, communication in the mother tongue and that of the hosting country, group dialogue, listening to others
 to encourage the intellectual curiosity for the European literary heritage

GARDENS EXPLORED
Tropical garden of Monte Palace in Madeira, Portugal
Gardens of Cortina d’Ampezzo and Trieste, Italy

MATERIALS
 The booklet by Marguerite Yourcenar Written in a Garden, (Fata Morgana Publ.) translated into many languages, and a collection of other literary works on the theme of the garden
 Materials to write and draw (paper, pencils, pens, watercolour..)

DEVELOPMENT
The activities develop in 5 phases after an individual exploration of the garden :
 to read aloud the texts selected, fragments, quotations, passages from the work by Yourcenar and other authors. At the same time to look at the garden to fully perceive the richness, fragility and beauty of nature

 to introduce some themes of writing starting from reading, for instance : childhood, trees, imagination, loneliness, silence, shade, water…. To suggest that the participants fill out the list with themes of their choice

 to write short autobiographical texts inspired to these themes linking together personality and garden

 to illustrate the text with drawings, painting, photos, etc.

 to join texts and images in a ’Green Notebook’. With reference to Marguerite Yourcenar’s work, words and images will constitute the core material for the creation of a personal, creative notebook

EVALUATION

It takes into account the ability to :
Master the oral and written mother tongue
 To enrich the oral and written mother tongue with the acquisition of terms borrowed from literary and poetic texts
 To build up and implement written texts minding spelling and poetic rules (form, metric, rhyme..)

Develop awareness and cultural expression
 To develop the ability to express in an artistic and creative form
 To use and improve the range of techniques to realize the ’Green Notebook’

Develop social and civic competences
 To dialogue and communicate in a critical way, to share the notebooks implemented

AUTHOR
Patrizia Rigoni
Acquamarina Associazione Culturale – Trieste - Italy

PHOTOS
Annamaria Castellan
Acquamarina Associazione Culturale – Trieste - Italy

TRANSLATER
Mary Gino
Association Acquamarina, Trieste, Italie