Dissemination of information and education

The 100-hectare site that is situates in the socially disadvantaged neighbourhood and river island called Wilhelmsburg was designed for the IGS 2013 (International Garden Show) and was opened to the citizens of Hamburg in 2014. On the 9-hectare large area that was a former brownfield site, mostly free or inexpensive outdoor leisure facilities were planned. The new park, named “Island Park” aims to attract people of all ages to do sport, including recreational and professional sports outdoor. Among others, the park is equipped with a high-rope course, a climbing wall, a canoeing canal a running track, a boules pitch and a garden for meditating (Reference 1, 2). The park also offers additional services, such as workshops and hands-on activities for people who want to experience a sport under expert guidance. (Reference 3)

Since the decay of the former DDR, the lignite industry had a major downturn. Most of the mines were closed and its remaining craters re-naturalized and flooded with ground- or rainwater to be revived as recreational lakes. In the Leipzig area of "Neuseenland" up to 23 artificial lakes were created since the nineties by the respective mining company "Lausitzer und Mitteldeutsche Bergbau-Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH" which has the obligation to securely and sustainably redevelop the area into forestry, agricultural, natural or recreational areas and reintegrate it into the adjacent landscape. The lakes have become important recreational areas for citizens (4, 8).

Hamburg decided to increase the number of trees in the city, however, the budget was not enough to completely fulfil this goal. Therefore, the city not only tripled the municipal budget dedicated to tree planting and but began encouraging the citizens to contribute to greening the city through the donation campaign "My tree - My city”. The project was launched in 2011 as part of the European Green Capital programme of Hamburg. Citizens can donate and by using an interactive map, can choose a site and a tree species to be planted, and follow-up the implementation of their tree. (Reference 1, 3) The City of Hamburg gave for each tree that reached donations of 500 Euro the same amount on top to cover the average costs of 1.000 Euro per tree, which includes the preparation of the planting pit, the planting itself and maintenance. (Reference 4) The campaign was so successful that it continued even after Hamburg’s year as the European Green Capital and is still going on in 2020. (Reference 2, 7)

With spaces for biodiversity being continuously threatened by urban development, the environmental association Ökolöwe Leipzig initiated a biodiversity-enhancing project during the 100th Catholic Day event in Leipzig in May 2016. Consisting of green interventions at four schoolyards all over Leipzig involving the active collaboration of students who are also expected to maintain the interventions into the future and 100 mobile high beds at the central city square for public display, the project objective was to demonstrate how to foster biodiversity even in limited urban spaces while also to raise awareness (1, 3).

While Hamburg has already had an impressive green infrastructure, it is now (since 2013) implementing an interconnected green network that will cover the 40 % of its area and support commuting by bicycle, recreation and climate change resilience. The project is planned to be completed by 2034. (Reference 9) The project aims to connect the two green belts, parks, recreational areas, cemeteries and animal habitats to each other with green paths and with the already existing “green axes” leading from the agglomeration to the urban core. The green network could not only absorb more CO2 but also prevent flooding by soaking up an increased amount of rain- and seawater caused by storms. (Reference 1, 2). An extensive network of cycle paths is also being built as part of the project. (Reference 2)

The restoration of Highfields Park was completed in Summer 2018 with path repairs and tree works to be carried out in winter 2018 to 2019. The five-year development journey of returning Highfields park to its former glory has included two rounds of public consultation. The views of park users and project partners such as the University of Nottingham, the UK's Environment Agency and the Highfields Park User Group identified a strong desire to see the park restored and improved (ref. 1), including improvements on heritage features such as historic walls, bridges and the old Boating Lake Ticket Office (ref. 2). In total, this project aimed to repair unused structures of the park including walled gardens, gardener’s cottages and historic halls and houses, converting them into volunteer and training centers, event spaces and community facilities (ref. 3). Highfields Park also provides valuable scrub and woodland habitat for breeding birds such as robin, sparrow and blue tit. The additional diversity of habitats provides important foraging and breeding opportunities for invertebrates and mammals. (Ref 4)

"The Conservatoire des Restanques is dedicated to preserving biodiversity (conservation orchard, forgotten vegetable garden, Mediterranean garden with the typical plant species of low limestone Provence) and to be a showcase of the current considerations of Sustainable Development (energy, waste management, water resources management, etc.). The development of the site and the different elements of the landscape make it possible to develop educational programs on the themes of flora diversity, wildlife, heritage conservation, food, consumption and health, eco-construction and energy management" (Ref. 3).

Within the territory of the Region of Attica there are more than 100 wetlands including streams and their estuaries, coastal marshes and lagoons, lakes and constructed wetlands. They constitute “biodiversity islands” within a broadly degraded environment and offer the inhabitants of the Attica Region the opportunity to stay in touch with nature. A strategy and an action plan were developed for the conservation and restoration of these ecosystems in fighting climate change within the EU-funded OrientGate transnational co-operation project. (Ref. 1)
Climate Change is expected to put additional pressure on these habitats as, based on future climate projections, Attica’s vulnerability to drought is expected to rise from low to moderate by the year 2100. Drought episodes are expected to last longer and occur more frequently than in the past. This phenomenon is expected to have a serious impact on Attica wetlands as most of them are rain-fed. (Ref. 1)

An educational forest trail was developed by the centre for environmental education organization Lipka as part of the ACT WELLL project partnership between Austria and the Czech Republic (2007-2013). (Ref. 2; Ref. 3). The trail includes eight stops on a two-kilometer circuit, where children and adults can learn about how nature works through games and challenges. (Ref. 2). These elements were created by artists Blanka Ponížilová and Hana Havlíčková (Ref. 1). Three-hour field-trip educational programs are available to kindergarten-aged students, and the trail is also open to the general public (Ref. 9).

The “Cities Dare Wilderness” project is part of the overall Hanoverian program of “More Nature in the City”, a new future-oriented approach to green spaces in urban areas. The aim of the project is to bring wilderness back to the city by increasing urban biodiversity, strengthening nature in the city and making it habitable for its inhabitants. For fulfilling these goals, eleven sites were chosen (some parts of the city park Eilenriede, some currently intensively cultivated areas or some derelict small gardens), in which different methods have been tried out, like planting local woody plants, grazing, and the implementation of interpretive trails. The development of the flora and fauna in the new wilderness is now being observed and investigated. The first step in the wilderness was made on a meadow along the course of the Fße in the Badenstedt which was fenced. It was made available for cattle to graze and influence the new growth of shrubs through feeding preferences (Reference 1, 2). The flowering meadows have attracted a variety of species. The rich habitat resulting from the project has attracted songbirds, hedgehogs, butterflies and some of the 67 bee varieties endemic to the state of Saxony (Reference 10).
Campaigns for environmental education are regularly offered in order to involve the population in the process of wilderness development. The series of “Wilderness Concerts” were organized, a “wilderness woodlice” was installed in one of the project areas (Mittlefield), and handicraft activities have been regularly offered, in addition to excursions and guided tours (Reference 8). Citizen science is also part of the project through the iNaturalist app that allows the community to record observations of the flora and fauna in the area (Reference 9).
The project is financed by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Natura Conservation and Nuclear Society. Two other cities, Frankfurt am Main and Dessau-Roßlau is also involved as model cities. (Reference 1,2)