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Saltersgate Junior School has unveiled its new eco-friendly ‘living wall’ - believed to be the first of its type in a UK school. This was part of a larger refurbishment project. The 98-square metre architectural feature will help insulate the building and use surplus rainwater from the roof to water plants. The Scawsby school’s pupils have been involved in the creation. They will also be looking after it and use it as an educational area for studying different types of plants and insects (Ref 1 & 2)

The green wall outside of the garden section of Leroy Merlin in Zlotniki near Poznan. First of such projects in a shopping mall in Poland which was designed already at the planning stages of the building infrastructure. It serves both ecological and marketing purposes [1,2].

The aim of the project was to protect and enhance the areas of core nature conservation interest and adopt environmental management principles to help reduce the impact of management operations on the environment. Linn park and Local Nature Reserve (LNR) is the second-largest park in the city. Linn Park comprises a mosaic of riparian woodland along the White Cart corridor principally broadleaf in character, mixed woodland plantation blocks connected by a series of mixed-species shelterbelts, scrub, meadow, amenity grassland, and parkland trees. The woodland provides habitat for a great variety and number of birds both resident and migratory. Some areas of the woodland have good ground flora diversity including the occurrence of Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) in patches.
The park is particularly of note for its floristic and bird diversity with some 250 and 60 species recorded respectively. Some animals and plants of interest include Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar), Otter (Lutra lutra) and Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) and Great-spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) and Toothwort (Lathraea squamaria) in the woodlands. It is scarce in Scotland and Linn Park and is one of only 3 sites in Glasgow this species is found (Ref 4). Linn Park and Local Nature Reserve (LNR) was awarded a Green Flag in 2013. The Green Flag Award is the benchmark national standard for quality parks and green spaces (Ref. 3).

The Brunton Park residential area in the northern part of Newcastle had a history of flooding as a result of urban growth in the local area and developments in the upper parts of the Ouseburn catchment. A total of 62 properties were at risk of sewer flooding whilst 74 properties were located within a flood zone. In 2014, the collaboration of the Northumbria Water, the Environmental Agency and the Newcastle City Council created the Brunton Park Flood Alleviation Scheme with the strategic objective to reduce the potential for flooding of adjacent properties from surface water and the Ouseburn, whilst also developing a sustainable, self-maintaining channel which supports environmental, social and economic purposes at the same time. (12)

The project included physical measures of embankment building, diverting part of the Ouseburn river, installation of sewage storing tank, and creating new water-dependent habitat (12)

Blackburn Meadows Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) has a mesophilic anaerobic digestion facility, which enables the recycled sludge to be used on neighbouring farmlands as manure. It also enables the generation of renewable energy using combined heat and power units. All the upgrade works were to improve the quality of effluent being discharged into the River Don (ref 3). Sheffield City Council and Yorkshire Water leased an unused part of the former sewage works, to turn into a nature reserve which provides habitat for migrating birds. A water meadow created on vacant land promotes ecological biodiversity and floodwater attenuation (Ref5). In 2013, the works handle a dry weather flow of more than 158,000 cu m of sewage per day, with the treated effluent pumped into the river. It is one of Yorkshire Water’s biggest assets, but with a projected dry weather flow set to hit 368,000 cu m per day by 2025, it is in need of an upgrade (ref 6). The project is fragmented into two phases as the 1st phase was completed in 2013 and the 2nd phase will be completed by 2021 (ref 3).

The areas around MarselisborgCenter in Aarhus get a new and better life. The project will contribute to the world's first city park that handles excess rainwater and invites citizens to health-promoting lifestyles. The area around MarselisborgCenter will be converted into a public city park for both MarselisborgCenter's users (people in rehabilitation) and the citizens of Aarhus in general. At the same time, the area will make the city more robust to future heavy rainfall. (Ref. 1)

The purpose of SPARK is to create a new, vibrant urban space in and around the Marselisborg Center, which partly meets the need for outdoor rehabilitation activities for the center's users, and partly the need for a fully-fledged climate adaptation effort in the area. These needs are united by the construction of a new public park, which also has the potential to increase social inclusion by creating meetings between the users of the Marselisborg Center and the many residents in the district. (Ref. 6)

The City Council has passed an ambitious woodland plan designed to protect the municipality's groundwater.By planting woods in vulnerable areas where boreholes have been drilled for drinking water, the use of pesticides or other pollutants in the immediate area can be avoided. Aarhus residents will be ensured clean drinking water in 20 years even though the population is rising.(Ref. 2) New woodlands west of Aarhus will be a magnet for lovers of the open air, and secure clean drinking water for the city's population.(Ref. 1)

This project was implemented on the rooftop of a ten-floor building with a floor space of 1.4 hectares, with the implementation of a green roof of 650m2. The motivation behind this was to study the thermodynamic impact of a green roof in hot Athens. Results concluded that the greenroof significantly affected the thermal performance of the building. Energy savings of 50% were observed for air conditioning on the floor directly below the installation. In addition to the energy-saving benefits, the study also found increased biodiversity in the area. A plethora of birds and beneficial insects were observed on the roof, ranging from robin redbreasts, yellowhammers, yellow tits, coal tits, and sparrows to kestrels hovering high above eyeing up the smaller birds. Other species such as honey bees, tiger swallowtail, monarch butterflies, dragonflies and ladybugs were also seen (Ref 1). The study suggested in improved micro-climate and biodiversity of the constitution square (Ref 1, 6, 7).

The Sprouting Building is an apartment complex which was built in 2000 in such a way as to have seeds grow from the exterior walls of the building. "There are "balcony-gardens" to dine in with many friends, "balcony-cabins" perched among the trees for more intimate encounters, "balcony-lookouts" to curiously explore the foliage of the treetops, and "balcony-terraces" for reflection and contemplation. The project could have been called “the balcony in all its forms" but instead it was named "the building that grows." The building "grows" thanks to plants on the building's walls. Its skin has become a kind of mini-ecosystem" (Ref. 1).

Ekostaden Augustenborg is the collective name for a program to aims to transform Augustenborg into a more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable neighborhood. Ekostaden Augustenborg is one of Sweden´s largest urban sustainability projects. Aims and implemented measures were based on the wishes of local stakeholders and residents: No more flooding, green roofs, a musical theme playground, an open stormwater system (ref. 1).