BGC Lab Retreat 2026: Team building and Science in Borrello!

From June 14th to 16th, the Biodiversity and Global Change Lab went to the beautiful setting of Borrello for our Lab Retreat. It was an incredible three days packed with strategic planning, scientific brainstorming, hands-on workshops, team building activities and a lot of biodiversity sightseeing!

The first day we arrived in Borrello for an excursion to the local waterfalls and we had the chance to explore the crayfish reintroduction sites thanks to the guidance of Rewilding Apennines. We also took some pictures of beautiful waterfalls of the area. We ended the day with an overabundant dinner from Vincenzina.

Crayfish reintroduction sites at Borrello

BGC Lab at Borrello

Monday morning Moreno kicked off the day leading a session on the future strategy and direction of the lab, mapping out our next big moves. This was followed by a healthy dose of humility and wisdom in a brainstorming session on "predictable errors and avoidable successes”, where we shared our worst mistakes and the instructions to not repeat them.

In the afternoon Moreno led an intensive grant-writing workshop tailored for post-docs, focusing on high-level funding like ERC-Starting Grants and Marie Curie fellowships.The activity was followed by some time to talk about general feedback and potential for improvements and expansion of the lab in the coming months.

Grant-writing workshop

BGC lab at Grant-Writing Workshop

The late afternoon was the perfect time to play a treasure hunt and complete our team building activity (won by a huge distance by the Pappataci team against the Gamberi di fiume! Go Pappataci).

On the last day we talked about how to prepare the perfect rebuttal letter starting from real examples of colleagues, followed by the last session about our projects, to be sure that all of us know what we are working on and to find common issues and methods to face problems together.

This retreat was the perfect mix of looking at the big picture, refining our daily practical skills and for our team bonding. Big thanks to the Rifugio dei Sanniti and Giuseppe that hosted us during these beautiful days!

Stay tuned for the next one!