Networks and cities' news

Making nature-based solutions visible and promoting soil life through deep mulch gardens in Veszprém, Hungary

“How and how often do you water these vegetables?” – asks Iuri Bruni from Siena, which is a frontrunner in Italy promoting community gardens. “No need for watering at all, even in the hot summer period and we do not use chemicals” - says Dr Tímea Szalay, president of the Csalán Association, which manages the three deep mulch gardens in Veszprém. But she must repeat her answer three times since participants of the BiodiverCity study visit simply cannot believe it. Finally, she shows the difference: the soil under the mulch is black and wet, while two meters away, in a traditional plot, where there is no covering, the same soil is visibly much dryer (light brown). “This is a garden where we learn how nature works sustainably…”

5+1 reasons to plant untrained saplings in cities instead of pre-grown nursery trees - Experiences of Municipality of Hegyvidék, district 12 of Budapest

The municipality of Hegyvidék developed a tree replacement strategy for the district within the Urban Green Belts (UGB) CENTRAL EUROPE project, with special attention to district trees and tree rows, in collaboration with experts from the International Dendrological Foundation. Following the creation of the strategy, the municipality launched the Hegyvidék Sapling and Young Tree Program in 2019, in which it began the experimental planting of young, untrained saplings in the district instead of pre-grown nursery trees.

How to organise an efficient bioblitz event to map urban biodiversity and activate local communities? - Experiences of Siena (Italy) within and beyond the City Nature Challenge

Bioblitz is a great tool using citizen science to activate and raise awareness of local communities along with biodiversity. According to National Geographic, it is an event that focuses on finding and identifying as many species as possible in a specific area over a short period, usually 24 hours. A bioblitz brings together volunteer scientists, as well as families, students, teachers, and other members of the community. While a scientific survey often focuses on unique or isolated areas, bioblitzes usually focus on urban green areas.

How does a “sponge city” work?

In the early 2000ies, Western and Northern European cities faced heavy rainfalls causing huge damage in the dense urban fabric. Since then, new housing estates have been built in frontrunner cities without using grey infrastructure to collect rainwater, and water retention has been an integrated part of urban development. We explain the key lessons and challenges since droughts experienced in the last years almost everywhere in Europe make the theme more essential than ever.

“Extensive green rooftops (made up of a very thin - 8-15 cm - layer of substrate with shallow-root and resistance plants like sedum, herbs, mosses, and grasses) can absorb 70-80% of the rainwater, it protects the roof and boosts its insulation capacity - thus we created our Botanical Roof Garden, one of the biggest green rooftop complexes in Europe, on the rooftop of the communal utility company, to promote different techniques” - says Ms Helen Johansson, director of the Green Roof Institute during a study visit organised in the frame of the URBACT Summer University (2023). 

“Green placemaking” – Why communication and engagement is key in changing the way we think about urban green spaces

Many cities around the world are experimenting with engaging residents in green space
maintenance and at the same time, communicating about the benefits of nature, nudging locals to
a more pro-environmental behaviour. This is a core theme of the BiodiverCity network as well,
and the case of Dunaújváros, Hungary highlights the need for resilient, biodiversity-driven green
space management in the shadow of climate change.

“Vitamin N” for everyone – Transforming cities’ relationship with nature and the rise of nature-based solutions to tackle the ecological crisis

Bestseller author Richard Louv defined nature-deficit disorder in his book (Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature, 2016 – where “N” is for “nature”) and launched an international movement to get humans’ connection back to nature, especially in urban areas where this connection has been dramatically lost over the last centuries, as it was painfully, but perfectly showcased during the COVID-19 pandemic.