1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Helsinki / Helsingfors
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Kääntöpöytä
Short description of the intervention
The environmental NGO Dodo started their Guerilla Gardening projects in 2009 with a garden on the wasteland by the main railroad tracks in Helsinki, Pasila. The key idea was to make use of temporary derelict spaces. Raised beds were constructed from old pallets and filled with donated soil. Crops were grown by local citizens and provided both food and aesthetic beauty on the otherwise unused area.
In 2012 the project developed into "Turn Table - The Urban Garden", as the garden was supplemented by a small pop-up restaurant and café in a movable greenhouse (Ref 1, 2, 7). The Turn Table garden space was organized to promote awareness and discussion on the ecological and social aspects of food. The urban garden project included not just the greenhouse, but also an apiary, cultivation beds, a summer café with a terrace, and a market (ref. 4).
Address

Kääntöpöytä, Veturitallinkuja,
00520 Helsinki
Finland

Location
Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Previous derelict area
Website of the intervention
http://kaantopoyta.fi/
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2009
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2009
End date of the intervention
2012
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
1. Instill consciousness about where food comes from,
2. Provide growing space to meet the rapidly increasing demand,
3. To make unused areas more beautiful,
4. To make urban gardening available for everyone (ref 1, 2,)
Quantitative targets
Unknown.
Monitoring indicators defined
Unknown.
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Social justice and equity
Social interaction
Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
Economic development: agriculture
Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Sustainable consumption
Sustainable production
Please specify "other Type of NBS project"
Sustainable food systems and food production/consumption
Implementation activities
1. In 2009 raised beds were constructed out of wooden shop pallets and donated soil originating from sewage waters of Helsinki, 2. Seeds were sown and edible crops planted,
3. In 2012 the Turn Table pop-up restaurant was opened in a newly built greenhouse. It was built on a railway turntable (a rotating platform that used to be used for turning railroad rolling stock). This addition was part of the Helsinki 2012 World Design Capital initiative of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Ref 1, 2, 3),
4. Organised educational workshops about gardening and beekeeping (Ref 4).
Type of NBS project
Transformation of previously derelict areas
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Community gardens and allotments
Community gardens
Please specify the number of plots or allotment gardens
Unknown
Vegetation Type
Garden beds
Please specify other amenities offered by the NBS
Greenhouse, apiary, cultivation beds, a summer café with a terrace, and a market. Visitors had the opportunity to buy soil, growing bags, and nursery plants, as well as sample the harvest at the Turn Table’s café (ref. 4)
Amenities offered by the NBS
Complementing infrastructure (bathrooms, café)
Other
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Provisioning services
Food for human consumption (crops, vegetables)
Raw materials
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Inspiration for culture, art and design
Recreation
Intellectual interactions (scientific and / or educational)
Physical and experiential interactions with plants and animals
Social and community interactions
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Non-government organisation/Civil Society
Citizens or community groups
Food producers and cultivators (i.e. farmers, gardeners)
Governance
Governance arrangements
Led by non-government actors
Non-government actors
Non-governmental organisation (NGO) / Civil society / Churches
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
Dodo NGO initiated, led and executed the intervention (Ref 2) but the greenhouse was built by Treeform company.
Key actors - initiating organization
Non-government organisation/civil society
Land owners
Railway
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Non-government organisation/civil society
Citizens or community group
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Land owners
Railway
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Dissemination of information and education
Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Co-management/Joint management
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
No
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
No
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
The initiation of the garden was partly in response to the lack of allotment space that the current city plans provide (Ref 2).
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Please specify other type of voluntary intervention
Voluntary creation of green infrastructure (Ref 2).
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
No
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The Dodo NGO is a nation-wide environmental NGO that strongly relies on its network of volunteers to initiate and execute urban gardening projects (Ref 1).
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The soil was donated by the City of Helsinki (Ref 1), but no reference of financial investment is made.
Co-finance for NBS
Unknown
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
The soil was donated by the City of Helsinki (Ref 1), but no reference to financial investment is made.
Source(s) of funding
Unknown
Type of fund(s) used
Unknown
Non-financial contribution
Yes
Type of non-financial contribution
Provision of land
Provision of goods
Provision of labour
Provision of expertise
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Other
Business models
Local stewardship model
Vacant space model
Please specify other environmental impact
Recycling/repurposing materials (sustainable consumption): furniture, growing boxes and other usable waste and repurposed materials were used in the construction of this project (ref. 7).
Bioremediation: - donated soil originating from sewage waters of Helsinki used for planting (Ref. 1).
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Private non-for-profit actor (e.g. NGO, foundation)
Citizens / local communities
Type of innovation
System innovation
Please specify system innovation
The intervention is not merely the creation of a garden, a key aspect is to show autonomy and to change the public's perception of their urban surroundings and food production (Ref 2).
Novelty level of the innovation
The innovation is copied/derived from previous initiative(s) with substantial adaptation
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Guerilla Gardening is a pre-existing concept, but in Finland Dodo is the only organisation in Finland that does guerilla gardening openly (Ref 2) and uniquely combines it with using temporary structures specifically (Ref 7). This was the first garden they created (Ref 1).
Replicability/Transferability
The innovation is transferred to new initiative(s) with substantial adaptation
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Dodo has a variety of urban gardening projects that build on the same concepts of using derelict areas, using temporary structures that allow for crop growing (Ref 1). This was the first garden they created and this has been the inspiration for, among others, the Kalasatama Bag Garden (Ref 1).
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Environmental quality
Improved waste management
Improved soil quality
Green space and habitat
Increased conversion of degraded land or soil
Increased number of species present
Restoration of derelict areas
Other
Description of environmental benefits
Restoration of derelict areas: The garden is located on a wasteland by the main railroad tracks in Helsinki. The raised beds were constructed out of wooden shop pallets and the donated soil originating from sewage waters of Helsinki (ref. 1).
Increased number of species present: chard, carrots, dill, mint, and other delicious food was grown in the garden (ref. 3).
Open-pollinated seed exchange: enabling Helsinkians to learn about organic, urban farming and the inspiration to take the seed of growth to their own neighbourhood (ref. 3).
Waste management: The raised beds were constructed out of wooden shop pallets and the donated soil originating from sewage waters of Helsinki (ref. 1).
-Dodo has a variety of urban gardening projects that build on the same concepts of using derelict areas, using temporary structures that allow for crop growing (Ref 1). This was the first garden they created and this has been the inspiration for, among others, the Kalasatama Bag Garden (Ref 1).

Economic impacts
Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
Generation of income from NBS
Description of economic benefits
- Besides the production of vegetables, they were also sealed on the spot and served in a temporary restaurant, leading to the generation of income from these activities (ref. 3).
Social and cultural impacts
Social justice and cohesion
Improved social cohesion
Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
Increased access to healthy/affordable food
Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
Education
Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Description of social and cultural benefits
- Increased access to healthy/affordable food: chard, carrots, dill, mint, and other delicious food were grown in the garden (ref. 1).
- Activism and participation: Guerilla gardening is a perfect example of activism that doesn’t revolve around mere politics, the project chose this approach as an opportunity to change the public’s perception of their urban surroundings (ref. 2)
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature: several garden and cultivation-related activities and learning experiences were organized throughout the Summer, enabling Helsinkians to learn about organic, urban farming and the inspiration to take the seed of growth to their own neighbourhood (ref. 3).
- The event space also functioned as an educational centre, offering a variety of learning activities, workshops, and special cultural events relating to gardening, urban agriculture, and other sustainable practices like urban beekeeping with a day devoted to harvesting honey on a balcony (ref. 4).
Improved social cohesion - The project aims to provide an opportunity for people in the community, including marginalized people, to show the importance and power of citizen-led initiatives and making urban gardening available for everyone (ref 1, 2,).
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Unknown
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
Voluntary work opportunities
Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...
Positive distribution of NBS benefits
Improved access to green and/or blue spaces
Increased access to healthy food for humans and/or animals
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
The project has been completed in 2012.
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
No evidence in public records
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Unknown
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
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown.
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Mode(s) of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Other
Please specify other modes of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
-Guerilla gardening is a perfect example of activism that doesn’t revolve around mere politics and angry sign-waving. It’s an opportunity to change the public’s perception of their urban surroundings autonomously (ref. 2)
-project aims to provide opportunity for people in the community outside of 'government', including marginalized peoples: Aiming to show that one does not need to rely on the government to make a change, and to make urban gardening available for everyone (ref 1, 2,)
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Ref 1: Kaupunkiviljely. (n.d.). Urban gardening projects in Finland.
Ref 2: Six Degrees. (2010). Seeds of change.
Ref 3: Pop Up City. (2012). Design in Helsinki: Turn Table: An urban farm and r…
Ref 4: Horton, R. P. (2012). Turn table urban garden sprouts in old railway bay…
Ref 5: Alavedra, G. (2012). This is Finland: My secret gardens
Ref 6: Hernberg, H. (2010). Bagfield in Kalasatama.
Ref 7: Päivi Raivio. (n.d.). Kääntöpöytä urban garden.
Ref 8: Kääntöpöytä. (n.d.). Helsinki-päivä Kääntöpöydällä.
List of references
1: Kaupunkiviljely. (n.d.). Urban gardening projects in Finland. Retrieved from http://kaupunkiviljely.fi/brief-in-english/urban-gardening-projects-in-finland/ (Accessed 24 July 2020)
2: Six Degrees. (2010). Seeds of change. Retrieved from http://www.6d.fi/index.php/society/289-seeds-of-change (Accessed 24 July 2020)
3: Pop Up City. (2012). Design in Helsinki: Turn Table: An urban farm and restaurant in the middle of the city. Retrieved from http://popupcity.net/turn-table-an-urban-farm-and-restaurant-in-the-middle-of-the-city/ (Accessed 24 July 2020)
4: Horton, R. P. (2012). Turn table urban garden sprouts in old railway bay. Retrieved from http://www.urbangardensweb.com/2012/12/07/turn-table-urban-garden-sprouts-in-old-railway-bay/ (Accessed 24 July 2020)
5: Alavedra, G. (2012). This is Finland: My secret gardens. Retrieved from https://finland.fi/life-society/part-1-my-secret-gardens/ (Accessed 24 July 2020)
6: Hernberg, H. (2010). Bagfield in Kalasatama. Retrieved from http://www.urbandreammanagement.com/2010/05/bagfield-in-kalasatama/ (Accessed 24 July 2020)
7: Päivi Raivio. (n.d.). Kääntöpöytä urban garden. Retrieved from http://www.paiviraivio.com/filter/Producer/KAANTOPOYTA-URBAN-GARDEN (Accessed 24 July 2020)
8: Kääntöpöytä. (n.d.). Helsinki-päivä Kääntöpöydällä. Retrieved from http://kaantopoyta.fi/ (Accessed 24 July 2020)
Comments and notes
Pictures of the NBS
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/turn_table.jpg
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/turn_table_2.jpg
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/turn_table_pasila.jpg
Public Images
Turn Table: An Urban Farm And Restaurant In The Middle Of The City
Turn Table: An Urban Farm And Restaurant In The Middle Of The City
Source: Ref. 3
Turn Table: An Urban Farm And Restaurant In The Middle Of The City
Turn Table: An Urban Farm And Restaurant In The Middle Of The City
Source: Ref. 3
Turn Table: An Urban Farm And Restaurant In The Middle Of The City
Turn Table: An Urban Farm And Restaurant In The Middle Of The City
Source: Ref. 3
Please specify other source of non-financial contribution
The Dodo NGO is a nation-wide environmental NGO that strongly relies on its network of volunteers to initiate and execute urban gardening projects (Ref 1).