Benelli, traditionally sensitive to the preservation and care of the environment, has embraced the restoration project of the Vinci path in Cantiano (PU).
The initiative: The Urbino company has always cared about the territory in which it lives and produces; for this reason, even today, it is committed to recovering the beauty and uniqueness of a severely wounded part of its territory: the natural amphitheater of Mount Tenetra. The project is promoted alongside the Municipality of Cantiano, its mayor, Alessandro Piccini, after having already collaborated with his predecessor, Martino Panico. However, the collaboration with the Municipality of Cantiano does not stop only with the care of the environment, but is also linked to the theme of work, a theme of vital importance and of particular relevance. In agreement with the Municipality, Benelli in fact, he shared the idea of completing the project through the involvement of people who have lost their jobs in this last period. The overall cleaning and recovery of environmental harmony will also include a substantial investment which, in addition to improving the hiking usability of the site and the practicability of the 3 km. of path, will allow this stretch of the Apennines to return to shine and fascinate all nature lovers.
The background: At the origin of this collaboration with the Municipality are the recent floods and the terrifying fire that took place in the summer of 2012; the forest of holm oaks and downy oaks, a naturalistic heritage of extreme importance, began to burn, and for four days was the focus of a tiring attempt to extinguish. In the end, with almost 200 hectares of forest destroyed, the need emerged to have easier "access doors" inside the vegetation to allow the men of the State Forestry Corps and the Civil Protection to intervene promptly.
The amphitheater to be preserved: In addition to this serious episode, other fires broke out in the summer of 2013 on Mount Tenetra. The confirmation that it is never possible to lower the guard on the risks, has pushed Benelli not to lack its concrete support in the field of prevention and protection of the environment: thus the decision to finance the restoration of the heavily damaged path was born. On the other hand, the regional guidelines of the Marche insist precisely on prevention, identifying forestry maintenance as one of the main objectives of the regional plan for the planning of forecasting, prevention and active fight against forest fires. Benelli is also increasingly a protagonist, concrete and close, in stimulating and supporting all those who work in this direction.
Jobs: The project will be developed in different phases and on two different sections for a total of 5 kilometers; it will cover a beautiful path, located at an altitude of 800 meters: the Balza Rossa path, renamed “Vinci” to consolidate the Benelli-Tenetra link. The Vinci, will be the only path on Monte Tenetra restored and practicable. Inaugurated in the second half of May, the first phase of works saw the reintegration of the horizontal and vertical signs to make the route easier; the mowing of the vegetation that blocked the passage, the removal of broken or uprooted trees and the construction of rope handrails where the ground was more slippery due to the presence of water. These days it is the elimination of any difficulty in crossing the Tenetra moat with the placement of natural stones for the ford recovered from the intervention area. The cleaning of the path, in addition to improving its usability, will also help interventions ensuring greater timeliness in the event of an emergency. The completion of the works and the presentation of the Vinci Trail are scheduled for mid-October and will be accompanied by a communication campaign that will signal the redevelopment of the site and which will help raise awareness on the importance of environmental protection, as well as on the need to protect its great fragility, a fragility equal to its beauty.
The green heart of the Marche: This important liaison between the world of work, the environment and industry takes place in a Region that is experiencing an economically difficult moment and which has a quarter of its territory covered with woods. In particular, the Province of Pesaro and Urbino, among the five Marche regions, embodies more than others the need for intervention in these two areas: the first concerns the effects of the economic and employment situation, the second, from an environmental point of view, is linked the highest woodiness index; in this sense, the careful and constant care of such an extensive forest heritage is fundamental in order to minimize any critical issues. From these premises Benelli, born in Urbino, lives in close relationship with the population and its problems, with the territory and with the surrounding nature, and feels the connection with them alive. This is also demonstrated by initiatives such as De Industria, for the recovery of waste materials through works of art, and the commitment to increasing sustainability in the workplace by lighting the production site with LED technology for a matter of energy savings and optimization. The combination of high technological specialization and respect for the ecosystem has already earned Benelli, among the very few companies in Italy to be able to boast it, the exclusive ISO 14001 environmental certification.. The economic and organizational effort aimed at minimizing the environmental impact and maximizing quality standards bears fruit: Ecoman, an environmental consultancy company promoted and participated by the "Carlo Bo" University of Urbino, carrying out coring and analysis on the production site of the Benelli plant, found values well within the legal limits for sites intended for industrial use, and for some substances values even below the limits set for sites intended for public parks.