Gaiocardium – Art for the Earth

Just a few days after the inauguration of the Gaiocardium installation in the Cansiglio Forest, the project experienced one of its most meaningful moments.

Eighteen children from the Tambre Kindergarten visited the artwork accompanied by their teachers.

After observing the sculpture and listening to the story of its meaning, the children were able to approach the artwork, touch it, and discover its details with the curiosity and spontaneity that belong to their age.

They then took part in a very simple yet meaningful creative activity.

The red wooden hearts placed along the path leading to the sculpture were entrusted to their hands. Using colored markers, each child left a mark, a drawing, a spontaneous thought.

By the end of the meeting, every heart had become unique.

From today, those drawings will remain in the forest as a small testimony to the children’s passage and their encounter with nature.

Gaiocardium was born from precisely this idea: to create opportunities in which art becomes a bridge between people and the natural world.

The works may be carved in wood, but their meaning continues to live through the actions and participation of communities.

In Cansiglio, the Heart of the Earth continues to beat through the colors and drawings of children. 🌿❤️

Γαιοκάρδιον, Gaiocardiun, Veneto Agricoltura, Museo Regionale dell’Uomo in Cansiglio, Pian de l’Osteria, Cansiglio, Foresta del Cansiglio, Art for the Earth, environmental art, ecological art, nature education, environmental awareness, sustainability education, community art, public art, tree protection, forest conservation, environmental projects, school activities, children and nature, eco art, creative environmental education, nature and art, wooden hearts, environmental movement, art for life, Scuola dell’Infanzia di Tambre, Uncategorized

On June 14, 2026, Gaiocardium took another step along its journey.

A new sculpture dedicated to the relationship between human beings and nature was installed in the Cansiglio Forest, one of Italy’s most important forest ecosystems.

The artwork depicts a child offering a red heart to the forest. At the child’s feet, a fox, a wild boar, a marmot and a squirrel provide symbolic support, reminding us that life on Earth exists through the cooperation of all living beings.

Around the sculpture, dozens of red wooden hearts were placed with the participation of children, who left messages dedicated to the protection of trees, animals and the natural landscape.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of Veneto Agricoltura, the Cimbri del Cansiglio Association, local institutions, the Honorary Consul of Greece in Venice, archaeologists conducting prehistoric research in the forest, and many friends of Cansiglio.

One of the most meaningful moments of the day was the signing of the heart destined for the forest. Authorities and participants left words and thoughts on the red heart, which was later placed in the hands of the child, symbolically completing the artwork.

With this installation, Gaiocardium continues to build a network of places, people and communities united by a simple idea:

when the Earth suffers, we are called to care for it.

After Gournes in Crete, Astakos in Xiromero, Amarousio in Athens and now Cansiglio, the Heart of the Earth continues its journey.❤️🌳

On May 20th, a special Gaiocardium activity took place at the 8th Primary School of Amarousio, bringing together students, teachers, and artist Athanasia Pastrikou in a shared experience of art, nature, and environmental awareness.

The meeting was much more than an art workshop. It became an opportunity for children to reflect on their relationship with nature, trees, and the responsibility we all share in protecting the Earth.

Students exchanged thoughts and ideas about the environment and then transformed small wooden hearts into personal messages of love, respect, and care for nature.

Each heart became a symbolic gesture. A simple piece of wood was transformed into a voice carrying hope, gratitude, and a promise to protect the natural world.

The hearts created during the activity are intended to be placed on trees, extending the experience beyond the classroom and creating a living connection between children and the environment around them.

Through simple actions, children discover that caring for nature does not always require great efforts. Sometimes it begins with a message, a thought, a promise, or a small act of attention.

Gaiocardium warmly thanks Principal Mrs. Kyriaki Kanari, the teachers, and all the students of the 8th Primary School of Amarousio for their hospitality, enthusiasm, and participation.

This activity marks another step in the growing network of people, schools, and communities that share the vision of Gaiocardium: bringing art closer to nature and encouraging meaningful acts of care for our planet.

Gaiocardium
Art for the Earth — Art for Life 🌳❤️

During the Gaiocardium action in the Municipality of Xiromero, hundreds of children’s messages of love for nature were placed on the trees of the Varka area in Astakos.
The small wooden hearts became part of the landscape.

After the completion of the action, a new location was created on Google Maps with the name:
“Children’s Hearts”
so that the site remains visible and accessible to anyone visiting the area in the future.

Thus, the hearts do not remain only on the trees.
They also remain in the memory of the place.

If you ever find yourself in Astakos and visit the site, we would be happy if you share a photo with us.

Each heart is a small message of care.
Each tree is a silent recipient of this promise.

📍 Location: “Children’s Hearts” – Varka, Astakos, Municipality of Xiromero, Greece
Children’s Hearts – Google Maps

🌳❤️
Gaiocardium
Art for the Earth — Art for Life

Astakos 2026 Artists Forest Actions Children & Education Workshops Installations Greece

From May 15 to May 18, Gaiocardium was present in Astakos, Municipality of Xiromero, for a four-day artistic and environmental action dedicated to the relationship between humanity and nature.

In an open space beside the sea, wood was gradually transformed into sculptures.
The tools worked tirelessly, people collaborated, and little by little the place acquired a different energy.

Yet perhaps the most important part of these days was the presence of the children.

Primary school students participated in the action, painted hearts, wrote small messages for nature, and placed them on the trees around the open-air workshop.

Through a simple symbolic gesture, a personal relationship with the natural environment was created.

For a few hours, the children did not stand opposite nature as spectators, but beside it.

The sculptures created will remain as traces of this encounter.
But the small hearts hanging on the trees may be the most living imprint of these days.

We would like to warmly thank the Municipality of Xiromero, Mayor Ioannis Triantafyllakis, Deputy Mayor Eleftherios Mantzaris, as well as everyone who supported and embraced this action.

Special thanks also to Aqua, for the warm hospitality and the daily care offered to all participants.

Gaiocardium continues.

Little by little, a network of people, places, and actions is being created, trying to remind us of something simple:

When the Earth hurts, we care for it. 🌳❤️

Astakos 2026 Artists Forest Actions Children & Education Workshops Installations Greece

Four days in nature, with wood, tools, children, hearts, and people who came together around a common purpose:
to remember our relationship with the Earth.

We would like to warmly thank:

the Municipality of Xiromero,
Mayor Ioannis Triantafyllakis,
Deputy Mayor Eleftherios Mantzaris,

for their trust, hospitality, and support of this action.

Special thanks also to the Aqua restaurant,
for the warm human hospitality and the daily care offered to all of us.

But the most important part was the children.

The hearts placed on the trees,
the small messages for nature,
the glances,
the silences,
their participation —

were perhaps the most meaningful artwork created during these days.

Gaiocardium
Art for the Earth — Art for Life 🌳❤️

Astakos 2026 Artists Forest Actions Children & Education Workshops Installations Greece

The wood has already begun to transform.
The first forms are emerging from the trunks, while the space gradually fills with the sounds of tools, wood dust, colors, and human encounters.

Each sculpture follows its own rhythm.
Sometimes slowly and silently, sometimes with intensity and strength.
And somewhere between manual labor and nature, something is being created that goes beyond the artwork itself.

At the same time, children continue to visit the site of the action.
They paint hearts, write small messages for nature, and place them on the trees surrounding the open-air workshop.

The hearts are beginning to multiply. 🌳❤️

And with them grows the feeling that this action is not only about art, but about our relationship with the place, with nature, and with one another.

Gaiocardium — in progress.

Astakos 2026 Artists Forest Actions Children & Education Workshops Installations Greece

The wood opened.
The tools found their rhythm.
And the space slowly started to transform.

This is not only the beginning of an artwork.
It is the beginning of a relationship. A collaboration between all of us,
a shared purpose.

People, trees, hands, glances —
all finding a common language.

And somewhere between the wood and the silence,
something begins to emerge that cannot easily be explained.

Gaiocardium — in progress. ❤️🌳

Astakos 2026 Artists Forest Actions Children & Education Workshops Installations Greece

Astakos 2026 Artists Forest Actions Children & Education Workshops Installations Greece

We don’t begin with artworks.
We begin with a simple act.

A heart.
Tied to a tree.

A child approaches, touches, pauses.
And without even realizing it, begins to care.

This is Gaiocardium.

A small act that becomes a relationship.
A relationship that becomes responsibility.

When the Earth is in pain, we take care of it. ❤️🌳