Provision of goods

There is a quickly growing number of residents, who want to grow their own food within a short distance of their locality, but new areas for allotments are not sufficient. The environmental NGO Dodo started a "guerilla gardening" movement, part of which is the temporary use of otherwise abandoned spaces. Specifically, at Kalastama area, an empty space waiting to be built upon, 36 farmers created an urban farm with recycled industrial bags to grow crops that can be removed afterwards (ref. 1). The garden in Kalasatama is a collaboration with the city of Helsinki, part of the temporary uses of the area, which in the next 20 years will be built into a new urban district of Helsinki (ref. 4)

In 2014, students, instructors and representatives of an appropriate company built a "small green roof" on the balcony above the entrance to the Department of Architecture at the Bialystok University of Technology. The initiative was a part of the "Green City by nature" project - a nationwide educational campaign about nature-based urban solutions. It took only 5 hours to unfold the roll of grass and prepare the ground for all year thuja and vines [1,2].

There have been different activities throughout the time to recover and improve the Malecon Botanical Garden. In 2012, the main activity was to recover the Malecon Botanical Garden by introducing a collection of Mediterranean species and of other ethnobotanicals plants and delivering some other environmental services to the location (Ref 1). In 2019, there were different works to rehabilitate the Garden for the September Fair, and also some other plans to create a cultural and artistic space within the Garden (Ref 10 and 11).
The project has completed its first stage, but there is an ongoing number of initiatives to rehabilitate and improve the garden (Ref 9 and 10).
Regarding the status of the project, the first stage has been completed, but an ongoing initiative to rehabilitate and improve the garden is taking place (Ref 9 and 10).

‘Colorieten Hof’ is a community garden in which vegetables, herbs and flowers are grown sustainably. The garden is a social meeting place for elderly, neighborhood citizens and female immigrants who can learn Dutch and about Belgian culture (Ref. 1, 3).

In 2017, the municipality of Sintra approved the municipal Solidarity Gardens Program, which aims at enabling the inhabitants of Sintra to "value solidarity and, in some way, value natural resources" (ref.4).
This intervention aims to create small gardens in urban areas. Not only as a tool for subsistence for families in situations of social vulnerability but also to generate access to areas that tend to deteriorate, through correct management and profitability of resources. Eventually, the NBS aims to promote actions for the implementation of sustainable urban development, focused on strengthening family and local agriculture (1)

A communal bio-garden was created by a group of citizens in Sofia in 2014 on a municipal piece of land. The creation of the garden was supported by the Municipality through their programme “Green Sofia”. The aim of the project was to turn an abandoned and degraded green area into an “island of biodiversity” and a place for urban gardening. The garden contains herbs, vegetables, and flowers, dwelling places for useful insects, and a compost bin. The benefits of the garden have been ecological, educational, and social, including refugee integration. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 3; Ref. 4) According to their Facebook group in 2020, the 4 acre garden and the community that has organised around it is still thriving. (Ref 10)

The River Kennet and its tributaries make an excellent topic for introducing subjects to the curriculum at pre-school, primary and secondary levels. The ARK (Action for the River Kennet) project helps protecting the river and educate youngsters about the importance of water by providing educational projects for schools. The 'Trout in Schools' project as a partnership with Thames Water (funding and support), aims to hatch trout eggs and raise them until the trouts are grown enough to be released into the River Kennet (Ref.1, 2). The project has celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2018 and has engaged thousands of children (7).

Interkultural Garten was founded in 2009 as an initiative of the Society for the Promotion of Occupational and Social Integration. The aims of the project are social integration between migrants and locals from the same neighborhood, healthy and free-off-charge food supply for those who are in need, as well as the improvement of the natural environment in the neighborhood. The garden plot is located on the former Reese barracks ground (Ref. 1).

Huerto del Miravete is one of the several school gardens that have been supported by municipal, regional and national policies for environmental education on orchards. Huerto del Miravete was a two-year-long project, for the creation of a school garden and irrigation system for use by students in the elementary school system. (Ref 1)The presented intervention is an effort to introduce students to the traditional orchards of the region and the labours involved with them, and to educate on ecological processes through student participation in the garden.

3000 trees were planted on 7 decares of land by 500 volunteers in park Zapaden on Earth day (22 April) in 2017. The initiative was supported by the Municipality of Sofia, and had the aim of making the city cleaner, greener, and more beautiful. The initiative also compensated for the illegal logging which had taken place in the park. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 3)