Improving mental health

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)

This pilot project to create social gardens in Gdynia was developed by a cooperative of the local government, NGO sector and businesses. The project involved creating 3 (and finally 6) social gardens in different locations of Gdynia (Oksywie, Grabówek and Redłowo). They serve ecologic (greenery planting), horticultural (jointly managed vegetable and herb gardens), social (community integration) and educational (workshops on topics such as healthy lifestyle or building bird boxes) purposes. The gardens are being co-managed on a voluntary basis by the local communities with the help of an appointed gardener and an animator [1,4]. The project is based on 4 pillars: 1) social participation; 2) innovation; 3) social sensitivity; 4) food anthropology [5].

Opened in June 2006, the Jean-Baptiste Lebas Park, which occupies a space once used for illegal parking and marred by 11 lanes of traffic, is surrounded by the boulevard of the same name. This park plays an important role in creating an urban green space into a derelict grey area. The park helped to increase the biodiversity of the area. It has an area of 3-hectare (7-acre) and it contains a large lawn with flowerbeds, play areas for children and places for playing "boules" (Ref 1).

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)

It started with the “Let’s Plant for the Earth, Let’s Plant for Murcia” project, as Murcia’s committed to the United Nations Billion Trees Campaign. The city of Murcia committed itself in 2008 to plant 12 000 trees around the urban fabric through a series of action projects. The target was exceeded in 2010 with a total of 23 576 trees pledged and planted toward the campaign (Ref. 1).
In 2020, after having surpassed their 12,000 planted trees goal, Murcia has the new goal of planting 100,000 trees by 2030. It is a long-term project that the municipality committed itself to make (Ref. 5, 2020a).

The Ronald McDonald House is a temporary home for families with seriously ill children who are treated at the Essen University Hospital. The house was designed by the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who merged the garden and architecture together in order to bring residents of the house closer to nature improving their psychological and health conditions (Ref. 1). The house was opened in 2005 in Essen's Grugapark (Ref. 2). A special highlight is the accessible intensive Green Roof (950 sqm) with grass, herbs, flowers, shrubs, and trees (Ref. 3).

Together with the Office for Urban Greenery and Waters of the City of Leipzig, the charitable association Ökolöwe Leipzig started the green facades initiative "Kletterfix - Green Walls for Leipzig" in 2015. The project aims at creating awareness about the multiple benefits of urban green walls and inspiring action of tenants and landlords on private property. As a measure mandated by the Urban Clean Air Plan, green facades improve the urban microclimate, general living conditions and combat particulate matter pollution. On-site advice about suitable plants and maintenance is provided upon application and respective seeds for up to 5 plants are sent for free to the applicants by the city department (1, 3, 7).

“The Nottingham in Bloom campaign is a city-wide partnership which includes residents, businesses, schools, community groups and a wide range of volunteers. The aim is to encourage more people to get involved to improve their local area. Together they [through the campaign] produce horticultural excellence and enhance the local landscape, the environment and the character of Nottingham.” (Ref. 1)

The Pasteur clinic in Toulouse installed a 500m² vegetable garden on the roof of its building in 2014. Maintained by clinic employees and various associations, the garden makes it possible to develop a friendly atmosphere and learn gardening while promoting biodiversity (Ref. 2). The garden grows produce including green beans, tomatoes, basil, strawberries and raspberries, (Ref. 3) and contains flowers such as nasturtiums, Cosmos, tagettes and edible chrysanthemums (Ref. 4).

Since October 2015, the City of Marseille has implemented a vegetation permit called "Visa Vert" (Green Visa), as well as a "Charter for the vegetation of public spaces in Marseille", which allow individuals to install plants in public spaces
while respecting the safety and use of the tracks by other users. Plants, flowers and shrubs can thus contribute to the beautification of the living environment and "bring a bit of nature into the city" (Ref. 1). The charter aims to “ accompany and support initiatives to revegetate the streets and promote collective actions that contribute to embellishing the living environment ”, but also to “ enhance the presence of plants in the city, to respect the public space which belongs to all and thus to improve living together ” (Ref. 5).