1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Zagreb
Region
Europe
Short description of the intervention
Eko Ekipa Prečko is an alternative urban garden in Zagreb which was initiated and promoted by the locals. The initiative was not supported by the government initially. Regardless of the lack of support, citizens jointly cleaned an illegal waste disposal site and the bushes and shrubs there to initiate a communal garden. Besides ecological food production, they also organize educational workshops for children and adults to get familiar with life in nature (Ref 1). People of all ages, the majority between age 30 and 40, from Prečko and neighbouring districts are involved with the garden (Ref 4).
Address

Next to Jarnovićeva street
10000 Zagreb
Croatia

Location
Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place
Total area
1500.00m²
NBS area
1500.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Previous derelict area
Website of the intervention
https://www.facebook.com/ekoekipa.precko/
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2013
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2013
End date of the intervention
2013
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Please specify "other" stage of the intervention
Garden parcels have already been occupied and used for food production. Now the group is developing a joint, communal fire place where they can meet and hang out. (1)
Goals of the intervention
The main objective of the intervention was to grow organic food and to create a green space where children can play and learn about gardening. Other objectives were to clean a waste disposal site, division to communal and individually farmed areas, organization of workshops, and connect with nature and to ensure space for recreation and socialization (Ref 1, 2).
Quantitative targets
Removal of all trash and the development of 30-40 gardening units.. (Ref 1, 2)
Monitoring indicators defined
unknown
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change mitigation
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity restoration
Green space creation and/or management
Environmental quality
Air quality improvement
Waste management
Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
Effective management
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Social interaction
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Improving mental health
Creation of opportunities for recreation
Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
Economic development: agriculture
Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Sustainable production
Climate change mitigation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Sequester and store carbon
Climate change mitigation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Increase green urban nature for carbon storage (wetlands, tree cover)
What types of restoration goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Species-focused
What activities are implemented to realize the restoration goals and targets?
Restore valued species
Public engagement
Implementation activities
During March and April 2013, a group of about 30 citizens who volunteered to clean a neglected plot of land owned by the city of Zagreb, located next to Jarnovićeva Street, across from the school playground of the Nikola Tesla Elementary School. The land was full of garbage and overgrown with blackberries and weeds, but the work of interested citizens quickly turned it into an attractive garden of unusual design, which was officially opened on 09.06.2013 (Ref 4). The garbage has been removed and shrubs that grew there cleaned, the area has been divided into communal and individual gardening plots, an area for barbecue and socialization has been prepared, joint activities and educational workshops to pass on the knowledge to interested citizens (Ref 1, 2).
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
Transformation of previously derelict areas
Knowledge creation and awareness raising
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Community gardens and allotments
Allotments
Community gardens
Please specify the number of plots or allotment gardens
45 small plots of land (about 5x5 m 2 in very different shapes) (Ref 4).
Vegetation Type
Grass
Shrubs
Garden beds
Other
Amenities offered by the NBS
Playgrounds
Cultural (museum, concert areas)
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
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Recreation
Intellectual interactions (scientific and / or educational)
Social and community interactions
Scale
Spatial scale
Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Citizens or community groups
Governance
Governance arrangements
Led by 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
A group of citizens organized through posters an initial gathering and then through social networks continued to grow and organize its activities. The authorities are aware of the gardens and have given tacit approval to the initiative, but provide no funding or support to the Ekoekipa Prečko ( Ref 2).
Key actors - initiating organization
Citizens or community group
Land owners
No information found
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Regional government
Citizens or community group
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
Dissemination of information and education
Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Citizen monitoring and review
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
No
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Please specify other type of voluntary intervention
citizens' engagement (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
Unknown
Please specify other vegetation type
Vegetable patches
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
Unknown
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?
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
Other
Please specify other source of funding
Not much costs going on - the participants bring all the seeds, recycle materials (Ref 1)
Type of fund(s) used
Other
Please specify other type of fund used
self-funded by the members of the initiative who use the garden (Ref 1)
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)
Business models
Local stewardship model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Citizens / local communities
Type of innovation
Social
Governance innovation
Please specify social innovation
Citizens' engagement in self-organising and cleaning the neighbourhood area to use the area for gardening, organizing workshops and socialising (2).
Novelty level of the innovation
Ambiguous (e.g. multiple interpretations)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
not mentioned where the group got the idea from
Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Green space and habitat
Increased green space area
Enhanced support of pollination
Restoration of derelict areas
Description of environmental benefits
Before the NBS was implemented, the place was a derelict area (waste disposal site). The citizens initiated the intervention with the motivation of producing organic food and to create a place for children to play and learn gardening. The intervention included the planting of trees, shrubs, flowering plants and vegetables. (Ref 1, 2).
Economic impacts
Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
Description of economic benefits
The gardeners produce vegetables. Great importance is attached to organic and permaculture garden maintenance and democratic garden management (Ref 5).
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
Cultural heritage and sense of place
Improvement in people’s connection to nature
Education
Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
Description of social and cultural benefits
The citizens came together and took the initiative to turn the derelict place to a beautiful garden in the city. In addition to producing food, the place also showcases the increased involvement of the locals in green space management and social cohesion (Ref 1, 3). The garden also serves to educate children from the nearby Prečko kindergarten and the Nikola Tesla Elementary School, and the intention is to connect the group with similar initiatives in Zagreb, the rest of Croatia and beyond (Ref 5).
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Unknown
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change mitigation
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity restoration
Green space creation and/or management
Environmental quality
Air quality improvement
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
Effective management
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Social cohesion
Social interaction
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Improving physical health
Creation of opportunities for recreation
Economic development: agriculture
Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Sustainable production
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...
Positive distribution of NBS benefits
Improved access to green and/or blue spaces
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown as of July, 2020.
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
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
No
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
No
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Yes
Mode(s) of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Focus Group
Please specify other modes of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
joint decission making and discussing on how the citizens/gardeners are satisfied with the garden and what they would want to in future (1)
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Yes
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Ekoekipa facebook website
Blog on urban gardening in Zagreb
Zagreb 2020 plan
List of references
1. EkoEkipa Prečko Facebook website (no date) Available at: https://www.facebook.com/ekoekipa.precko/. Accessed on 16th July, 2020.
2. Blog Nepoznati Zagreb (no date) Available at: http://blog.dnevnik.hr/nepoznatizagreb/oznaka/gradski-vrtovi. Accessed on 16th July, 2020.
3. City of Zagreb (2016) Zagreb 2020 plan. Available at: http://www.zagreb.hr/zagrebplan/56906. Accessed on 16th JUly, 2020.
4. EkoEkipa Prečko. The alternative urban garden in Zagreb (no date) Available at: https://slideplayer.com/slide/8092490/. Accessed on 16th July, 2020.
5. Eco Team Prečko (no date) Mapiranje Trešnjevke. Available at: https://mapiranjetresnjevke.com/kvartovi/precko/ekoekipa-precko/. Accessed on 16th July, 2020.
Comments and notes
Public Images
Ekoekipa Prečko
Ekoekipa Prečko
Source: Ref. 1
Ekoekipa Prečko
Ekoekipa Prečko
Source: Ref. 1
Ekoekipa Prečko
Ekoekipa Prečko
Source: Ref. 1