SFS ITALY: PASTURES AND PREDATORS: REWILDING CENTRAL ITALY
(SUMMER 1)
PROGRAM DETAILS
Term | Summer Session 1
Credits | 4 semester-hour credits
Prerequisites | No course prerequisites | 2.5 GPA | Must be 18 years of age
Application Deadline | April 1st. Early applications encouraged!
Financial Aid | All accepted students can apply for need-based scholarships, grants, and loans.
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OVERVIEW
What does it take to restore nature in landscapes shaped by centuries of agriculture? In this immersive program based in rural Central Italy, students explore how ecosystems can recover in working agricultural lands, from olive groves and vineyards to rewilding mountain pastures.
Fieldwork, excursions, and community engagement offer a firsthand look at the ecological and cultural dimensions of restoration, as well as the conflicts and cooperation between wildlife conservation and food production. Students learn how restoration is unfolding on the ground, navigating both EU-level policy and the lived realities of farmers, rangers, and rewilding advocates.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT
→ Monitor wolf and Marsican bear populations alongside researchers in the Apennine Mountains, and learn how rewilding projects are reshaping rural communities and conservation in Italy.
→ Visit the wetlands at Orbetello Lagoon, a vital stopover for migratory birds, to assess ecosystem services with conservation professionals from WWF.
→ Explore the rugged beauty of Maremma Regional Park, where wild boar, roe deer, and shepherding traditions collide in the ongoing story of human–wildlife coexistence.
→ Compare restoration approaches across vineyards, forests, rivers, and coastal scrub, and meet the farmers, foresters, and ecologists leading Central Italy’s ecological transformation.
LOCATION
Students become members of the Greve community during the program, living in shared apartments in town. Away from the chaos of major cities, students experience small-town living, practicing Italian language skills while dining at local restaurants, shopping at the organic farmers' market, and socializing with neighbors and local families. A unique Italian study abroad experience, students learn to cook in groups and share conversation at the table, a cultural mainstay of the traditional Italian way of life.
