1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Szczecin
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Kwiaty w mieście - ul. Przyjaciół Żołnierza
Short description of the intervention
"Flowers in the city' is a small project in the northern district of Szczecin to plant multi-species flowers in the green belt between two big city roads. The preparation of the meadow consists of removing the layer of turf and planting the corresponding species of flowers in different colours in different periods of the year so that the flower carpet flourishes for most of the vegetation season. The justification for the project highlights its esthetical effects, its role in serving as a food area for pollinators as well as a cost reduction for the lawn care units due to less annual mowing [1].
Address

ul. Przyjaciół Żołnierza
Szczecin
Poland

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
POINT (14.544112 53.454961)
POINT (14.544134 53.454833)
POINT (14.550303 53.454424)
POINT (14.550303 53.45436)
NBS area image
Source of NBS area image
https://sbo.szczecin.eu/kwiaty-w-miescie-przyjaciol-zolnierza
Total area
5300.00m²
NBS area
5300.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Residential
Other
Please specify “other type of area” before implementation of the NBS
A belt between two busy roads in a residential neighbourhood
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2016
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2016
End date of the intervention
2017
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
Three main goals identified:
- Visual effects of the flower meadow
- Food for pollinators in the city
- Reduction in mowing costs [1]
- Maintained biodiversity [4]
Quantitative targets
Creation of the 0,53 ha flower meadow in the city.
Project application form lists 27 flower species to be planted in the flower carpet.(1)

Monitoring indicators defined
Increase in access to the aesthetic flower area for the inhabitants.(1)
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity conservation
Green space creation and/or management
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What types of conservation goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Species-focused
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Protect and enhance urban habitats
Reduce negative impacts and avoid the alteration/damage of ecosystem
Protect species
Undertake specific measures to protect species
Undertake specific measures to protect valued species
Implementation activities
Preparation of the meadow: removal of turf layer and planting of suitable flowering plant species that bloom in different colors in different periods of the year [1].
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
Maintenance and management of urban nature
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Grey infrastructure featuring greens
Alley or street trees and other street vegetation
Parks and urban forests
Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
Vegetation Type
Flower beds
Amenities offered by the NBS
Unknown
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Pollination
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Maintenance of genetic diversity
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Scale
Spatial scale
Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Citizens or community groups
Governance
Governance arrangements
Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Non-government actors
Citizens or community groups
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
Project funded from the city's participatory budget. Citizens were involved in the projects' design and voting for the best project proposals. The municipal government is responsible for implementing the successful projects.
Key actors - initiating organization
Citizens or community group
Land owners
No information found
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Citizens or community group
Land owners
No information found
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
Crowd-sourcing/Crowd-funding/Participatory budget
Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
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"
Project proposal had to be in accordance with the city's plans, programs and strategies, in particular with the city's local development plans.(Ref.2 and 3)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Please specify other type of voluntary intervention
Citizens' own initiative as they developed the project proposal and applied for funds from the city budget.
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
Unknown
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
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
Participatory city budget.
Co-finance for NBS
No
Co-financing governance arrangements
No
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
€10,000 - €50,000
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
~13 433
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)
60.000 PLN (around 14217 EUR).(1)
Source(s) of funding
Public local authority budget
Type of fund(s) used
Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Business models
Local stewardship model
Urban offsetting model (biodiversity or water)
Vacant space model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Citizens / local communities
Type of innovation
Social
Cultural innovation
Please specify social innovation
Increases aesthetic appreciation of the planned flower area by the inhabitants.
Novelty level of the innovation
The innovation is copied/derived from previous initiative(s) without substantial adaptation
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
The project explicitly mentions that similar initiatives (flower meadows in the city) exist in many other Polish and European cities.(1)

Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Increased green space area
Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
Reduced biodiversity loss
Increased number of species present
Enhanced support of pollination
Increased spread of native/heirloom/open-pollinated seed
Description of environmental benefits
The project facilitated the preparation of a meadow (5300 sq. m.) to replace single-crop grasslands in the intersection of two roads with multispecies blooming colourfully over a major part of the vegetation period. The meadow provides open-pollinated seeds and twenty-eight different spicies of plants [1,2,4].
Economic impacts
Reduce financial cost for urban management
Description of economic benefits
The annual cost of maintenance a multiannual meadow (100 sq. m.), assuming that the meadow will be watered four times, is approximately 110 PLN (~25 EUR) if done by an outsourced professional. Lawn care requires a more complex treatment. During one season, responsible bodies mow and water the area around 20 times, which elates the expenses to app. 1100 PLN (250 EUR) with the same assumptions [6].
Social and cultural impacts
Social justice and cohesion
Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
Description of social and cultural benefits
In their essence, participatory budgets encourage local communities to propose projects which can positively influence the built and natural environment in the area of their residence. The preparation of an application for funding requires collective efforts and convincing reasoning, which empowers and integrates the citizens.
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Unknown
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
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 was finalised in 2017.
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
No evidence in public records
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Observation (including virtual surveillance methods)
Where can this data be accessed? Please include a link to a report or web-page.
https://sbo.szczecin.eu/kwiaty-w-miescie-przyjaciol-zolnierza
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
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
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Project application form
Evaluation of application form
Szczecin Participatory Budget website - project's evaluation
Local news release
List of references
1. Project's application form, Szczecin's participatory city budget 2017, 'Flowers in the city' ('Kwiaty w mieście - ul. Przyjaciół Żołnierza), http://konsultuj.szczecin.pl/konsultacje/files/CA223CEAC7DD4806A1FB16904D5C0C79/081%20na%20BIP.pdf Last accessed July 6 2020
2. Project's evaluation card, Szczecin's participatory city budget 2017, 'Flowers in the city' ('Kwiaty w mieście - ul. Przyjaciół Żołnierza), http://konsultuj.szczecin.pl/konsultacje/files/5D989A8BBAF946678C44A7369A471B28/KOZ_081.pdf Last accessed July 6 2020
3. Rules for submitting applications to the Szczecin citizens 'budget 2017' (‘Zasady składania wniosków do szczecińskiego budżetu obywatelskiego 2017’), http://konsultuj.szczecin.pl/konsultacje/chapter_116147.asp Last accessed July 6 2020
4. Szczecin Participatory Budget. (2019). Kwiaty w mieście - Przyjaciół Żołnierza (Flowers in the city - Przyjaciół Żołnierza Street). The SPB website. Available at: https://sbo.szczecin.eu/kwiaty-w-miescie-przyjaciol-zolnierza (Accessed: 06 July 2020).
5. Nalewajko, A. (2017). Powstanie Łąki Łan (A flowery meadow will be created). 24kurier.pl. Available at: https://24kurier.pl/aktualnosci/wiadomosci/powstanie-laki-lan/ (Accessed 06 July 2020).
6. Fundacja Łąka. (no date). Ile kosztuje łąka (How much does a meadow cost). Łąka. Available at: https://laka.org.pl/o-lakach/jak/ (Accessed 06 July 2020).
Interview comments
The relevant city council body (Szczecin's participatory budget) was contacted to obtain additional information on questions in the sections 4 and 6. I am waiting for the reply.
Comments and notes
Additional insights
All projects within the participatory city budget 2017 have to be positively evaluated according to the criteria: to be of an investment character, accessible to all residents, possible to be implemented within one financial year, in accordance with the plans, programs and strategies of the city, compatible with law and third party rights, requiring institutional co-operation of external entities (provided that the parties agree in writing on the establishment of an investment project on their territory and express their will to maintain it).(Ref.3)
Pictures of the NBS
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/sites/default/files/nbs/images/Szczecin%20flowers%20visualisation%2024kurier.jpg