1. General information Location and description of the intervention City or FUA Dublin (FUA) Region Europe Short description of the intervention The Grangegorman Community Garden is a collaborative project involving several stakeholders in restoring a neglected space within the TU Dublin campus and transforming it into a community garden. The project emerged from a partnership between academic and service departments of the university, a primary school, a land development agency, a multinational organization, and a property estate agent. The project's ultimate goal is to establish a permanent community garden with strong investment, ensuring ongoing support for current users and welcoming a new, diverse group of participants. (1,6) Launched at the start of 2024, the project focuses on rejuvenating the space, with restoration efforts continuing until December 2024. The garden features four allotment-style beds separated by gravel paths and is surrounded by 12 foliage beds (Ref 1). The initiative aims to provide educational opportunities centered on sustainability and horticulture, while also developing a sustainable, collaborative governance framework for the garden (Ref 6). It aligns with various national, local, and inter-organizational frameworks, strategies, and plans related to community engagement, biodiversity, and climate action (Ref 1). Website of the intervention https://www.tudublin.ie/explore/news/grangegorman-community-garden---living-lab… Principal problems Environmental Degradation Biodiversity loss Land use and Socio-economic change Agriculture/ crop production Health, Well-being and Social cohesion Disconnection from nature Loss of sense of place and identity Poor community engagement Implementation area characterization Climate Temperate ( Humid subtropical, Hot-summer Mediterranean, Warm-summer Mediterranean, Warm-temperate with dry winter) Ecosystem Urban or built environment Address 41 Kirwan Dublin D07 A2R0 Ireland Location The NBS is situated in an area, with clear delineation of boundaries and a specific shape (polygon). The NBS project can also have more than one area location (more than one polygon, situated close by). Area boundary (map-based) NBS area image Source of NBS area image Dublin Inquier, https://dublininquirer.com/2015/11/18/checking-up-how-s-the-new-grangegorman-campus-coming/ Total area 753.60m² NBS area 753.60m² Area description Urban (main city) Type of area before implementation of the NBS Vacant or abandoned land Timeline of intervention Start date of the intervention (planning process) 2024 Start date of intervention (implementation process) 2024 End date of the intervention 2024 Present stage of the intervention In piloting stage 2. Objectives of the intervention Objectives of the intervention Goals of the intervention To create a dedicated community garden area (sourced from a previous neglected space) with substantial funding that provides ongoing support for gardeners and invites a diverse range of new participants by providing capacity building from growing sustainably, using organic, and applying farm-to-fork learning and practice (1); To provide educational experiences and opportunities to engage with the natural environment (1); To develop a sustainable collaborative governance model by providing formal meetings with involved stakeholders to understand individual needs, motivations (1); To foster connections within the wider Grangegorman community to engage in growing, learning, and enjoying this space together (3) To create partnerships with other stakeholders and networks (other Grangegorman stakeholders, Community Gardens Ireland, GLAS GAP, Healthy Dublin City, Grangegorman Histories, Cabra Men’s Shed, TU Dublin Tallaght Library Sensory Garden, TU Dublin and Airfield Estate's Botanical Cuisine programme) (1); To establish a committee to discuss national, local, and inter-organisational frameworks, strategies, and plans for community, biodiversity, and climate action (1) Key Priorities Social Justice and community Sustainability challenge(s) addressed Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15) Green space creation and/or management Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16) Inclusive governance Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10) Social interaction Environmental education Sense of community and community engagement Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12) Sustainable production Implementation activities and NBS focus Implementation activities On January 16, 2024, the Committee held its first formal meeting to introduce members and discuss the project's potential. The group shared their experiences and interests, using Miro to capture sentiments and document each member's needs, motivations, and capacities (1). Concurrently, the School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology at TU Dublin organized field trips for primary and secondary school children to illustrate the connection between soil, food growing, and cooking (7). Additionally, the Student Volunteering Program at TU Dublin engages students from various university departments to volunteer in the garden, assist with maintenance, and participate in educational activities (8). These student volunteers play a crucial role, taking on both planned and spontaneous tasks, working independently or with other volunteers to develop this new community space (3). Type of NBS project Creation of new green areas Creation of areas for food production (community gardens, allotments) Transformation of previously derelict areas Transformation of vacant land into green spaces Knowledge creation and awareness raising Educational and awareness raising programs Improved governance of green or blue areas Creation of new, innovative governance and management approaches Establishment of inclusive governance mechanisms involving local communities 3. NBS domains, ES and scale NBS domain and interventions Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented Community gardens and allotments Community gardens Amenities offered by the NBS Unknown Design elements for well-being None of the above Services Expected ecosystem services delivered Provisioning services Food for human consumption (crops, vegetables) Cultural services Recreation Intellectual interactions (scientific and / or educational) Physical and experiential interactions with plants and animals Social and community interactions Scale Spatial scale Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level Beneficiaries Demographics in implementation area The Grangegorman neighbourhood is part of Dublin City that has faced significant educational and employment challenges over the years, with infrastructure development lagging behind other parts of the city. Specifically, the area has a “history of unemployment, poor social mobility and people’s engagement with third-level education is often minimal”(2). The Grangegorman neighbourhood has high labour force participation rates of 59.1% and 59.6%. However, the area has also shown higher levels of unemployment (9). Socio-economic profile of the area Mixed income Communities vulnerable to environmental hazards or climate change impacts Unknown Non-government actors Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital) Private sector/Corporate/Business Researchers, university Citizens or community groups Primary Beneficiaries Local government/Municipality Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital) Researchers/University Citizens or community groups Young people and children Specify primary beneficiaries Primary beneficiaries were: Technological University Dublin, Dublin 7 Educate Together National School (D7 ETNS), the Grangegorman Development Agency (GDA), in addition to the Grangegorman neighbourhood (1) "Each group have a vested interest to enhance the campus environment and provide their people with educational experiences and opportunities to spend time in nature." (1) Marginalized groups Unknown Other beneficiaries Local wildlife (e.g., birds, pollinators) Public health (e.g. increased physical activity opportunities, reduced stress) 4. Governance and financing Governance Governance arrangements Co-governance with government and non-government actors Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative The project was initiated by three key organizations: Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), Dublin 7 Educate Together National School (D7 ETNS), and the Grangegorman Development Agency (GDA). In January, a Committee was established to experiment with and develop a sustainable, collaborative governance model for the community garden, involving several stakeholders, including local community (1). The School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology at TU Dublin plays an active role by using the garden as an outdoor classroom where students learn about soil and the origins of food. Meanwhile, TU Dublin's Student Volunteering program offers volunteering opportunities within the garden (7, 8) Private financial support was provided by Hooke and MacDonald (real estate private company) through the TU Dublin Foundation (1, 5). Key actors - initiating organization National government Public sector institution Researchers/university Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors) Citizens or community group Private foundation/trust Stages of citizen and community engagement On-the-ground implementation Level of citizen and community engagement Unknown Community empowerment or capacity-building initiatives Implementation of educational programs, workshops or trainings Establishment of mentorship programs or partnerships with local institutions (e.g. schools, kinder gardens, hospitals, nursing homes) Participatory methods/forms of stakeholder involvement (all stakeholders) Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping) Dissemination of information and education Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls) Co-management/Joint management Uncommon actors ("Missing actors") Public Services Schools Other Please specify other missing actor Gardener (1) Land owners Educational actor (schools or universities) Policy drivers NBS intervention implemented in response to a Regional Directive/Strategy Unknown NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan Unknown NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan Yes Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan" Grangegorman Masterplan (1) Relevant strategy or plan Urban redevelopment plan Mandatory or voluntary intervention Mandatory (based on policy) Intervention is mandatory Spatial planning law Enablers & Barriers Type of enablers Capacity-building projects Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships) Please provide details (e.g, name of the plan or strategy) for the selected policies or initiatives. Capacity-building projects: The Grangegorman Community Garden Committee decided on the meeting to build capacity from growing sustainably, using organic, and applying farm-to-fork learning and practice (1); Governace and decison-making instruments Strategic instruments (e.g. GI strategies, green space strategy or plans) Public - private business agreement (e.g. public private collaborations, public-private-partnerships (PPP)) Arrangements for governance cooperation Formal coordination mechanisms to oversee project implementation and decision-making (e.g., multi-stakeholder steering committees, working groups) Capacity-building initiatives for governance actors (e.g. training workshops for local government officials/ community leaders) Barriers Unknown Financing Total cost Unknown Please specify total cost (EUR) Unknown What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements? Unknown Source(s) of funding Corporate investment Type of fund(s) used Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities) Non-financial contribution Yes Who provided the non-financial contribution? Citizens (e.g. volunteering) Other Please specify other source of non-financial contribution University (1) Type of non-financial contribution Provision of land Provision of labour Provision of expertise Co-finance for NBS Unknown Entrepreneurship opportunities Unknown Business models Business models Vacant space model Green education model Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model? Public actor (e.g. municipality) Citizens / local communities 5. Evaluation and learning Impacts, benefits Environmental impacts Green space and habitat Increased green space area Expected increased green space area Description of environmental benefits Increased green space area: "to restore a previously neglected garden space as part of a year-long pilot project until December 2024" (1) Economic impacts Generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation) Expected generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation) Description of economic benefits Generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation): "Provide opportunities for TU Dublin students to engage in environmental volunteering on campus at Grangegorman, to enable students to learn about gardening." (8) Social and cultural impacts Social justice and cohesion Increased opportunities for social interaction Expected increased opportunities for social interaction Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces Expected increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces Increased sustainability of agriculture practices Expected increased sustainability of agriculture practices Health and wellbeing Gain in activities for recreation and exercise Expected gain in activities for recreation and exercise Improved mental health Expected improved mental health Description of social and cultural benefits -Increased opportunities for social interactions: " to enhance the campus environment and provide their people with educational experiences and opportunities to spend time in nature." (1) - Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces: "fostering connections within the wider Grangegorman community to engage in growing, learning, and enjoying this space together. In time, there are many opportunities for this to become a space for engagement with community groups, schools and local interested parties" (4); - Increased sustainability of agriculture practices: "build capacity from growing sustainably, using organic, and applying farm-to-fork learning and practice." (1) - Gain in activities for recreation and exercise: "learning about sustainable gardening practices to having the chance to work outside" (3); - Improved mental health: "students engage in regular and episodic volunteering opportunities at the garden and attain a sense of accomplishment and well-being" (8); Mental health benefits Increased feelings of nature connection Evidence for use of assessment Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process Unknown Presence of indicators used in reporting No evidence in public records Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports No evidence in public records Availability of a web-based monitoring tool No evidence in public records Name of any specific impact assessment tools The project is ongoing and expected to end in 2025, and the assessment was not made available. Use of GIS in mapping impacts No evidence in public records Cost-benefit analysis Unknown Transparency Meetings with stakeholders’ representatives Inclusion of diverse stakeholders in project governance processes (e.g. planning, implementation, monitoring, etc.) Justice Community satisfaction Unknown Description of locals satisfaction with the project The project is ongoing and expected to end in 2025, and the results were not made available. Trade-offs & Negative impacts Unknown Emphasis of existing social inequalities or injustices No information reported related to negative social justice-related impacts of the NBS project Measures to prevent gentrification or displacement Unknown High-quality & Transformative NBS Multiple impacts delivery (climate, biodiversity, just community) No Goal setting and impacts delivery No, project goals were not set, and benefits were not delivered in all 3 key areas. Please specify the achievements of the project goals The project is ongoing and expected to end in 2025, and the results were not made available. Long-term perspective Unknown: No information about the project's long-term sustainability. Cost-effective solutions Unknown Equitable impacts C. Unknown Transformative capacity Social change (e.g. social relationships, networks and dynamics within them) Magnitude of change Reformist: by focusing on addressing underlying drivers of change but failing to address the problem structurally or systemically Application of lessons learned Unknown Perception of Environmental Change Unknown 6. Sources References 1. Technological University Dublin (2024). Grangegorman Community Garden - Living Lab initiation. Technological University Dublin, Accessed on August 1, 2024, [Source link] [Archive]; 2. Joyce-Ahearne, D. (2016). How inner-city community gardening projects are making a difference. Dublin: Trinity News, Accessed on August 1, 2024, [Source link] [Archive]; 3. Technological University Dublin (n.d.). TU Dublin Grangegorman Community Garden Volunteers. StudentVolunteer.ie, Accessed on August 1, 2024, [Source link] [Archive]; 4. Technological University Dublin (2024). Grangegorman Community Garden - Meet the Committee members - GDA. Technological University Dublin, Accessed on August 1, 2024, [Source link] [Archive]; 5. Technological University Dublin (n.d.). Grangegorman Community Garden. Technological University Dublin, Accessed on August 1, 2024, [Source link] [Archive]; 6. Allevents (2024). Community Gardens for Wellbeing. Allevents, Accessed on August 5, 2024, [Source link] [Archive]; 7. Technological University Dublin (2024). Grangegorman Community Garden - Meet the Committee members - School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology. Technological University Dublin, Accessed on August 5, 2024, [Source link] [Archive]; 8. Technological University Dublin (2024). Grangegorman Community Garden - Meet the Committee members - Student Volunteering. Technological University Dublin, [Source link] [Archive]; 9. Grangegorman Development Agency (2012). Grangegorman Planning Scheme. Chapter 2 – The Site and its Context. Grangegorman Development Agency, p. 12 Accessed on August 5, 2024, [Source link] [Archive]; 10. The Grangegorman Development Agency (2012). Grangegorman Planning Scheme. Chapter 3 - Project Vision. The Grangegorman Development Agency, p. 8 Accessed on August 6, 2024, [Source link] [Archive]; 11. Dave Dodd (2024). DECC trip to TUD Grangegorman. LinkedIn, Accessed on August 6, 2024, [Source link] [Archive]; Comments and notes Public Images Image The outlook of the Grangegorman Community Garden Ref.6 Image Growing vegetables at the Grangegorman Community Garden Ref. 11
