How are invasive species changing Venice?

Visiting Venice

Wencke Osinski

Venice has a big problem with seagulls. There are thousands of them, they are super aggressive, steal food, poop everywhere and have a negative impact on biodiversity. So it is an invasive species.

But the same could be said about tourists. They also come to Venice by thousands everyday, contribute to the overfishing of the lagoon and destroy it with their aggressive cruise ships.

In my book, two characters of these two species meet and blame each others for the problems in Venice. But are they right?

A project made in the course

Lagunando

With the project “Lagunando”, we’ve entered the Venetian lagoon, collecting a multiplicity of testimonies, forgotten stories, hidden details. This material has been re-arranged by each student into a “microhistory”, to narrate some aspects of the precarious balance of the Venetian lagoon. These stories became the narrative structure for a series of children books.