1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Lille
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Le Bizardin
Short description of the intervention
The Bizardin is the community garden of Hellemmes, created by the association AJOnc (Amis des Jardins Ouverts et néanmoins clôturés) on the initiative of a group of inhabitants. Managed by the locals, it gives life to the neighborhood where children like to play, watch insects, sow radishes, watch for frogs. A living garden where wild and cultivated plants come together and create a floristic richness often unsuspected by the simple passer-by, a result of many years of work. It is also an ideal place to observe as insects and birds swarm. (Ref 1)
Address

25 Rue Denis Papin
59800 Lille
France

Location
Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place
Total area
3000.00m²
NBS area
3000.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Previous derelict area
Website of the intervention
http://bizardin.toile-libre.org/
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2001
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2003
End date of the intervention
2006
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
The objectives were (a) to create a garden at a derelict area used for waste disposal; (b) to create more urban green space; (c) to create habitat for species especially for insects and frogs; (d) to promote the reintroduction of wild fruits; (e) to create an organic garden; (f) give a fair knowledge of the plant world through the practice of gardening; (g) raise awareness; and (h) educate the public, especially children, about nature, the environment (Ref 1).
Quantitative targets
Unknown
Monitoring indicators defined
Number of vegetable patch, amount of food production, number of locals involved (Ref 1)
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity conservation
Green space creation and/or management
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Environmental education
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Creation of opportunities for recreation
Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
Economic development: agriculture
Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Sustainable production
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What types of conservation goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Species-focused
Ecosystem-focused
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Protect and enhance urban habitats
Create new habitats
Preserve and strengthen habitat connectivity
Protect species
Undertake specific measures to protect species
Undertake specific measures to protect native species
Undertake specific measures to protect valued species
Means for conservation governance
Raise public awareness
Public engagement
Implementation activities
The garden occupies 3000m2 of area. An agreement with the town hall of Hellemmes and the installation of the fence in 2003 concretizes its creation. A study of pollution on the whole of the ground was done to check the healthy topsoil for the vegetable garden (1 / 20th of the surface). The authority installed (a) hedges and fields groves (b) nesting boxes in case of the housing crisis for birds, (c) areas of wasteland, wild grasses, wild honeydew plants (d) prairie spaces (e) a vegetable garden (e) an insect hotel for observation and protection in winter (f) a composting site (Ref 1).
Type of NBS project
Maintenance and management of urban nature
Ecological restoration of ecosystems
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
Trees
Garden beds
Please specify how many trees were planted
Unknown
Amenities offered by the NBS
Educational and research amenities (nature protection centre, monitoring stations)
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Provisioning services
Food for human consumption (crops, vegetables)
Regulating services
Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)
Air quality regulation
Carbon storage/sequestration
Pollination
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Intellectual interactions (scientific and / or educational)
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Citizens or community groups
Marginalized groups
Young people and children
Other
Please specify "other primary beneficiary"
It is a playground and ideal observation for children, who like to run on the mounds and watch for frogs, ladybugs and other insects. (Ref 3).
Marginalized groups
Elderly people
Governance
Governance arrangements
Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Non-government actors
Non-governmental organisation (NGO) / Civil society / Churches
Private sector/Corporate/Business
Citizens or community groups
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
AJOnc: the association and its active members, the salaried team and contacts, the other gardens of the network, The Town Hall of Hellemmes-Lille: Owners of the land available for the project, elected representatives whose delegations interest the garden and who support the project politically, the technicians of the services who support the actions materially, The councils of Neighborhoods: that of Barrière-Boloduc in Hellemmes and that of Fives for the Fivois participating in the project (Ref 1)
Key actors - initiating organization
Citizens or community group
Land owners
No information found
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Non-government organisation/civil society
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Citizens or community group
Land owners
No information found
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Co-management/Joint management
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an 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"
Lille Plan for Agenda 21:launched on 2000 (Ref 3, 4)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Please specify other type of voluntary intervention
Local food production (Ref 1)
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section
Lille Plan for Agenda 21: launched on 2000 (Ref 3, 4)
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
Urban redevelopment plan
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
A study of pollution on the whole of the ground was conducted by the councils of Neighborhoods. It was required for a contribution of healthy topsoil for the vegetable garden (1 / 20th of the surface). (Ref 1, 3)
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
AJOnc, The councils of Neighborhoods (Ref 1)
Co-finance for NBS
Yes
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)
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
Private Foundation/Trust
Crowdfunding
Other
Please specify other source of funding
public subsidy
Type of fund(s) used
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Yes
Type of non-financial contribution
Provision of land
Provision of goods
Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Other
Business models
Green densification model
Local stewardship model
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
Technological
Product innovation
Please specify technological innovation
A derelict area has been given the structure of a community garden. A rural hedges of local species, two pools visited by a heron, wild grassland, a hedge of small fruits in the kitchen garden, old and aromatic plant squares, a compost corner, a rainwater harvesting system, a hive, living willow structures: hut, shelter, tunnels, and labyrinth have been installed (Ref 1, 3)
Novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Climate change
Enhanced carbon sequestration
Environmental quality
Improved air quality
Green space and habitat
Increased green space area
Increased conversion of degraded land or soil
Reduced biodiversity loss
Increased number of species present
Increased protection of threatened species
Description of environmental benefits
The garden has a permaculture area, a protected area for wild plants and an area for high biodiversity. The permaculture area is designed to keeping in sustainable organic agriculture in mind and helps in protecting the soil. In the protected and high biodiversity area, the garden hosts tree species that are specifically good for carbon storage and improves the air quality of the locality. This also preserves the plant species it hosts and helps in keeping high species diversity. The garden has a rainwater collection system that generates enough water for the plants. (Ref 1, 2)
Economic impacts
Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
Description of economic benefits
The garden has vegetable patches for interested farmers or gardeners' to own and grow their own vegetables. Also, the rainwater collection system produces enough water for the plants and the authority do not need to pay for water. (Ref 1, 2)
Social and cultural impacts
Social justice and cohesion
Improved access to urban green space
Increased opportunities for social interaction
Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
Increased access to healthy/affordable food
Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
Health and wellbeing
Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
Increased support for education and scientific research
Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Description of social and cultural benefits
The garden provides places for locals to grow their own food and practice permaculture. It helps the locals to connect more with natural spaces and social interaction. The place also hosts several activities including educational ones for children such as cooking workshops, festivals of the Maison des Petits Explorateurs, consultations and many more. (Ref 2, 3)
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Number of citizens involved, amount of food produced, number of species given protected habitats, indicators related to the impacts of social engagement, sustainable production of crops and to habitats and biodiversity protection (Ref 1).
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
Voluntary work opportunities
Work for rehabilitation (e.g. for mental health, prisoners, older people)
Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...
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 garden resumed its activities from June, 2020. (Ref 1)
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
Collection of monitoring data continuously throughout the project to aid evaluation
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Focus groups
Observation (including virtual surveillance methods)
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Yes
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
Yes
Mode(s) of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Other
Please specify other modes of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Weekly and monthly meetings, workshops. Citizens meet with the management authority in Festival of the ponds, Winter season, Winter Festival, bike rides, poetry workshops and participate in the evaluation. (Ref 1)
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Yes
Please specify
The work to be carried out is defined in consultation: it concerns maintenance of the garden (pond, vegetable garden, ...) but also for development and plantations. They are done collectively. (Ref 1)
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
The Park
List of references
1. Le Bizardin. Available at: http://bizardin.toile-libre.org/. Accessed on 11th August, 2020.
2. AJONC Amis des Jardins Ouverts et néanmoins clôturés. AJONC. Available at: https://mres-asso.org/Amis-des-Jardins-Ouverts-et-neanmoins-clotures?lang=fr. Accessed on 11th August, 2020.
3. Le Bizardin Facebook Page. URL: https://www.facebook.com/Jardin.Communautaire.Hellemmes/. Accessed on 12th August, 2020.
4. Lille. Agenda 21 de Territoires. URL: http://www.agenda21france.org/agenda-21-de-territoire/fiche.html?r_id=408. Accessed on 11th August, 2020.
Comments and notes
Public Images
Bizardin Gate (2018)
Bizardin Gate (2018)
AJOnc, retrieved 09/16/2018 from Julien Collot
Bizardin Pool and Rain Water Recuperation (2012)
Bizardin Pool and Rain Water Recuperation (2012)
AJOnc, retrieved 09/16/2018 from Julien Collot
Bizardin Dragon (2010)
Bizardin Dragon (2010)
AJOnc, retrieved 09/16/2018 from Julien Collot
Bizardin Games (2016)
Bizardin Games (2016)
AJOnc, retrieved 09/16/2018 from Julien Collot
Please specify other source of non-financial contribution
Community group