Networks and cities' news

The Green Student Parliament discussed sustainability in Veszprém

As part of the BiodiverCity project, the Green Student Parliament gathered in Veszprém's City Hall on 26 November 2024 to engage in discussions on environmental and social sustainability. This unique biennial forum, which has been running for 16 years, serves as a platform for young people in Hungary to voice their concerns and propose solutions for pressing sustainability issues.

Municipality of Vratsa organized the third ULG meeting under the "BiodiverCity" project

On 11.11.2024, the third meeting of the URBACT local group was held in the Municipality of Vratsa within "BiodiverCity: Communitybased approaches to foster urban biodiversity" project. The purpose of the meeting was the joint planning of the upcoming activities that should be implemented on local level within the project. Some of these activities include the organization of URBACT festival, as well as small-scale pilot actions, such as afforestation in the neighborhoods of the city of Vratsa and the planting of a forest using the Miyawaki method.

Green rooftops, green walls and street shadowing with green

Green elements are becoming increasingly important, especially in urban and urbanised environments. The BiodiverCity Action Planning Network aims at increasing urban green, contributing to a healthy living environment. But exactly within the urban setting, there is often no or insufficient space at ground level. Green walls and rooftops are a valuable alternative to overcome this shortage. And creating shade is one of the most effective ways to keep people cool. Click on the link below to discover the world of green rooftops, walls and street shadowing with green.

Read the whole article HERE, written by ms. Marieke Muilwijk:

Gender aspects in planning urban green spaces

For us humans, gender largely determines how we use public space and to what extent we appropriate it. Yet it is a lagging issue in design. Public spaces are supposed to connect us, but we see a clear divide from our early years, which is really only based on assumptions rather than needs. BiodiverCity’s ad-hoc expert, Marieke Muilwijk explains that gender sensitive urban planning methods are not about feminism, but about doing things better.

Urban permaculture: helping residents reconnect to nature - Case study

The BiodiverCity partnership visited the Dole Self-Reliance Training Ground, a permaculture garden with educational facilities in Poljčane, Slovenia, to learn about permaculture, the importance of soil diversity, and discussed the implications for urban areas. The case study explains why it is so important to deal with permaculture in urban areas too.

You can read the whole case study HERE.

BiodiverCity: beehive therapy

Have you ever tried beehive therapy?

Hundreds of European cities are experimenting with biodiverse grassland management
and pollinator-friendly initiatives. Engaging residents is an - evergreen – challenge in these
sensitive, often culturally-driven questions. For them, operating a beehive therapy house in
a controlled way can be an interesting and rather attractive engagement tool, getting
people closer to nature.