From Italy to the USA to explore perceptions of Neutral Weed Communities

From June to August, Susanna Debenedetti, Coordinator of training, research and experimentation from Deafal NGO, completed her secondment at Cornell University. Her work focused on understanding how people perceive Neutral Weed Communities and related ecosystem services, using a multidisciplinary approach that combined public engagement, immersive experiences, and stakeholder interactions.

During her stay, Susanna collaborated with Cornell researchers and interviewed Prof. Emeritus Philip McMichael. She presented Deafal’s activities at Cornell and led a series of public imagination exercises in streets, farmers' markets, and the campus, engaging both farmers and consumers to explore their emotions and ideas around weed–crop coexistence.

These exercises were followed by two immersive focus groups in Ithaca and Brooklyn, where participants experienced future scenarios of weed management, ranging from traditional agroecological approaches to AI-powered high-tech solutions. Discussions and written inputs were synthesised into SWOT maps, capturing collective perceptions of these potential futures.

Susanna’s work strengthened international collaboration on Neutral Weed Communities and provided new insights into public perceptions of sustainable weed management, contributing to NeutraWeed’s goal of promoting biodiversity-friendly practices.

Stay tuned for upcoming publications and outputs!