Happy birthday Kayla Nature, happy birthday to us!
Six years ago, when Kayla Nature was just an idea shared among friends and family, many people probably thought we were a bit crazy. After all, dreaming of creating a solid organization dedicated to biodiversity in a challenging area like Southern Italy might have seemed impossible. Yet here we are—not only have we persevered, but we continue to grow.
A few days ago, we celebrated our first six years, and today we want to share this important milestone with all of you: friends, collaborators, clients, and enthusiasts who have joined us on this journey and without whom we wouldn’t be here.
Over these years, we have faced our fair share of challenges and sacrifices, but the rewards and achievements have been just as numerous: from nature expeditions uncovering rare and fascinating species to fostering ecotourism in unexplored territories; from partnerships with schools and museums to publishing scientific contributions in international journals. Every step taken by Kayla Nature has been driven by the same unshakable passion: to discover, protect, and celebrate nature. And yes, we are incredibly proud of it.
Over the last six years, we have guided hundreds of birdwatchers from more than twenty countries to explore Italy’s biodiversity. Campania, Lazio, Piedmont, and Sardinia, with their unique mix of coasts, mountains, wetlands, and urban areas, have proven to be outstanding birdwatching destinations. Our tours have allowed participants to explore lesser-known areas outside the usual tourist routes, such as the coastal wetlands of the Caserta Coastline and the volcanic lakes of the Phlegraean Fields, home to iconic species like the Audouin’s Gull, the Black-winged Stilt, and the Ferruginous Duck.
Among all the destinations we have explored, Ventotene Island holds a special place in our hearts. This small island, nestled in the Tyrrhenian Sea, is a unique stop for birdwatching thanks to its strategic position along migratory routes. It has also been central to our work within the European DestiMED Plus program, which promotes sustainable tourism in Mediterranean areas. As part of the project, we planned and developed ecotourism itineraries in the Marine Protected Area of Ventotene and Santo Stefano.
Even in an urbanized area like Rome, we have managed to make biodiversity the star of our tours. Known worldwide for its art, history, and culture, the Eternal City hides green lungs teeming with life. Locations like Villa Pamphilj, one of Rome’s largest historical villas, have become prime settings for our tours. Here, amidst ancient pines and blooming meadows, our guests have spotted species such as the Great Spotted Woodpecker, the White Wagtail, the Blue Tit, and the dazzling Kingfisher.
Witnessing the wonder in the eyes of someone seeing a group of Flamingos take flight, a Griffon Vulture soaring against rocky cliffs, or a White-backed Woodpecker drumming on a tree trunk is what drives us to continue. We have believed in and invested in the beauty and potential of our regions, promoting sustainable tourism where guides are not just nature enthusiasts but experts with a scientific background, capable of not only showing but also explaining what unfolds before one’s eyes.
In these six years, we have had the immense privilege of leading hundreds of nature lovers to discover the most extraordinary biodiversity, not only in Italy but also in other wild areas of the Mediterranean, such as Spain and Greece. Each journey has been an opportunity to observe, ethically and respectfully, rare and endangered species in their natural habitats: the elusive Iberian Lynx, silently moving through the oaks of Doñana National Park in Andalusia; the serene Dalmatian Pelicans gliding over Lake Kerkini in Greece; the Italian Wolf and the iconic Marsican Brown Bear, symbols of resilience in our mountains. These last two species have been the highlights of several tours conducted in the Abruzzo, Lazio, and Molise National Park, where we have been fortunate enough to observe them multiple times!
Beyond tourism, a cornerstone of our commitment to biodiversity conservation is wildlife monitoring. Over the years, we have collaborated with numerous public and private entities across Italy to study and monitor tetrapod populations.
A particularly significant project was carried out in the Cilento, Vallo di Diano, and Alburni National Park, one of Italy’s largest protected areas. Here, thanks to the ISPRA-coordinated initiative WolfNEXT (2022-2023), we contributed to the monitoring of the Italian Wolf (Canis lupus italicus), a symbolic species of Italian wildlife. Using camera traps, scat analysis, and countless kilometers of fieldwork, we gathered essential data on the presence and behavior of wolf packs in the park, mapping their distribution and updating population estimates.
We delved deeper into this project in our article “Wolf monitoring in the Cilento Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park“. As part of this initiative, we also had the privilege of “following” the journey of a Wolf that had fallen victim to a poacher’s trap but later regained its freedom. This is a story of resilience and hope, which we shared in our article “Tracking the Italian Wolf in Cilento“.
Since 2021, we have also collaborated with the Centro Musei delle Scienze Fisiche e Naturali at the University of Naples Federico II, a key hub for scientific culture in the city. Together, we have created a program of educational and outreach activities that engage hundreds of students and citizens annually across the five Federico II museums: the Minerology Museum, the Zoology Museum, the Palaeontology Museum, The Physic Museum, and the Anthropology Museum. Our initiatives range from interactive workshops, providing students with a practical and engaging approach to science, to guided tours that showcase the wonders of biodiversity through the museum’s collections
Our passion for biodiversity has also translated into a concrete commitment to scientific research. In these six years, we have had the honour of contributing to numerous publications, including articles in international journals and scientific posters presented at major conferences.
Among the achievements we are most proud of is our study published in Biological Conservation, which explored the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown on species observation rates in urban environments. You can read the full study here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109079.
We have also presented the results of our fieldwork at major national conferences. At the 15th National Congress of the Societas Herpetologica Italica (SHI), we shared a distribution update on the herpetofauna of the Benevento province, contributing to the mapping and knowledge of reptiles and amphibians in an often-overlooked area. At the 13th National Congress of the Italian Mammal Association (ATI), we presented data gathered during various monitoring projects, including the wolf monitoring in the Cilento National Park, offering a detailed analysis of the presence and distribution of this iconic species.
Every poster, publication, and conference represent a moment of growth and exchange with the scientific community. Research is an essential tool for biodiversity conservation, and we remain committed to ensuring that our fieldwork translates into valuable and shared knowledge—knowledge that can inspire and guide future generations of researchers and conservationists.
All these steps are the result of years of sacrifice, passion and perseverance. Still, we know we wouldn’t have reached this point without the support of everyone who’s been part of this journey. We are so grateful to every colleague, collaborator, and friend who, thanks to their skills and enthusiasm, have made possible every single achievement.
Since more than a year, we could also count on our first employee: an important step, which marked the beginning of a new growth phase for Kayla Nature. Meanwhile, we had the pleasure to form interns, work side by side with zoologists, scientific outreachers, wildlife photographers and many other different professional and young talents sharing with us the goal of studying, narrating, and protecting nature.
We are proud of what we are building, but trust us: that’s just the beginning. We have so many dreams and goal to achieve, new projects to develop, and stories to tell. To celebrate this milestone we wanted to make ourselves (and to hopefully many of you) a little gift of which you will hear more about in the upcoming weeks!
Stay tuned for exciting news to come, and long live Kayla Nature!
