For the Autodromo Nazionale Monza , being inside a prestigious and historic park like the one that has welcomed it since its foundation is a source of great pride. This is why, over the years, very particular attention has been paid to the relationship between the track and the nature that surrounds it, in search of a complex but fascinating balance. An example of this is the planting of over 3000 plants inside the Monza Park, created by the National Autodrome. With this initiative, the Temple of Speed also took part in M’illumino di meno 2020 , the day of energy saving and sustainable lifestyles, promoted by the radio program Caterpillar of Rai Radio2 .
Management of trees and safety of the racetrack
An initial intervention (over 500 plants) was used to compensate, with a one-to-one ratio, the previous cutting of a few hundred trees located in the green areas of the Monza Park which are the responsibility of the Temple of Speed. The removal of the plants , which took place in recent years, has in fact made it possible to improve the safety of the areas of the Autodrome in which risk situations have been detected. The interventions involved both trees in precarious conditions, present within transit and parking areas for people and vehicles, and trees crashed by the wind on the occasion of the violent accidents that characterized the last summer seasons.
Obviously, the cutting works concerning the risk situations were preventive authorized by the competent bodies : the Lambro Valley Regional Park, the Villa Reale and Monza Park Consortium, the Superintendence of Fine Arts and Landscape of Milan and for the provinces of Como, Lecco, Monza and Brianza, Pavia, Sondrio and Varese.
The care of the green in the Temple of Speed
Subsequently, as part of the maintenance and enhancement of the park’s green spaces by the Monza National Circuit, another 2,400 plants were planted . These are forest seedlings of certified origin, belonging to the flora of the Park and with seeds belonging to the Lombard regional genetic heritage. This means that they are suitable for planting in wooded or reforested portions of the park, because they are able to develop appropriately to the context and specific stationary conditions.
Furthermore, in compliance with the provisions of the Valle del Lambro Regional Park, the tree plants planted will belong to species considered ecologically consistent with the station: English oak (Quercus robur), hornbeam, oak, field maple, ash, cherry, elm.
Trees for the Future
Joining M’illumino di meno was also an opportunity to announce another project: a donation of tens of thousands of trees to Africa, during the competition Hankook 12H Monza , thanks to Trees for the Future . Pietro Benvenuti , General Manager of the Autodrome explained that “the competition is organized by Creventic , which counts attention to the environment among its corporate values, just like the Autodromo Nazionale Monza; for each lap completed by a car in the race, during the 12 hours, a tree will be donated to an African farmer ”.
The One lap = one tree initiative was created in collaboration with the non-profit organization Trees for the Future , which works to improve the livelihoods of farmers in developing countries, revitalizing impoverished cultivation land. The trees planted thanks to the Hankook 12H Monza, are used to transform some mono-crops into forest gardens that allow African farmers to grow products of the land every month of the year to be sold for the sustenance of the local community.
Ole Dörlemann , Event Manager at Creventic, explained: “We think it is important to take a more active role in our environmental responsibility and we are proud to be one of the first motorsport organizations to have actively invested to offset its environmental footprint. We are confident that we will be an example for other organizations ”.