Dissemination of information and education

Green space created behind Rock Ferry library on unused land. The plot of unused land, owned by the Wirral Council, signed a lease with the 'Grow Sow Well' project to run a volunteering scheme and sessions for the community (particularly aiming to help people with mental health issues). Grow Sow Well worked with residents, schools and community groups, bringing people together to celebrate their area and increase awareness of healthy eating and food production. (Ref. 1, 2) This lease has was transferred to the organisation called the Utopia Project (works with young people and includes horticulture). (Ref. 8)

A class of thirty students of a preschool "Jeanne Hachette of Rouen built, in the playground, an overgrown plant wall where climb non-toxic plants blooming from June to August (Ref. 1). Students engaged in a six-week educational module prior to planting the wall (Ref. 1). Engineering students from engineering school ESIGELEC assisted in delivering the program which taught students about the importance of plants and respecting the environment (Ref. 1).

The Molenvlietpark is a large park in the Viletzoom area of The Hague which will serve as an ecological corridor and stormwater storage. Beside flowery grasslands, the park has several interconnected ponds serving as water storing facilities that can temporarily collect a large amount of water during heavy rainfall. The green and blue areas with diverse vegetation provide habitat for a large variety of species and a fish spawning ground supporting biodiversity (1,5,6,7). It will also include paths for cyclists and pedestrians. (1) The first phase of the park construction has been completed, while the second phase is planned to be executed in 2021-2022.

A tree planting programme (part of existing community greening initiative in the Mersey Forest) that is helping to transform Wirral into a thriving economic hub (trees planted on streets including Price Street, Cleveland Street, Argyle Street, and Hamilton Street, which are key transport routes around the Wirral Waters investment area). Trees will also be planted at Wirral Met College, as well as in social housing landscapes and gardens. (Ref. 1, 2). The project was completed in 2015 but similar initiatives have been taking place in Wirral since. There is no apparent connection between these projects and the 2012-15 project. (Ref. 7, 8)

The Chartreuse Park has been chosen as a pilot site for the EU-funded VALUE project, enabling the City of Liège to finance and pilot a participatory requalification process for the Chartreuse Park. Since the acquisition of the site (about 20 hectares of park and green spaces), the City has taken several steps to recognize the historical and environmental potentialities of the Park and to integrate its values in the operations for the urban development of this old military site (the Fort de la Chartreuse). As a result of broad consultation with citizens, between 2012 and 2014, three circular walkways were created in the park connected to each other, enabling greater access to the park (Ref. 1).

The aim of the project was to extend and cover one of Germany’s busiest highways, the south-north highway (A7). The highway had divided neighborhoods from each other and had had negative environmental effects like noise and air pollution. The new green roof will have three parts that connect the existing green surfaces to each other, these parts constitute the three phases of the construction. The urban areas in the vicinity of the noise-reduced motorway will be developed for residential construction. The project also includes the reconstruction of the Langenfelder Brücke in a way which makes the bridge wider, and also provides better noise protection for locals. (Reference 10) In September 2020, only the first phase has been completed, and the final completion is planned for 2028. (Reference 1, 3, 12).

This project aimed at the reconstruction of the Lepiku channel that is part of the drainage system, which starts next to the Tallinn Botanic Garden and includes wetlands, detention ponds, ditches and channels and flows into the Pirita river. The aim of the project was to improve the quality of the stormwater that flows into the Pirita river which is a Natura 2000 site and flows into the Baltic Sea. The work included: widening of channel bottom in different segments, creating artificial dykes and rapids and creating suitable conditions for the aquatic plants exhibited in Botanic Garden (ref 1). With the project, 200m of the channel was reconstructed (ref. 5).

The medieval style Shared Garden Of Sainte-Madeleine Place development - situated in between two nearby schools - in 2009 was quickly claimed by the Association des Habitants Bourse Austerlitz Krutenau (Association of Inhabitants Bourse-Austerlitz-Krutenau) (AHBAK) neighborhood association because of its historic environment. The project turned the space into a shared garden, involving a collective composting area for organic waste, installing a rainwater recuperator, and planting local plant and vegetable species and new trees (Ref. 1, 2, 3).

The idea of ​​the project Redevelopment Of Place d'Austerlitz was to create an autonomous ecosystem, including plants and animals, with wild grasses and native trees that attract insects, mammals and birds (Ref. 4). The restructuring involved a whole mixture of paths, fauna, flora and riverside, all within a framework promoting urban ecology and biodiversity (Ref. 5). The project was conceived as "an archipelago of nature in the city" (Ref. 10, 12).

This NBS is a part of the "Horta à Porta" (allotments at the door) programme which enhances the economic, environmental and social dynamics of the Porto region through the creation of community organic gardens and the promotion of active involvement which empowers local people and institutions. The program is led by the Greater Porto Metropolitan Waste Management Service, LIPOR. Implementation of vegetable gardens began in 2003. In the Metropolitan Region of Porto, there are 23 of these community gardens totalling four hectares, and the forecast is for a large-scale increase in the near future(1)