Cultural innovation

An educational forest trail was developed by the centre for environmental education organization Lipka as part of the ACT WELLL project partnership between Austria and the Czech Republic (2007-2013). (Ref. 2; Ref. 3). The trail includes eight stops on a two-kilometer circuit, where children and adults can learn about how nature works through games and challenges. (Ref. 2). These elements were created by artists Blanka Ponížilová and Hana Havlíčková (Ref. 1). Three-hour field-trip educational programs are available to kindergarten-aged students, and the trail is also open to the general public (Ref. 9).

The “Cities Dare Wilderness” project is part of the overall Hanoverian program of “More Nature in the City”, a new future-oriented approach to green spaces in urban areas. The aim of the project is to bring wilderness back to the city by increasing urban biodiversity, strengthening nature in the city and making it habitable for its inhabitants. For fulfilling these goals, eleven sites were chosen (some parts of the city park Eilenriede, some currently intensively cultivated areas or some derelict small gardens), in which different methods have been tried out, like planting local woody plants, grazing, and the implementation of interpretive trails. The development of the flora and fauna in the new wilderness is now being observed and investigated. The first step in the wilderness was made on a meadow along the course of the Fße in the Badenstedt which was fenced. It was made available for cattle to graze and influence the new growth of shrubs through feeding preferences (Reference 1, 2). The flowering meadows have attracted a variety of species. The rich habitat resulting from the project has attracted songbirds, hedgehogs, butterflies and some of the 67 bee varieties endemic to the state of Saxony (Reference 10).
Campaigns for environmental education are regularly offered in order to involve the population in the process of wilderness development. The series of “Wilderness Concerts” were organized, a “wilderness woodlice” was installed in one of the project areas (Mittlefield), and handicraft activities have been regularly offered, in addition to excursions and guided tours (Reference 8). Citizen science is also part of the project through the iNaturalist app that allows the community to record observations of the flora and fauna in the area (Reference 9).
The project is financed by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Natura Conservation and Nuclear Society. Two other cities, Frankfurt am Main and Dessau-Roßlau is also involved as model cities. (Reference 1,2)

The scheme was designed to manage surface water runoff from a 1 in 30 year event and to always intercept and treat the, often more polluted, first flush of highway runoff (ref. 1). A total of 21 linear rain gardens (total of 148m2) were constructed within the grass verge, allowing for the constraints of access, below-ground services, street furniture and trees. The rain gardens utilise a combination of clean stone aggregate and proprietary units to create void space beneath a planted topsoil layer. They were designed to capture runoff from 5500 m2 of highway from a total surface area of 7100 m2 (ref. 1).

Due to human interventions into the natural river flow with dykes, drainage of agricultural and grassland or cutting off its water bodies, the wetland Elster-Luppe had lost its groundwater base which decreased its biodiversity. With the support of the regional biodiversity fund and building on previous efforts, the city of Leipzig, together with partners such as the NABU Sachsen and research institutions, has revitalized, renaturalized and connected the water bodies of Leipzig's North-Western wetlands to one continuous watercourse since 2012. Its objective is restoring its ecosystem functions and increasing awareness for the importance of wetlands (4, 5).

In 2010, rehabilitation works on the Huveaune riverbanks, in the city of Marseille, were carried out by volunteers from three associations: Rives & Cultures, Planète Sciences Méditerranée, and Hunamar. Work included clearing, revegetation, and maintenance of riverbanks (Ref. 1). Since this initiative took place, the l'Huveaune Watershed Union has been formed and taken steps to formalize the rehabilitation of the Huveaune riverbanks (Ref. 2, 3, and 4).

From 2009 to 2018, a green wall including 1,700 mediterranean perennials (agapanthus, valerian, fern) fed by a water-saving watering system was in place in a heavily frequented part of Marseille (Ref. 3, slide 4). JC Decaux Advertising offered the 70 m² of space for advertising display around the green wall. The project was abandoned in 2018 when the vegetation was completely removed to allow for advertisements to take up the entire surface of the wall (Ref. 1).

The Toulouse based project Green My City is a community collective focused on promoting sustainable consumption and creating a sustainable environment, (Ref. 2) It anticipates constructing thousands of square meters of organic vegetable gardens on the roofs of the city of Toulouse, saving 50 tons of CO2 emissions per year. The project defines itself as a prospective tool, which intervenes in the stream of gardening initiatives: it maps, selects, and then accompanies the initiatives (Ref. 1). The project supports the realisation of environmental initiatives by engaging citizens, communities, businesses and designers to help create an urban oasis (Ref. 23).

Maritza Gardens is a residential complex with an abundant park environment along the north bank of the Maritza River. The inner part is a 5000 sq.m. park with luxuriant vegetation and facilities for recreation. The purpose of the complex is to allow residents to successfully combine city life with well-being. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2).

The garden is located on the territory of the social welfare home 'Helclów' in Kraków under the protection of a regional monument conservator. It is supposed to integrate the residents of various age and support physical rehabilitation and leisure with elements of garden therapy. Its main goal is to integrate the elderly from the social welfare home with other citizens through joint activities, such as flowers and herbs planting and caretaking. The initiative involves planting greenery (including 314 trees and 134 square meters of shrubs between 2010 and 2016), setting a grill area, and renovating the infrastructure for the disabled. The garden is supposed to serve as an offset for harmful developments in other parts of the city. Private investors are often obliged to provide resources for new trees in the garden’s natural wall and a noise and pollution barrier. The park is publicly accessible between 9 AM and 6 PM and is available for the organization of events and meetings. The concept to open the previously closed garden to the public was initiated an application for a participatory budget in 2016 and very much supported by all parties involved [1,2,3].

This project was created on the occasion of Lille being the European Culture Capital in 2004. The Park of the Deule was designed to connect the city of Lille with the old mining industry areas along the Deule River. The graphic inscription is a landscape guided by the necessities of topography and control of water (Ref 1). Mosaïc has an area of 33 ha gardens with a pond, woods, and landscapes. Each garden mixes botanical, art and rare domestic animals (Ref 2). The park got the National Landscape Award in 2006 (Ref 4).