Public Greenspace Area

"In Winnipeg, there are several downtown neighbourhood groups (such as the Spence Neighborhood Association, and the West Broadway Community Organization) that make use of vacant urban space for the benefit of indigenous communities, and encourage them to maintain green spaces, ‘tot lots’, and a network of dozens of community gardens. There are also community-led indigenous ‘healing lodges’, Indigenous gardens, medicine gardens, as well as a land-based education programs (e.g. Marymound) using gardening to help at-risk indigenous youth heal from trauma and build resilience in these neighbourhoods." (1 p41).
One such community gardens are the Chief Grizzly Bear’s Garden (in its official, Anishinaabe name: Ogimaa Gichi Makwa Gitigaan) focusing on increasing the visibility of the indigenous community in the Spence Neighbourhood and providing public space for gathering and traditional indigenous ceremonies honoring their connection to nature. The garden is also the place for cultivating native plants significant for traditional medicine practices (1).

Another NBS initiative supporting the indigenous community in Winnipeg will be the Clan Mothers Healing Village and Knowledge Centre (CMVH) initiated by The Elders of Winnipeg. The CMVH will be located in rural Manitoba and provide a land-based, nurturing community living environment for indigenous women and youth who have been victims of intergenerational trauma, sexual/domestic violence, or human trafficking and support their reintegration into society. (1,2)

Henteleff Park is a 'passive park' located along the banks of the Red River and Normand Creek in Winnipeg where the rural character of a landscape that nurtured early Métis culture, Winnipeg’s budding market garden industry and the Henteleff family has been reserved (2). In the 1980s and '90s after being the city's tree nursery it was up for real estate development when "a group of volunteers from the nearby residential area, led by the Henteleff family, presented a convincing plan that showed the value and potential of the site as a public park. As a result of successful lobby efforts, the land was rezoned as a park in 2002 and named Henteleff Park after the original owners of the farm" (1 p21).
With its grasslands, riparian forests, Red River banks and the Normand Creek, the Park is home to a diverse plant and wildlife, providing refuge for songbirds, a spawning area for fishes and a serene sanctuary for community residents to enjoy a quiet respite from the bustle of the city life all around (2).

Work is underway to build an Urban Park at Rua Ramada Curto, in Monte Abraão. The leisure park will be 6,200 m² and includes a children's playground, a space for seniors, the creation of green space for recreation and park protection with a perimeter of bushes and trees. It will be a continuous green zone of recreation and leisure with numerous access points[1]."People will be able to enjoy this place that is an added value to the community and an investment in the quality of life of our citizens"[2]. For improving accessibility parking spaces and paths were created to benefit the residents[1].

The field is a 3.5 hectare of grassland, grazed by horses for over 20 years. After it fell vacant in early 2011, a group of local residents (“The Field Group”) negotiated a community lease with its owners, City of Edinburgh Council, with the aims of creating an orchard, creating/restoring semi-natural habitats and encouraging its use for quiet recreation and informal education. Members can volunteer their gardening labour or donate money. They can then participate in a garden run for the community – whether to pick the vegetables, learn fruit-growing, help to keep the chickens or just enjoy the space. [ref 1, 2]

The Gran Recorrido de Bilbao (GR), known as the Green Ring or Great Route of Bilbao, is a part of Bilbao’s Green Belt, a municipal initiative that encompasses forest and urban parks surrounding the city. The Green Route aims to skirt the City passing through the forest parks of Artxanda, the mountain of Avril, Arnotegi, Pagasarri, and Arraiz. It completes a route of 99.3 kilometers in a closed belt of trails, paths, roads and streets signposted with references to routes, interesting places, and general information. The Green Route is reachable from the center of Bilbao through eleven additional routes that all lead to a central point. [3][4]

The Roerplein pocket garden was a Neighborhood Green Plan project. The Neighborhood Green Plans were an initiative of Utrecht Municipality to support the bottom-up 'greening' of its neighbourhoods. Citizens could propose a variety of often quite small-scaled plans that enhance the neighbourhood by means of green spaces that promote social cohesion and thereby community identity. At the Roerplein, a public square was transformed into a green square by way of a participatory process, assisted by a social entrepreneur. The project aimed to reduce heat stress, enhance social cohesion and the attractiveness of the neighbourhood, promote biodiversity and support recreation (ref. 1).

Revitalization of a large urban park in the Walle and Gröpelingen districts of Bremen. The current park constitutes a neglected area of the former port and shipyards sites with around 4,000 small garden parcels.The local government consulted with numerous societal actors the envisioned project, which aims at the revitalization of the park's both green and blue infrastructure. The goal of the intervention is to create a large recreational park for the districts of Walle and Gröpelingen, which will improve the image of the districts, help with their economic revitalization and provide sustainable practices for urban green care and community gardening (Ref. 2, 3). "Between September 2017 and September 2020, the Green West of Bremen was the focus of the federally funded project "Green Urban Labs" (Ref. 5). As of 2020, "Several of these building blocks have already been started or implemented and have led to an improvement in the cooperation between the actors on site, to an upgrading of the infrastructure and biotopes as well as to an increase in the popularity of the previously rather unknown area" (Ref. 5).

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)

Mercedes-Benz helps in the Reforestation of the Park of the Pena, in Sintra: "As part of its social responsibility actions, and as a socially responsible company and involved in its community, the Daimler Group in Portugal decided to intervene and help in the reforestation of the Pena Park in Sintra after it was flogged in 2013 and 2015 By violent storms that caused the fall of more than 2000 trees." (ref 1)

Rehabilitation of the public green space of the Park Krekovic through employment of people with a risk of social exclusion. The initiative cleaned the green areas of the park, rehabilitated the gardens with planting actions, and maintained the overall infrastructure. (ref 4)