2025 Summer School on ‘Introduction to Forensic Palynology’ (Modena, 9-13 June)
The 2025 Summer School on ‘Introduction to Forensic Palynology’ (Modena, 9-13 June) was part of the training activities of the ‘Natural Traces in Forensic Investigations’ project funded by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA Doctoral Networks 2022, Grant agreement: 101120165; https://naturaltraces.com/home/; https://forensic-workshops.org/). The Modena lab hosted the first school of “Criminopalynology” in Italy, organised in 1992 by Professor Daria Bertolani Marchetti, founder of LPP. This Summer School aimed to contribute to the training of experts who can assist routine investigative techniques with palynological surveys and botanical research. During the week-long School, the PhD students enrolled in the Natural Traces project explored the parameters used to identify and classify pollen, and the applications of forensic palynology. The training course included lab activities for pollen extraction from mosses, and light microscopy sessions to observe (fresh and acetolysed) pollen reference slides for Central Europe and the Mediterranean. Participants were also given the theoretical basis of forensic palynology and the significance of pollen evidence in forensic contexts.
2025 Winter School of Palynology (Modena, 22-24 January)
The 2025 Winter School of Palynology (Modena, 22-24 January) was funded by the National Biodiversity Future Center (Italian project). It was dedicated to morphopalynology and evolution of Tracheophyta, and welcomed 22 participants from all over Italy. The theoretical and practical lectures provided scientific basis for a thorough understanding of plant micro-biodiversity useful for applications in ecology and palaeopalynology.
