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Vine Court Halls of Residences

Vine Court is a student residential complex located at the heart of the University’s city campus. It is equipped with both green and brown roofs, providing environmentally friendly habitats for local flora and fauna, utilizing local plant mixes and building material rubble from the excavated site. (Reference 2). It is at the forefront of sustainable residential development in the UK higher education sector and it was built to a high standard of sustainable design and energy performance. In addition to the eco-technologies incorporated into the structure, the brickwork includes built-in nest boxes for swifts and bats. It has been awarded a design stage BREEAM Excellent certification (Reference 1).

Ness Botanic Gardens: Growing the Social Role

The intervention at Ness Gardens was a result of the recommendation from the landmark 2010 report - 'Towards a New Social Purpose: Redefining the Role of Botanic Gardens'. (Reference 2). It is part of Growing the Social Role of Botanic Gardens research project, whose aim is to work with local communities on common issues of social and environmental importance (Reference 2). Additionally, as part of the University of Liverpool, the Gardens provide a resource for research programmes (Reference 3).
The project involved workshops, designed to support the botanic gardens through their engagement with their social roles and help them deliver their chosen project. The three participating botanic gardens were asked to develop and deliver a discrete project that would address a social issue or community group relevant to their garden. Ness targeted socially disadvantaged people in its catchment area. A group of students from Shorefields Technology College in Liverpool took part in a joint project where for six days, they swapped the urban classroom for the garden. The evaluation was done by RCMG (Reference 2)

100 trees in Poznan

The ‘100 trees’ project replanted empty spots where trees had grown but later were cut down in the Grunwald district of Poznan. It involved planting trees resistant to urban conditions and salinity in the places indicated by the project proposal – empty squares in a sidewalk, where trees were cut or withered. By re-planting the greenery the project enhanced the aesthetics of the district and the quality of life for its inhabitants [1].

The River's Purification

In their application for funds from the city’s participatory budget, the citizens introduced the cleaning of the river Glowna (riverbed and riverbank) in Poznan along the entire length of the river within the city area (excluding private and inaccessible areas). The initiative aimed to clean the stream and to increase the attractiveness of the riverside. The action was implemented with the voluntary help of the residents as a way of promoting ecological behaviours [1].

Urban gardening project "Bees and Beds"

The project BEETE & BIENEN (Beds & Bees) in the Eastern part of Karlsruhe is an awarded sustainability experiment where garden beds, flower beds and beehives create a new urban greenspace for humans and animals and increase the urban bee population. Residents - in collaboration and under the guidance of gardeners – plant herbs, flowers, vegetables, fruits and trees that provide food for humans and thereby provide a natural habitat for the urban bee population to thrive. Residents shall take over ownership of maintenance and cultivation of the garden in the long run. (Ref. 1). The project is not about honey yield, but about enabling the bees to live as naturally as possible. Hives and garden beds are established in several small gardens in the city, including one Marstallgarten and another in Grötzingen. (Ref. 8)

Revitalization of 3 lakes

The project revitalized beaches around three lakes near Poznan: Kierskie, Strzeszynskie, and Rusalka. Over 1000-ha of forest and three lakes located within the city borders make this a unique recreational area for the inhabitants of Poznan and its surroundings. The project aims to modernize the neglected beaches and build basic infrastructure and communication paths. The plans involved cleaning of the area, planting greenery, regulation of the lake beachline, introducing environmentally friendly solutions (e.g. solar lamps), open-air playgrounds and gyms, and renovation/installation of the new bridges over the lakes [1].

Biodiversity conservation in Bologna

The project focuses on the conservation of a locally rare plant (Dictamnus albus L.) and the community of its natural pollinators. At present, European natural populations of Dictamnus albus are declining because of the scarcity of pollination service; in addition to this, suitable habitats (woodland fringes and clearings) are becoming rare due to land-use changes as a result of the abandonment of traditional agro-sylvo-pastoral activities. This project assesses these issues by re-introducing and monitoring the plant in its natural habitat while re-establishing a suitable habitat for the plants and their natural pollinators (1).

Marshes protection in the Laguna of Venice

LIFE VIMINE is a project that aimed to define and apply a new type of integrated approach to the management of the territory, based on the erosion protection of the most indigenous barns and marshes in the Laguna of Venice. These unique habitats are rapidly disappearing due to natural processes and human impacts of varying nature. The project has contributed to repair and protect salt marshes borders as soon as erosion starts, build micro soil bioengineering works that are able to absorb wave energy, reduce erosion, promote sedimentation with a low effort and cost and improve coastal resilience and protection (1).

Greenroof, Office Building Münchener Rückversicherung

This office complex at 10 Gedonstrasse in Munich was completed in the spring of 2002 with a pre-grown Ceratodon purpureum green roof and living green wall panels. It uses a special technique called BRYOTEC Technology, which enables the producing of (plant) mosses for revitalization. The biological crusts of mosses which it produces play a very important role in engineered soil media stabilisation, accelerating the development of depleted soils/substrates for vegetation establishment.
The extensive green roof is built up from mosses that require minimum maintenance. (Reference 1, 4)

Social garden in Wolfartsweier

The association Initial Karlsruhe initiated the "social garden" in 2009 with the objective to facilitate access to the labour market for disadvantaged individuals by providing employment for long-term unemployed individuals with gaps in their CV. (Ref. 1) The participants can work on a 6000 sqm large former agriculture area up to six hours per day under the supervision of an agrarian engineer and a professional gardener. Harvested products are delivered by bicycle to charitable organizations free of charge. (Ref. 2, 9, 10)