The Superior Forest Institute, the first national school of forestry, was founded in 1869 and headquartered in the Abbey of Vallombrosa. Following the Institute’s transfer to Florence in 1913, the School for Non-Commissioned Foresters was instituted; its didactic outfitting is the source of the materials conserved in the office of the Administration of Vallombrosa.

The didactic collection mainly consists of two nuclei: the first made up of topographical instruments used to train students of the Forestry Service School for Officers from 1910 to 1950 circa; the second made up of forest equipment for working in the woods, formerly property of the Superior Forest Institute, and later transferred to the School for Officers. The exhibits are from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Born in 1999, the "San Giovanni Gualberto" Botanical Garden contains most of the specimens of herbaceous plants and several shrubs from the Biogenetic Nature Reserve of Vallombrosa. The various species are grouped by their environment of origin. The forest of Vallombrosa has an environmental learning-trail for schools.