Civic Oasis a Scuola

Civic Oasis at School is a pilot project that transforms school spaces into civic laboratories for sustainability and educational innovation. Funded by the Ministry of Education and Merit (PON-FESR, Edugreen program), it originated from the workshop “Praise of Frugality. Sensory Gardens at School” (2022) and involves the De Amicis–Da Vinci Comprehensive Institute in Palermo, the LabCity Architecture research group (DARCH–UNIPA), the association ‘a Strummula, as well as students, teachers, and professionals. Based on a transdisciplinary approach, the project weaves together architecture, pedagogy, and social practices, positioning the school as an open and inclusive civic hub capable of fostering urban regeneration in the Noce district of Palermo. At the heart of the initiative is the creation of a civic oasis composed of five sensory gardens and a Pergola Atelier—spaces that integrate nature, learning, and social interaction. Through an action-research methodology, Civic Oasis experiments with new forms of learning and participation, promoting environmental quality and collective well-being in line with the 2030 Agenda and the New European Bauhaus. The school becomes a generative, community-oriented place, able to activate processes of care, beauty, and cohesion. Among the most significant initiatives, the inauguration of the “Guardian Garden of the Mediterranean Scrub” and the “Garden of the Righteous” (Gariwo network) strengthens the role of architecture as a critical tool and a lever for transformation in fragile urban neighborhoods.