Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place

On the brownfield of an abandoned train station and its surrounding terrain, active citizens and neighbors developed Utopia town, a living lab for creative urban development, cultural and creative industries, and citizen engagement. Under the guiding principle “edible train station – edible town", next to other projects, an urban garden with organic cultivation was developed on 1,000 sqm of the terrain at the former train station Mirke as a focus area for their activities due to its favourable location in order to show that gardening is possible in urban spaces, even on balconies or terraces (Ref. 1, 2, and 3). The main building of the Utopiatown has a bar, a concert venue, a food sharing station, and a free bicycle lending service that is operated by volunteers. (Ref. 9). Gardening workshops that are offered to citizens with little experience of gardening are planned to be further extended with seminars and practice classes for students (Ref. 3). Since its beginning, the area of the “utopia town” has grown rapidly and is now providing opportunities for multidisciplinary academic research. (Ref. 12)

Students and teachers of the Faculty of Biology at St. Kliment Ohridski University created a habitat for birds, invertebrate species, and plants. The project aimed to popularise easy steps for increasing biodiversity in urban green spaces and effective practices for preserving it. The created habitat also aims to develop and solidify the biological and conservation knowledge of pupils, university students, and the citizens of Sofia, and to help restore the vanishing bondage between contemporary society and nature. Activities have included planting grasses and shrubs by volunteers, placing bird houses, and educational events. (Ref. 1). For the purposes of "Starling on the doorstep" volunteers among students and teachers of the Faculty of Biology began to develop some of the green spaces in front of the building by enriching the surrounding vegetation, and with it the diversity of animals. It was important for them that the transformation took place right in the yard of the faculty, where the future biologists are trained - the people called to take competent care of nature conservation. The idea for the initiative was warmly accepted by both the dean's management of the faculty and the ecology expert from the Municipality of Lozenets, on whose territory the school is located. (Ref 3)

Following the Reading Growallot scheme, a derelict land area in Florian Gardens, Southcote was transformed into an allotment site. The scheme is part of Food 4 Families which is a community allotment project. One in four residents in Southcote live in flats with no garden to enjoy; local families have therefore transformed the land into a thriving allotment, growing fresh, healthy fruit and vegetables. This means that Southcote GrowAllot gives residents the chance to start growing food together. (Ref. 1, 3)

A communal bio-garden was created by a group of citizens in Sofia in 2014 on a municipal piece of land. The creation of the garden was supported by the Municipality through their programme “Green Sofia”. The aim of the project was to turn an abandoned and degraded green area into an “island of biodiversity” and a place for urban gardening. The garden contains herbs, vegetables, and flowers, dwelling places for useful insects, and a compost bin. The benefits of the garden have been ecological, educational, and social, including refugee integration. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 3; Ref. 4) According to their Facebook group in 2020, the 4 acre garden and the community that has organised around it is still thriving. (Ref 10)

Focus Park is a large shopping mall with green terraces (900 m2) and green walls in the city of Bydgoszcz. The project serves marketing purposes – the green areas outside the mall are visible from various vantage points. Due to the selection of pollution resistant plants and installation of an automatic irrigation system the project also involves water retention and supports local biodiversity and good air quality [1].

A rehabilitation clinic in Bydgoszcz opened a rooftop garden for its patients. The garden was established in 1998 on the total area of 1 790 m2. The initiative was created with children of the Paediatrics Clinic in mind so that they could look at the garden instead of a concrete roof from their windows. Plants were designed in a way that their fragrances and colours are respective of the time of the day and the year. The spruce was also planted in the garden to be decorated as a Christmas tree in winter [1].

The NBS is a 200 m² green roof created as a complementary element to the concept of a low-emission building of the Demonstration Centre of Renewable Energy Sources at the School of Mechanical Engineering No. 2 in Bydgoszcz. The roof serves as a recreational area for students and visitors, provides thermal insulation for the building, increases biodiversity and improves the image of the construction [1].

In 1958 the former marsh "Hellmansbruch", a botanical and zoological jewel, was drained to build the motorway junction Wuppertal North. Since 1990, the working group Nature and Environmental protection (ANU) which consists of volunteers, has maintained a protected landscape area of 3 ha (remains of the former marsh) with the regionally highest density of moorland spotted orchid in the middle of the transport junction. Based on continuous mostly manual maintenance work, such as cutting back encroaching bushes, the large orchid population could be protected and the green space area in total even increased, becoming a biodiversity hotspot. (Ref. 3 and 7). The project also includes the protection of endangered flora and fauna native to the area, including endangered amphibians. (Ref. 7) Guided tours are also offered to visitors of the "nature paradise" in order to raise awareness about indigenous and threatened nature. (Ref. 3).

The green roof and courtyard/patio on a new campus building of the University of Applied Sciences consist of trees and plants that reduce temperature and improve air quality. The plants are grown on a thick substrate layer that allows for extra stormwater storage. The vegetation also provides habitat for species such as insects, filters particulates from the air and reduces noise, and creates aesthetic value for patients in a nearby hospital (Ref. 1).

The Biodroom is a community garden where citizens can meet each other, children can play, and where vegetables are grown ecologically. The Biodrome started as a laboratory for art, gardening and ecology in the city: a temporary culture project with art manifestations, but is since 2014 it functions as a community garden that is maintained by citizens (Ref. 1).