Green education model

The idea of beekeeping originated from AUDI AG, Audi Hungaria's parent company. In 2015, Audi Hungaria was in the midst of implementing its flora and fauna protection plan thus the beekeeping idea was in line with ongoing developments, and was quickly taken up by management. 6 bee colonies with 270,000 bees were installed in September 2015. The bees produce 200-240 kilograms of honey each year, which is branded as Audi Hungaria Premium Honey, and gifted to visitors, as well as purchasable in the gift shop. The income is used for nature conservation programmes. The company also cooperates with the University of Sopron in a biomonitoring project which uses the bees as bioindicators of environmental pollution. (Reference 1)

The School Garden of Széchenyi István University, Apáczai Csere János Faculty in downtown Győr was reestablished by the Vice Dean of Apáczai in 2013. Apáczai’s new school garden trains university students studying education on properly organizing and maintaining the school garden with ecological methods in the format of an optional credit course at the university. Alongside the university students, elementary school student groups are responsible for the planting, maintenance, harvesting, seed collection and other activities under the supervision of teachers and in Apáczai’s garden. The modern school garden movement is rapidly growing since 2013 due to its recognized value in current pedagogical movements, and role in education for sustainability (Reference 1). In 2019, a raised garden bed was also added to the garden, which made that part of the garden accessible to wheelchair users as well. (Reference 2)

The project aimed to create a garden on the roof in the Bremen Volkshochschule, developed with the help of local NGO, Gemüsewerft Bremen and local citizens. The initiative involves vegetables and herbs growing, educational workshops on nutrition and urban gardening as well as various social activities. It aims at increasing access to the urban gardening space and increase in ecological awareness of the residents of Bremen (Ref. 1, 3).

The Belvedere College Urban Farm is run by students from the school and by the Urban Farm start-up. The complex consists of a greenhouse and an open farm, both situated on the rooftop of Belvedere College. The project serves as a testing ground for researching sustainable farming practices, provides education and practical experience on the topic to students, and is part of a collaborative food network in the local area. (ref 1, 7, 8)

The aim of the FitzSimons Wood Biodiversity Education Programme is to highlight the value of, and to promote the use and care of biodiversity and green space in the local area through learning exercises and activities taking place in FitzSimons Wood park. To support such educational activities in the park, enhancement of the habitat was carried out by developing footpaths, planting native trees and management of invasive species. Also, a detailed handbook for school teachers was produced with guidance on how to lead school activities where students investigate local wildlife. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2)

A pilot educational garden was created by Foundation Zaedno in Sofia in 2011 in the city kindergarten Slaveyche. The initiative was carried out with the financial support of Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and volunteers. The aims of the garden were to turn a derelict site into an attractive place for learning about and practicing gardening, playing games, learning about healthy nutrition, conservation, and promoting the creation of other Delicious Bio-Gardens. The garden has herbs, vegetables, and a rainwater harvesting system. Events connected to this initiative were taking place till 2013-14 (Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 4)

With the progressive monopolization of the seed trade and the industrial cultivation of hybrid varieties as well as the restrictive seed legislation, the cultivation of old crops has steadily declined and about 90 per cent of the old crops have been lost. This initiative aimed to reverse the trend by the cultivation of old crops, dissemination of their seeds among farmers and educational workshops to protect and increase their biodiversity.

The project involved the building of the propagation garden on an approximately 4500 square meter area in Ricklingen. This project started in 2013 and it involves interested residents, cooperating with Transition Town Hannover (TTH). The city of Hanover supported the initiative by providing the property and financial aid for the construction of the garden. The project has been provided with professional network from BUND (Kreisgruppe Region Han­nover), the School Biology Center, the VEN (Association for the Conservation of Crop Diversity eV) and Leibniz University, Institute of Horticultural Production Systems and the Chamber of Agriculture In 2014, the basic restoration work on the property was completed. (Reference 1, 5).
Frame beds were installed in 2016 while a garden house was built in 2017. The project was funded by the City of Hannover until 2017 but it continues until the present with the help of volunteers (Reference 9).

An intervention in the parks of Sintra relying on volunteer participation to eradicate invasive species from the green areas. The intervention was carried out on International Volunteer Day and volunteers removed the exotic weed species manually.
The manual work with volunteering was carried out in more sensitive places where herbicide can not be applied (water lines, protected habitats, etc ...) (ref.5)

The project focused on the creation of a rooftop community garden located near a metro station in Bilbao that aims at educating the residents of the neighborhood on how to grow vegetables, how to eat healthily but also offers free practice hours for every person that wants to have their own plot. The project was initiated by the Bilbao's Center of Innovation, a center that aims to contribute to the economic, strategic and solidarity development of the Municipality of Bilbao (Ref 1).

In 2015, Bilbao City Council launched a pilot project of municipal urban gardens in the district of Rekalde. These urban gardens aim to improve the quality of life of residents by promoting a healthy lifestyle within the neighborhood. Additionally, the municipal urban gardens support a broader initiative to create ecological connectivity across the city’s Green Belt, by linking forest parks with urban parks. (Ref 1)