- Details
By the FUA-AUF Communications Office
The Pomario Botanical Retail store is FUA-AUF’s most recent CEMI (community engagement member
institution) initiative. Pomario is operated by students and faculty members of the School of Business at
FUA-AUF, where students are given the opportunity to learn about urban ecology in both the classroom and
through a hands-on professional approach as well. Pomario allows students to interact with the local
community to educate residents through botany, sustainability, and horticulture.
At its core, Pomario aims to support and spread knowledge on how to lead a greener and more sustainable
lifestyle. Much like many of FUA-AUF’s CEMI initiatives, Pomario is built on the institution’s commitment
to education through experiential learning.
Some of the services and products offered by Pomario are:
- Ongoing selection and curation of plant varieties
- Special expansion of vegetables
- Collaborations with other local entities
- Development of events that feature hands-on learning experiences
- Green retail management
- Sustainable marketing and promotion
- Involvement in green/sustainability events hosted at the Palazzi Community Center
Pomario offers a vast selection of plants and gardening items; however, it is much more than just a retail
store for purchasing plants. With a focus on supporting community seminars that place emphasis on
horticulture themes, Pomario organizes multiple sustainably-friendly initiatives and activities that are open to
anyone who wishes to attend. Thanks to the store’s Via Ricasoli location at the Palazzi Community Center,
students, faculty, and visitors alike can benefit from the center’s Cafaggio del Vescovo gardens featuring
citrus trees, herbs, and plants of many varieties.
FUA-AUF is constantly redefining and reinventing what it means to learn in an international setting. Going
beyond the classroom and immersing students in the community, FUA-AUF cultivates and helps to develop
students’ global perspective by exposing them to new ideas, issues, and solutions through the city of
Florence. Through an experience-oriented approach, FUA-AUF students are transformed into citizens of the
world with a greener global outlook.