LIVADALab: greener and more inclusive Ljubljana
Together with citizens, municipality, NGOs and urban green space developers and managers, GREEN SURGE contributed to the improvement of Ljubljana’s urban green spaces in the LivadaLAB initiative. This project combined research insights with the expertise of the youth NGO Zavod Bob, University of Ljubljana, the Institute for Sustainable Development, construction company LAVCO, urban management company TISA, and a number of local businesses. Together, they implemented a project which successfully integrates youth and environmental policy goals for the City of Ljubljana. It engaged over 30 young citizens in developing a multifunctional open public green space with the aim to further promote, support and foster the active role of citizens, especially marginalized groups, in improving the quality of urban green spaces in Ljubljana. This project is one of the initiatives under the overarching Uran Learning Labs (ULLs) project by Green Surge, which was applied to 20 European cities. (1, 4 and 5)
Let's help the bee in the city
BTC, a private company that has three shopping centres in Slovenia - one in Ljubljana - has engaged in supporting Carnolian Honey bees in Ljubljana through the "Let's help the bee in the city" project. As part of this, the company has placed beehives at the BTC shopping mall, primary school and distributed plants for people around Ljubljana to put on their balconies to support urban bees. In 2014, an urban apiary with four bee families was set up on the meadow behind the Atlantis waterfront, drawing attention to the importance of preserving Carniolan lavender and bees for the environment. They also take care of young people who are enthusiastic about urban beekeeping with the project. With the competition "Bee-friendly school", a nice teaching apiary was set up for primary school children in the area of the Medvode primary school. One of the urban beehives can also be visited by prior arrangement for organized groups. The project is still ongoing encouraging citizens to plant their balconies and window boxes with honey plants and by doing so provide the city bees with sufficient forage. (1, 2 and 6)
For a more beautiful Ljubljana: spring cleaning
Each year, since 2003 between 22 March, World Water Day, and 22 April, World Earth Day, the traditional spring cleaning campaign For a More Beautiful Ljubljana (Za lepšo Ljubljano) is in progress in Ljubljana. The basic goal of the For a More Beautiful Ljubljana campaign is to give a thorough spring clean to functional areas across the City of Ljubljana, and those taking part include Departments within the City Administration, the City’s District Authorities, public companies united within Ljubljana Public Holdings, City of Ljubljana public institutes and various Ljubljana societies. (1 and 5)
Inclusive Vegetable garden
The project is a community garden hosted by the first humanitarian NGO in post communist Romania, Fundaţia ’89 (1). It serves as a permanent sustainable source of the NGO in order to feed its employees and to engage in community work homeless people, itinerant workers, evacuated families, drug abusers. (1)
Educational Pathway at the Botanical Garden
Opened in 1987, Lo Morant Park is located in the northern part of the city of Alicante. Its flat surface of 12 hectares is ideal for walking among its vegetated spaces and for the development of multiple activities focused on the neighborhood (Ref. 1). An educational environmental tour of the park is in place for learning and discovering the fauna and flora. The park offers different social activities and facilities (sports facilities, leisure). (Ref. 1). It is the largest park in Alicante with a dimension of twelve hectares, and has a great diversity of plant species and sports and cultural spaces. (Ref. 3)
Regenerating Liverpool - Festival Park
The Festival Park Liverpool project involves the transformation of the former International Garden Festival site into an internationally recognized riverside suburb with strong neighbourhood connections and leisure facilities. The 36-hectare site is split into three different zones namely 1) Development Zone 2)Southern Grasslands and 3) Festival Gardens. The project masterplan was created by K2 Architects and was launched by the Liverpool City Mayor Joe Anderson. (Reference 1, 4, 7).
The Festival Park Liverpool masterplan consists of 1) a mixed-use housing including residential zone, primary school, medical centre and a culture hub 2) social heart of the residential area with hotels, bars and restaurants 3) a beachfront neighbourhood with residential apartments, pavement cafes, restaurants and bars, designed around an ‘Amsterdam’ styled canal frontage 4) festival gardens 5) grasslands to be remodelled into a natural habitat for wildlife and leisure activities (Reference 1).
In 2017, a set of land surveys and environmental assessments, along with the first phase of site mediation, were carried out. A consent to develop 1380 residential units were provided with validity until December 2022 (Reference 1). Detailed site investigations have been undertaken in the Development Zone and now underway on the Gardens and Southern Grasslands (Reference1, 8). A 9.9M pound remediation programmed funded by a grant from Homes England will begin in Spring 2020 in order to prepare the site to deliver 1,500 homes with supporting retail leisure and community uses. Liverpool City Council has started to engage prospective investors, developers and operators in discussions for bringing forward the project. It has opened opportunities for investor involvement which includes equity partners, co-investment or development funding, offering a potential for a long-term relationship with a public sector partner or investor. The project will be built in several phases commencing in Summer 2021 (Reference 9).
The Festival Park Liverpool masterplan consists of 1) a mixed-use housing including residential zone, primary school, medical centre and a culture hub 2) social heart of the residential area with hotels, bars and restaurants 3) a beachfront neighbourhood with residential apartments, pavement cafes, restaurants and bars, designed around an ‘Amsterdam’ styled canal frontage 4) festival gardens 5) grasslands to be remodelled into a natural habitat for wildlife and leisure activities (Reference 1).
In 2017, a set of land surveys and environmental assessments, along with the first phase of site mediation, were carried out. A consent to develop 1380 residential units were provided with validity until December 2022 (Reference 1). Detailed site investigations have been undertaken in the Development Zone and now underway on the Gardens and Southern Grasslands (Reference1, 8). A 9.9M pound remediation programmed funded by a grant from Homes England will begin in Spring 2020 in order to prepare the site to deliver 1,500 homes with supporting retail leisure and community uses. Liverpool City Council has started to engage prospective investors, developers and operators in discussions for bringing forward the project. It has opened opportunities for investor involvement which includes equity partners, co-investment or development funding, offering a potential for a long-term relationship with a public sector partner or investor. The project will be built in several phases commencing in Summer 2021 (Reference 9).
River Alt Restoration Project
The River Alt Restoration Project at Stonebridge started in 2013 with an initial goal to remove culverts in order to create re-naturalised watercourses and maintain watercourses easier. It also involved the removal of rubbish and other obstructions to reduce the risk of flooding in the wider catchment (Reference 2). The project then evolved with a bigger goal to divert River Alt into a new 900-meter long linear park named Alt Meadows. Relevant engineering works were employed in the area. In addition, accessible paths and meadow, wetland and woodland habitats were created. The park was also linked into surrounding areas (like housing, shops, schools, etc.). The project benefits include the expected increase in wildlife biodiversity and improved water quality and flood protection (Reference 1, 3).
The project was led The Cass Foundation, in partnership with the Community Forest Trust, with funding from DEFRA’s Catchment Restoration Fund (via Environmental Agency) and Liverpool City Council. The Foundation remains responsible for maintaining Alt Meadows on behalf of the city council (Reference 3).
The project was led The Cass Foundation, in partnership with the Community Forest Trust, with funding from DEFRA’s Catchment Restoration Fund (via Environmental Agency) and Liverpool City Council. The Foundation remains responsible for maintaining Alt Meadows on behalf of the city council (Reference 3).
Park Jose Antonio Labordeta
The Park Jose Antonio Labordeta is the most extensive park in all of Zaragoza, consisting of municipal nurseries, botanical gardens, and areas for leisure and recreation. (Ref. 4) From 2006 to 2007 a process of citizen participation was started to collect ideas for the improvement of the park on its 75th anniversary. (Ref. 1) In 2010, the City Council of Zaragoza developed a Master Plan to document these ideas and to guide future management of the park. (Ref. 1) The interventions in the Master Plan include landscape improvement, park management, agronomic improvements, among others. (Ref. 1)
Revitalization of Rakova Jelša
Revitalization of Rakova Jelša includes cleaning of the informal waste area and renovating it in a park which connects the city with the Marsh Landscape Park. In two phases, the park area was arranged together with the children's playground and the footbridge over Lahov graben. The possibility of regulated urban self-sufficient agriculture or gardens in the immediate vicinity of the city center means the added value of this area. (1)
Crayfish Action Sheffield Project
Two of Sheffield's rivers, the Limb Brook and the Porter Brook, have been identified as having strong populations of native white-clawed crayfish. The native crayfish is under pressure from the alien, invasive American signal crayfish and the crayfish plague. If no action is taken, the white-clawed crayfish populations in Sheffield could become extinct in a few years. Crayfish Action Sheffield aims to maintain and increase Sheffield’s native crayfish populations through habitat enhancement, public education and creation of bio-secure 'Ark' sites. It is a collaborative research project and Sheffield Crayfish Working Group’s members are from a range of conservation organizations. (ref3) The First time Crayfish Action plan was implemented in 2008-14 and after it ended in 2014, again the issue was looked in 2017. (ref 5)

