Saturday, September 22 One Ocean Foundation awarded the two winning classes of the Bertarelli Institute One Ocean Challenge bringing them above and below the sea for a full day. A total of 23 students accompanied by 4 teachers had the opportunity to spend the whole day in the beautiful Niasca Bay at the Outdoor Portofino sports center, within the Marine Protected Area of Portofino.

The day was characterized by an initial marine biology and citizen science briefing, a safety introduction to sports and training about the protocols for observation and subsequent data collection. The participants were divided into two groups to monitor the coast by observing it from two different perspectives; the first group observed the underwater biodiversity via snorkeling, while the second monitored the coast by kayak. In total, with the OutBe protocol, about 300 m of coastline were monitored. During the activity about 11 male sea urchins (Arbacia lixula), 2 female sea urchins (Paracentrotus lividus) and as the most abundant coralline algae (Corallina spp.) were monitored. The data collected during the Experience will be sent to the University of Genoa to monitor the coast according to the Carlit index.

It was extremely satisfying to have taken the young participants into the sea, most of whom had never kayaked, or put their heads underwater, but thanks to the support of the guides of Outdoor Portofino all the partecipants were extremely excited about the opportunity and the experience that a girl defined as "Probably the most beautiful experience of my life".