Project objectives related to the San Giuseppe quarry (Trieste, Italy):

-preservation of the rock area of the lower quarry, spontaneously recolonized by plant and animal species, including nesting birds present in the Dir. 2009/147/EC such as the Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo);

-monitoring of the fauna for one year, especially in the breeding season, and monitoring of the flora, evaluating the invasiveness of alien species, eg. Ailanthus altissima, with proposal for eradication;

-adapting the existing artificial tunnel for the wintering and reproduction of bat species, also through the installation of “bat-boxes”;

-feasibility analysis for the realization of wetlands (ponds and/or flooded areas), very important for increasing the overall biopermeability;

-project for the realization of areas with karstic dry grassland (priority habitat, Dir. HABITAT 92/43/CEE) with the sowing of karst seeds, typical of dry grassland, and with periodical maintenance. This environment is fundamental for the reproduction of the Wood Lark (Lullula arborea), included in Dir. 2009/147/EC, already present in the quarry, and the Sky Lark (Alauda arvensis), which has recently become extinct on the karst and included in the Red List of Birds of Europe;

-proposal to install web-cams in suitable places for observing fauna;

-evaluation of the transformation of existing structures into animal observatories/hides.