11/03/2026
A farmer in Italy gave a third of her land back to nature — and rare birds are finding a place to raise their babies! 🐦💚
Alice Cerutti transformed part of her family's rice farm in northern Italy into a wildlife haven, restoring wetlands, planting more than 10,000 native trees and plants, and creating new habitats for birds and insects.
And wildlife is responding! Cerutti says butterflies and dragonflies have increased dramatically, while rare black-tailed godwits have begun nesting in the restored wetlands.
The farm is now home to Italy's only currently recorded nesting site for these migratory birds.
Cerutti has also adjusted how she manages the wetlands to provide safe nesting and chick-rearing habitat for black-winged stilts and northern lapwings, two other bird species facing population declines.
She's still growing rice on the remaining farmland, showing how agriculture and wildlife conservation can coexist.
