Local government/municipality

Newcastle City Council’s Bee Strategy has been created to promote the importance of bees. The bee populations had been declining for some time (in the UK) due to various factors including loss of habitat, disease and use of pesticides. Newcastle City Council is working with schools, universities, allotment holders, beekeepers to increase the habitat of bees and to raise awareness of their important work in pollination (1, 2, 5)

The project started in 2013, when a group of private companies started a collaboration with the municipality of Bari to build a series of gardens on the top of households roofs in the city. With a total extension of 2000 sqm for the experiment, the main goal is to create a small micro-climate. The main advantages of this experiment is an improvement in the process of absorption of rain and to reduce energetic costs for heating. The green roofs are expected to play a role in facing the challenges posed by climate change. (Ref.1.)

The Willowbank Community Garden is a council-maintained recreational area consisting of both turfed and concreted areas and waist raised beds, edged by some shrubs and trees. It is a small space (460 sqm.) but offers a variety of growing environments. The site is located within the residential community of Willowbank Crescent, easily accessible from Woodlands Road and a five-minute walk away from the Glasgow University main buildings. Local schools are also in close proximity. The place offers locally grown foods with aesthetics and contributes to urban green space. In 2012, it won "Keep Scotland Beautiful" Award (Ref 2).

As part of the “Landscape Park Rhine”, a key project of the Karlsruhe Master Plan 2015, the city of Karlsruhe implemented the “Park Maxau” project module, which is the most important element of the larger landscape project. (Ref. 3) The “Park Maxau” is a park within an agricultural area which with its new leaseholders, has mostly been converted into ecological agricultural fields and grazing areas. (Ref. 3) Major goals were linking green corridors with the Pamina Rhine park, creating a connected recreational area and enhancing ecological diversity. The “Rhine Promenade” pedestrian route, Rhine terraces and a children’s playground were created, a visitor guidance system was introduced, and an estate was revived as a restaurant. During the 17-month development process, citizens were given the opportunity to offer their ideas and suggestions about the project through internet surveys, interviews and a citizens' conference. (Ref. 6) The area has become a hotspot for ecological agriculture, environmental education and recreation (Ref. 10).

Trees and a park have been created and designed for the double building project called CEMAGREF/ENGREF in Clermont-Ferrand which was planned in 1994 (Ref. 2 and 4). CEMAGREF (Center for the Study of Agricultural Mechanization of Agricultural Engineering of Water and Forests) and ENGREF (National School of Agricultural Engineering of Water and Forests) are located within the IRSTEA (National Science and Technology Research Institute for Environment and Agriculture) (Ref. 3).

The Humberhead Peatlands are the UK's largest lowland raised bog complex and are part of the Natura 2000 network. They are located East of Doncaster and include the Thorne Moors and the Hatfield Moors (both towns are part of the Doncaster Borough). Commercial peat extraction has changed the hydraulic balance of the area, which impacts the condition of the peatland. This project aims to restore the water balance and thereby the peatland that can help prevent flooding, which is a breeding ground for the European nightjar, while also creating local jobs. The Humberhead Peatlands LIFE+ project completed its delivery phase in June 2019. (Ref 2, 3)

"The garden was created in 2012 with the Parenthesis Association. The association closed in 2015. In January 2016 a group of gardeners decided to create a new association to continue their garden, that is when the gardens of Fontgiève were born. In the garden one discusses, one shares, one exchanges, one helps one, one gives oneself advice. The garden produces much more than vegetables and fruits; Ideas germinate there, sharing them is collective intelligence" (Ref.1).

In light of the LIFE P.A.R.C. project, the NBS here presented consisted in the restoration of the fluvial and ecological continuity of the Magra and Vara rivers in the Montemarcello-Magra Regional Natural Park. The intervention implemented the removal of artificial barriers blocking the water continuity currently affecting biodiversity conservation. In the meantime, several activities implemented focused on restoring the area along the stream with the creation of walking paths and the use of signs to spread environmental awareness about the key habitat provision services of the area (1).

Used by a skip hire company until 2016, this riverside Pocket Park will link other fragmented green spaces and routes. Once the rubble is cleared a level riverside walkway will be created that is accessible to walkers, runners, cyclists and wheelchair users. Invasive plants will be removed and new soil mounds will add shape to the land and act as places where native plants can grow. Self-seeded trees will be thinned out and the best allowed to grow on. Once complete the path through it will form part of the sustainable travel network in the upper Aire valley. (1)

Neptune Grass or Mediterranean tapeweed (Posidonia oceanica) is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. This priority seagrass species forms large underwater meadows that are an important part of the marine ecosystem. However, there have been declines in its population due to mechanical damage, coastal development and eutrophication.
The main objective of the intervention was to safeguard and to restore 2 Natura 2000 network sites for the conservation of P.oceanica habitat in the Lazio region(1), being the NBS intervention the restoration/protection of the underwater meadows and the improvement of the awareness/importance of this marine habitat type, a priority for conservation(EU Habitats Directive).