by Sara Formichetti
It took me a while to metabolise the last two days I spent at the Porto Turistico of Ostia, close to Rome (the city where I was born and raised). We – Italian-speaking volunteers from EMBL Rome – took part in an outreach event organised by the educational association Adamas Scienza and EMBL Rome on the occasion of the Italian stopover of the boat Tara. Why is this boat so special? Because it’s a private boat at the service of the international scientific community. The crew of researchers are studying the global oceanic ecosystem and the impacts of ongoing climate change and plastic pollution.
My role as a volunteer was to guide organised tours of the boat (which were fully booked a month in advance!) for the general public. I will explain some of the reasons why this experience was so motivating for me – both as a scientist and as a citizen of the world. Continue reading “Tara sails to Ostia”