Half a euro each for a real-life fantasy island? A classroom of schoolchildren from the Alpine hamlet of Mosso in Piedmont are trying to enlist the help of children across Italy as part of an ambitious campaign to buy the tiny uninhabited island of Budelli, which lies between Sardinia and Corsica.

According to their Facebook page, the students and teachers of class 2B came up with the idea of a crowdfunding campaign to buy Budelli and rename it Isola dei Ragazzi – or the Children’s Island – to ensure it remains “untouched and Italian”.

Their mission to raise €3m (£2.3m) to purchase the island comes after Michael Harte, a New Zealand banker, reportedly walked away from his own contentious €3m bid to buy the property, which had been the subject of years-long litigation.

“We would like the island for all students of Italy,” the children wrote on Facebook. “We have calculated that if each student from Italian schools contributes 50 cents, we could have the necessary funds. Of course we accept contributions even from those who are not students.”

They are not the first to cast their eye over Budelli, which is known as the pearl of La Maddalena archipelago. Harte had his eye on the island’s pink beaches but was ultimately dissuaded from following through on his successful bid following years of legal wrangling over the property after its previous owner went bankrupt. While his plan was to make the island a kind of open-air natural history museum, reports that he also wanted to construct berths for mega-yachts created resistance to the plan.

The schoolchildren are going about their mission in a very organised way, according to a local teacher: first the best maths students tried to calculate what it would take to raise €3m to match Harte’s earlier offer. Some studied the history of the island and others thought of a social media strategy, according to a report in Radio Popolare. They were examining options to open a bank account on Monday.

Even the mayor of La Maddalena, Luca Montella, is on board with the plan. “It’s a fantastic idea ... maybe it won’t be enough to raise 50 cents for every Italian student but it would be nice to spread the idea to all the children of Europe.”