Networks and cities' news

International Biodiversity Day Celebrated in Sarajevo: Interactive Lecture, Planting, and Intergenerational Gathering

Sarajevo, May 22, 2024 – As part of the Urbact program and the "BiodiverCity" project, sponsored by the European Union, the City of Sarajevo organized the celebration of International Biodiversity Day. The event took place at the School for Vocational Education and Training, Azize Šaćirbegović 80, and gathered a large number of participants, including the ULG coordinator, ULG members, employees of the Sarajevo City Sustainable Development Service, the Center for Healthy Aging, school students, and citizens.

The bird-watching station

The bird-watching station with an experiential platform is an educational and pedagogical structure along the Dravinja Learning Path, which is part of the Municipality of Poljčane's vision towards biodiversity development (BiodiverCity). The bird-watching station is a charming outdoor classroom with partially obscured views of the surrounding nature. In the series of wooden slats, designed to resemble riverbank reeds, there are interactive didactic tools for learning through play. On the platform, elevated above the Dravinja floodplain, there are thematic carousels about animals and plants along the river, which rhythmically continue into the bird-watching station and culminate in an imaginary riverbed. Learning through play during a pleasant walk in nature attracts both the young and the young at heart to explore and observe the world around them.

Innovative tools and methods to foster sustainable and biodiverse maintenance of public green areas

Increasing the size and improving the quality of urban green spaces is an utmost priority of all European cities in the shadow of the ecological crisis. This is also required by the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the related Nature Restoration Law.

Intergenerational Festival in Poljčane

At the beginning of this summer, we organized an Intergenerational Festival in the meadow under the Čreti hayrack in the Municipality of Poljčane as part of the URBACT program's BiodiverCity action network.

Tools to activate residents to trans form their private gardens in to biodiversity oases - Biodivercity case study 5.

Hegyvidék, Budapest's greenest district, is turning private gardens into biodiversity oases to tackle climate change and promote eco-friendly living. The Green Office is leading this effort with initiatives like free composting boxes, native tree planting, and bird-friendly programs, encouraging residents to adopt sustainable practices. The study was written by Ferenc Albert Szigeti, coordinator of the Hungarian Hub for Nature-based Solutions, lead expert of the BiodiverCity network.

If you are interested, you can find the whole study HERE!

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…”