Session

The conservation of grasslands, one of the most biodiversity-rich ecosystems in Europe, is a major goal of the EU natural conservation policy. It is strictly linked to pastoralism, and the maintenance of economic activities such as dairy and wool production. The strong decline of pastoralism over the last decades, especially affected mountain areas, which experienced widespread depopulation and impoverishment. Such decline was combined with the new challenges linked to the adaptation of animal husbandry to climate change, regarding the maintenance of the quality of products whilst ensuring environmental sustainability. The complexity of grassland management requires a professional figure able to address in a multidisciplinary way the sustainable management of European pastoral systems. The Erasmus+ TranSuMan project “Advanced training on sustainable management of pastoral systems” (2021-1-IT02-KA220-HED-000032227), implemented by the University of Camerino (coordinator), University of Babes-Bolyai, University of Thessaly, and Catholic University of Valencia, aimed to fulfil this need, by fostering collaboration between the academic world and the actors in charge of the management of grasslands. The main project output was the “Modular online course on sustainable grassland management”, targeted to HE students, teaching staff, researchers, and stakeholders (farmers, representatives of farmers associations and public bodies, managers, and technicians of protected areas). Thirty-two students from the four partner Universities followed an intensive course on the project topics. The course included frontal lessons and a study visit during which students could participate in practical activities (e.g. assessment of sheep body condition in a farm, involvement in cheese-making in a cheese factory, and execution of a phytosociological relevé) and discuss with local stakeholders about grassland management issues. The modular online course, planned according to methodological guidelines for participatory grassland management implemented at the start of the project, took the form of a Concept Map including links to open educational resources (e.g. presentations, videos, photos, and links to publications) previously collected in a teaching toolkit.