Sustainable production

Appletree is an outdoor community resource, where people of all ages and from all walks of life, get together to grow e.g. fruit, and contribute to developing and maintaining the area. The growing space and garden are divided into different areas, offering a range of gardening experience. The community also contributes to their permaculture, wildlife and wildflower areas. The community is constantly planting and regenerating areas of the garden. (Ref. 1)

The Polder Roof is a green roof originally installed on the top of the Old School Amsterdam, Gaasterlandstraat, Amsterdam with innovative controllable water storage and drainage system on which crops are grown, solar panels are installed and that provides space for recreation. (1,2) Thereby, it combines multiple benefits including the reduction of heat stress, noise reduction, sustainable energy provision, biodiversity, food production and climate change adaptation (2,7). The Polder Roof was a pilot project that won an innovation award and is viewed as an example for urban climate change adaptation solutions. (2).

In 2019, due to the renovation of the former Old School building, it was necessary to relocate the Polder roof to a different place. The Polder Roof is a completely de-mountable system, made up of crates with a sedum layer on top, thus it could be removed quite easily from the Old School roof and put somewhere else. In the name of circularity, the sustainable drainage system was moved to the roof of the South Food Bank building. (10,11,12) With the relocation of the Polder Roof system, however, the size of the green roof has decreased to 1200 sqm from 2010 sqm (2).

Most of the open spaces around Munich are designated as green belt areas and are being used mostly for agricultural purposes. As a lead project of its green strategy, the city now aims to protect these areas and to upgrade their quality by cooperating with local farmers and promoting a shift to extensive and ecological farming, developing habitats, corridors as well as a network of cycle tracks and footpaths for recreation (Reference 3, 4). The city supports the farmers with advisory services, but also with the organization of the implementation of the ecological projects. The farmers are motivated to join by being able to use labels such as "Potatoes from the Greenbelt of Munich" on their products. (Reference 3) The initiative also includes herb gardens, provided by farmers and rented by citizens. (Reference 1) A further project included in the initiative is the "Münchner Ökokonto, a biodiversity offsetting principle by which the former low moor complex of the West of Munich is being renaturalized on 28 areas with a total area of 67 ha. (Reference 5)

The roof installation at the Re:center building comprises of a wildlife pond planted with native marginal plants, a native wildflower area, grasses and herbs, bird feeder tables, insect houses etc. Design features encourage the development of flora and fauna on the roofing area and a growing media (from ABG) provides a nutritionally rich base for vegetation. Beneath this surface, a free-draining void allows for storage of collected rainwater to irrigate the vegetation. This roof is part of the Bright Building at the University of Bradford. (ref2) The building was known throughout its building phase as The Sustainable Enterprise Centre, but it is recognised that thinking around sustainability has moved considerably since this project started back in 2007 and the new name will ‘re:flect’ new agendas in a way that is distinctive within Higher Education (ref 6).

Within the national park of Alta Murgia, a project was implemented since 2006 from a company which produces ecological products ("Fattoria della Mandorla"). They aimed at creating an ecovillage with allotment gardens by practising biological agriculture and promoting biodiversity for cultivated plants. In addition, the project aims at improving the contact of visitors with nature and give further value to the natural park. Moreover, the project wants to stimulate sustainable production and consumption of cultivated products. (Ref.1.)

The Garden Factory ('Tuinfabriek') is an exceptional urban agriculture project on a roof of the central station that aims at becoming the largest food-producing roof of the Netherlands. The project is a self-sustaining vegetable garden located on the roof of a busy mall in the centre of Utrecht (ref. 5). On the roof, citizens, students, company employees and schools work together to grow vegetables and keep bees and chicken. The Garden Factory reflects an ecological 'self-sustaining factory' as the chickens, worms and bees 'work' in the garden as being part of the decomposing system and pollination and a system is built for rainwater retention that allows for irrigation (ref. 1). Eating, composting, sowing, growing, harvesting, cooking form the production process of this Garden Factory (ref. 4).
The main elements of the roof garden are in place, such as the crop bins, the chicken coop and the decomposing machine are completed. However, it is an ongoing developing project as some elements are still in development stage such as some elements of the Soup Kitchen and the aim is to integrate the Garden Factory more with the central station shopping mall in multiple ways (ref. 1).

The city department for green space, environment and sustainability and the foundation citizens for Münster initiated a citizen-based intervention which aims at turning the park area at the "Spickmannplatz“ called "Grünschleife“ into a meeting point for residents and neighbours. The concept for its regeneration is based on workshops and ideation processes of citizens whose involvement goes beyond urban gardening activities but involves an active co-creation of the area by co-planning and development. Apart from several communal restorations works, vegetables, fruits and herbs plantations, a pavilion, a dog station and chessboards with benches were set up (ref. 1).

"This 26-hectare park, the largest in Clermont-Ferrand, offers a privileged view of the city. Several wooded areas serve as shelters for permanent and passing wildlife. For the last two years, gardeners in the park have no longer used pesticides to maintain Montjuzet Park, the effects are already measurable on the enrichment of flora and fauna." "During the development of the Parc Montjuzet, the choice was made to keep 9 hectares without intervention. These hectares could be a source of some ecological richness. Hives have been established near this area since 2009." (Ref. 1) This park has the Refuge LPO label. (Ref 2)

In 2011 the Municipality of Lisbon promoted a project for urban gardens in the Horticultural Park of Telheiras (Ref.4).
The park is an allotment garden with the objective of supporting the urban agricultural practice for its own consumption. The residents of the locality had the possibility of renting at a symbolic price, one of the plots made available by the municipality (ref.5).
Beyond the provision of plots, the Council also provides fences, shelters for storage, water irrigation, training and technical support (ref. 1).

The city of Clermont-Ferrand has 2 sites of family gardens, located at rue Robert Lemoy and rue du Château des Vergnes at which they have installed on a total area of 40 216 m², 172 parcels leased to, mainly, Clermontois residents in apartments without gardens. The gardens are a true place of life for gardeners where families and friends may meet and share convivial moments. Inscribed in a practice respectful of the environment, the gardeners and their cultivations turn toward a kind of agriculture that expects from each gardener an eco-responsible behavior in the production of food (Ref. 1).