Food for the soul gobbi_claudia_thumbnail.png Claudia Gobbi is a service manager in the Facility Management department, dealing with the management of spaces/premises within the Group. Like many other staff members of the Hera Group, she continued working throughout the entire lockdown. Working in the company for over thirty years, Clauda has never witnessed such a critical moment as the pandemic period, but like many other Hera employees she continued to work throughout the entire lockdown. “We immediately realised how serious the situation was. It was necessary to take action quickly to protect colleagues, following all regulations laid down by the Safety Committee. “The whole year was incredible, the first three months in particular, but the results achieved gave us some serenity and the monitoring carried out by the authorities confirmed we were following correct procedures. We felt really useful to our company and colleagues. Just as an example, the fact of keeping the company canteens open throughout the lockdown was very important for our colleagues, at a time when nowhere was open outside our premises.” As a lover of travel, music and art, Claudia suffered under the Covid restrictions which stopped her enjoying her hobbies. “Using travel to open my mind to other cultures and realities different from my own is always a very moving experience for me.” She says that what she misses most is “Food for the soul”: museums, cinema, and theatre. “It’s not enough to eat food for the body; culture is an essential part of my life. As an architect, going to exhibitions and museums served as a stimulus to open my mind and inspire new ideas and thinking also in my work.” no

A qualitative leap donati_michele_thumbnail.png Michele Donati, a 45-year-old from Ferrara, always out on the road. Since July 2020, he has been the driver of a mobile container bin lorry for the Waste Management Department of Hera, after 20 years as a coach driver for a well-known transport company. “At the end of spring, two pieces of good news arrived,” explains Michele. “The virus, which was like a bolt out of the blue, started to loosen its grip, allowing a little more freedom for everyone, and there was a new job for me. Starting work at Hera was, for me, a huge qualitative leap: I am very serene now, both regarding my contractual status and my health.Also, employment in the Covid era is even more important: I truly feel useful, and happy to be able to go out every day, to be out on the road.” And this road is the very motorway that Michele sees every day from his window and that, over these months, has monitored the rhythm of life, a life that at first seemed to have stopped with all traffic gone, and then, slowly, revved up again towards normality. “I felt miserable seeing that deserted motorway, that silence… just like scenes from a film.” It was a ‘film’ in which Michele played a starring role, thanks to his voluntary work as a fireman. Michele is a sociable person and also now, working in Hera, he has easily integrated into his new team. “Even though we don’t have many meetings, we colleagues see each other in the changing room, we chat, we discuss things: we are a close team and fairly similar, also in age”. And now it’s simply time to look to the future as Michele, despite having already reached some important goals, is ready for new projects. “In my life now, I have everything: a partner, a daughter of 5 years old, a job I like and my hobbies. Now, my family and I can think about a new house… this one is small. And, then, it’s great to dive into new adventures, never staying still…” no

The labyrinth hunter selli_ettore_thumbnail.png A lifetime of interests embodied in a book. Ettore Selli, 32 year old engineer at Herambiente in Bologna, is the author of “Labirinti vegetali. La guida completa alle architetture verdi dei cinque continenti” (”Garden Labyrinths. A complete guide to green architecture in five continents”), which is enjoying great success on radio and TV programmes, and in the press. The book is the result of his passion for Greek myths, adventure and the environment, the latter also leading to his job where he deals with tenders for transport and disposal of special waste in Italy and Europe. “For an environmental engineer like me, working in Herambiente is like coming home. Dealing with waste means working with the environment, it is a way to contribute personally every day to the earth’s sustainability.” His interest in Greek mythology dates back to secondary school: “I attended a classical lyceum, so I grew up with the legends of Daedalus and Icarus.” His adventurous spirit is also rooted in his childhood: “I was a scout for 16 years, I love exploring and the outside life, mountains and trekking. These are passions passed on to me from my family; my father is in fact a geology teacher.” This resulted in his desire to explore garden labyrinths around the world, gardens of all shapes and sizes that unite nature with mystery. In his illustrated book, 420 examples of these labyrinths from all parts of the world are provided, in over 60 countries: from Italy to Argentina, from New Zealand to South Africa. He has visited many of these himself: “I love travelling and, on each of my trips, wherever possible, I always include a visit to a labyrinth”. For more remote examples, he relies on geographical maps and satellite images. He has collected images and information to put together a guide which offers photos, descriptions, historic and particularly botanical background, anecdotes and legends, and geographic coordinates. In the office, procedures have changed during the pandemic, but not the motivation. “I never get tired of my job. Covid has not impeded our work, we have continued to work a lot and hard. Also because the new online working methods have optimised our working times”. What Ettore misses is the normal working relationship with colleagues. “In the office we’re now divided into two teams to avoid the possibility of any infection spreading to everyone. This means that half of the office never meets the other half. Despite this, we have never lost our friendly atmosphere and spirit of collaboration”. no