European Platform Urban Greening

"🌿 Biodiversity with a Purpose 🌿

Green Academy in Denmark is excited to offer a comprehensive 3-day course titled "Biodiversity with a Purpose" from October 22 to 24, 2024. 📅 This course is specifically designed for educators who want to enhance their teaching of biodiversity through practical, praxis-based didactic and pedagogical methods. 🍃👩‍🏫📚

Participants will gain both theoretical knowledge 📖 and hands-on experience 🛠️, focusing on biodiversity in urban 🏙️ and rural areas 🌾. The course will address the opportunities and challenges of implementing biodiversity actions with a purpose-driven approach. 🌱

Join us for this enriching experience and take your teaching to the next level! 🚀🎓

This course is organized within the EPLUG project. 🌍

For more information, please contact Karolina Sikala at [email protected]. 📧"

Fantastic news from Finland 😍

AhlmanEdu has been awarded the Green Flag Award. 💚

Feedback from the judges:

"The AhlmanEdu campus is a charmingly diverse park, with green areas and buildings that offer something to explore and admire for several visits."

"The area features a wide range of student-designed solutions, from stormwater management to more extensive experiments with compost tea as fertiliser."

What is a Green Flag Award? 🧐

The Green Flag Award is an international label for the quality of green areas. It recognises and rewards well maintained and managed green areas and sets the standard for internationally first-class green areas in Finland and worldwide. All open access green areas can apply for the label.

🔗Read more: https://platformurbangreening.eu/news/ahlmanedu-has-been-awarded-the-green-flag-award/

AhlmanEdu
Viherympäristöliitto
Green Flag Award

Rain garden manages stormwater 💧

A new rain garden has been built in Finland on the AhlmanEdu site by students. The structure delays and absorbs rainwater, thus reducing the load on the stormwater drainage system. 🍀

The new rain garden meanders in a channel built into a downward sloping hillside. The swale is filled with stones and gravel of various sizes.

This is nature-based systems in action! 💚

AhlmanEdu

A new innovation project titled "Technological and Methodological Innovation in Training for Urban and Peri-Urban Tree Management: URBAN TREE 5.0" 🌳 has been awarded to our Spanish partners Projar, EFA La Malvesía, and a new partner INS Montsià. This project will last for two years and represents a strategic collaboration between institutes and companies within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, funded by the European Union 🇪🇺.

Urban Tree 5.0 brings together three partners with the common goal of developing a management application 📱 for urban and peri-urban trees, providing an accessible working tool, specially designed for vocational training students 👩‍🎓👨‍🎓.

By undertaking this applied training and innovation project, we aim to achieve knowledge transfer regarding urban green structures 🌱, promote technological and innovative training for emerging professions in the new models of "SMART GREEN CITIES" 🏙️🌿.

🌲🌳 💡

The Nature Education project is an initiative of the Green Liveable City Hotspot. Last year, in collaboration with Yuverta, we organized various nature activities for primary school children, with pre-VET students from Yuverta Houten supervising the activities. 🌱 🌿 🍀💦🐸 🦎💚 We ended this year with a nature lesson on location! At Agora Basics in Culemborg, children aged 10-12 were able to get started with experiments to test how clean the water in the ditch next to the school is. 🔎 🔬

Erasmus+ truly enriches lives and opens minds! 🌍✨

Not too long ago, 30 students from UddannelsesCenter Århus Green Academy, specializing in fields like landscaping, forestry, zookeeping, gardening, farm machinery operation, and farming, embarked on an incredible three-week practical training journey abroad.

These dedicated students traveled to Iceland, Portugal, Cyprus, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium. There, they gained invaluable hands-on experience, learning new techniques and practices in their respective fields.

They’ve returned home brimming with new knowledge and skills, many now inspired to seek even longer-term mobility experiences abroad. Erasmus+ has truly opened up a world of possibilities, helping them grow both personally and professionally! 🌱🚀

Students from Green Academy abroad 2024

🌿🌸 We are delighted to see that even small towns, such as the Czech spa town of Velké Losiny, understand the importance of sustainable urban greenery. Their lands now feature beautiful meadows with wildflower grasses, which not only beautify the surroundings but also provide a haven for local wildlife and contribute to biodiversity. Thank you to everyone involved in creating greener and healthier towns for us all! 🌱💚

CoVE Spain develops a New Vertical Garden at Paimed
Paimed, a company located in Carlet (Valencia, Spain), has unveiled a new vertical garden at its facilities. This garden not only beautifies the space but also provides a unique educational environment for students interested in urban greening.
This project is part of the Urban Greening Center of Excellence in Spain (CoVE), with EFA La Malvesía and Projar as founding partners. The vertical garden has been designed with plants specifically selected for their adaptability and features a programmed irrigation system to ensure efficient maintenance.
Students now have the opportunity to learn firsthand about urban gardening and sustainability techniques by directly observing how these practices are implemented. The new vertical garden is an excellent educational tool for those looking to explore and apply green solutions in urban environments.
Come and discover how we are transforming our urban spaces and promoting sustainability! 💧🌿

Yuverta is turning their green roof experience centre into a smart roof! 🌿🏢 In July 2024, various sensors will be placed on Yuverta's green educational roof. This is done on behalf of the Green Liveable City Practorate in collaboration with the Royal Ginkel Group. This monitoring project is part of the BARCOVE research project. A total of 10 moisture sensors are already placed on the roof to measure the moisture content in the soil. 💧 This is very important for the quality of the planting. 🌱 Furthermore, the soil temperature and soil conductivity are also measured with these sensors. 🌡️ In addition to the moisture sensors, sensors are also installed that measure the air quality. 🌬️ Lastly, a weather station will also be installed on the roof. ⛅ After the summer holidays, students will look at which sensors can be added to measure biodiversity on the roof. 🐝🌸

Recalling Our Ninth Transnational Project Meeting: Sharing Insights and Video Highlights 📹🌿

We would like to recall this significant meeting and share the video with you. 🎥 The ninth transnational project meeting for the partners of the European Platform for Urban Greening took place in Bucharest from April 21st to 26th. With only seven months remaining in the four-year project, the meeting focused on the impact of this European-wide Urban Greening network. Discussions centered on strengthening and protecting the ecosystem of relationships that have developed and planning for continued meaningful and lasting change in Urban Greening across Europe beyond 2024. 🌍✨

Watch the video to relive the highlights and insights from this crucial gathering! 📅🔗

Highlights of 9th European Platform for Urban Greening project meeting in Romania, 21-26 April 2024 TRANSNATIONAL PROJECT MEETING ROMANIA, APRIL 2024The ninth transnational project meeting for the partners of the European Platform for Urban Greening took pl...

The ninth transnational project meeting for the partners of the European Platform for Urban Greening took place in Bucharest, Romania from 21st–26th of April. With only seven months remaining of the four year project, the meeting focused on the impact of this European-wide Urban Greening network, how to strengthen and protect the ecosystem of relationships that we have developed, and what our plans are to continue making meaningful and lasting change in the field of Urban Greening across Europe beyond 2024.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Some of the highlights of the 9th transnational project meeting included:
* Reflecting on the current impact of our CoVE project and planning to continue making a meaningful and lasting change.
* Efficient and effective work sessions for various work packages and a round-table session for the partners representing the world of work.
* Hearing first-hand from students how the International Urban Greening Week has impacted them on personal and school level.
* Field trips to the local geography of Branesti and urban greening projects.
* Updates and follow-ups on spin-off projects and innovation deep dives.
* Getting perspective on the workings of government and the fortitude required to create change and generate momentum in urban greening.

Highlights of 9th European Platform for Urban Greening project meeting in Romania, 21-26 April 2024 TRANSNATIONAL PROJECT MEETING ROMANIA, APRIL 2024The ninth transnational project meeting for the partners of the European Platform for Urban Greening took pl...

The Same Procedure as Last Year! 💁🏻‍♀️Green Academy's Summer Camp 2024
From July 1st to 5th, Green Academy welcomed 31 enthusiastic pupils to our annual summer camp. ✅This week was packed with engaging activities, where students explored various professions within the green sector. They delved into the importance of biodiversity 🐝🌼and learned sustainable practices to implement in their future careers.

💚Our program not only highlighted the diverse opportunities in the green sector but also emphasized the value of vocational education as a viable and rewarding career path.

Choosing vocational education opens doors 🔝 to impactful and sustainable futures. Here’s to another successful year of inspiring the next generation of green professionals!

Bee paradise 🐝🐝🐝
was created on the school farm of the Benešov College & Secondary Agriculture School near the beehives. The honey farm also includes an area planted with more than 50 species of honey plants 🌼🌻☘and a wall made of local materials, which serves not only as a windbreak, but also as insect and bird houses. In the newly created space, it is also possible to find an example of a trunk hive 🌳(a hollow trunk used for bee keeping). The newly created space will be used as an outdoor classroom for students 👱🏻‍♀️👨🏻‍🦱 to learn about the life of bees and different types of honey bee plants, both theoretically and practically. We thank our colleagues from Ahlman Edu for their inspiration.🙏

On June 10th, the Centre of Excellence for Urban Greening in Spain (CoVE) founded by the vocational training school EFA La Malvesia and the company Paimed (Projar Group) organised a technical conference for technicians of the urban greening sector under the title "Environmental Restoration of Degraded Areas and Erosion Control".

The conference was given by Juan Manuel Mondéjar, Head of Consultancy, and Alfonso Fernández, Commercial Delegate of Projar's Landscaping Area. The core topic of the conference was on bioengineering systems and techniques for the restoration of the natural environment, among which different bioengineering alternatives were presented, including techniques such as hydroseeding, geo blankets or Tecroc surface revegetation system for erosion control.

In addition, they presented an innovative system that allows the control of invasive species. The session was conducted virtually, which facilitated the attendance and interaction of around 20 participants from different parts of the world.

🌱 Exciting times for urban landscaping! 🌿

We're thrilled to share the incredible journey of 14 students and 4 teachers from Romania who participated in a three-week pilot program under EPLUG, focusing on climate adaptations for urban landscapes.

Throughout their stay in Denmark, they delved into diverse and vital topics, including:

- Biodiversity
- Green roofs and walls
- Designing rain gardens
- Water management
- Dimensioning Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS)
- Wild bees
- Basic greenhouse work
- Basic use of drones

This hands-on experience not only broadened their knowledge but also equipped them with practical skills to implement sustainable solutions in urban environments.

Check out the short video capturing highlights from their enriching experience in Denmark. 📹✨
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXmjXVYV7Ng&ab_channel=EuropeanPlatformUrbanGreening

Climate smart landscapers 3-week course at Green Academy

🌟 Exciting Update! The IKEA Bio Garden Initiative in Bucharest is still going strong! 🌟

🌿 Since our first event on February 10th, the Romanian Center of Excellence team has continued its dedication to the IKEA Bio Garden project. This initiative, which started in September 2023, is a collaborative effort with IKEA (Romania), FEPRA, Liceul Tehnologic "Cezar Nicolau", WorldSkills Romaniaa and AsoP, Filiala Teritorială București - Ilfov.

🌼 We are thrilled to announce that our maintenance activities at the IKEA Bio Garden are still in full swing! Landscape architecture students and volunteers, under the guidance of professionals, continue to participate enthusiastically. Together, we’ve been working on maintaining and enhancing the garden, ensuring it thrives as a beacon of urban biodiversity.

💬In recent months, we have hosted multiple workshops focused on practical aspects of urban gardening. During this school year, the Biodiversity Education in Urban Spaces program gathered hundreds of students and teachers from dozens of schools that carried out activities to raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity, and some of them had practical activities in the Ikea Bio Garden.

We’re planning more events and welcome you to join us in making our cities greener. Stay tuned for updates and ways to get involved!
Together, we can build a vibrant, sustainable community! ✨💪

Construction site news from Finland

VRJ Etelä-Suomi Oy will carry out the renovation of Sibelius Park in Helsinki between 2023 and 2024, including the renovation of the Sibelius Monument surroundings, the park walkways and the playground.

The existing trees in the park will be preserved as much as possible based on a condition assessment. The park will be built in steps and will be open to the public at all times.

Sibelius Park is the name park of Finland's most famous and respected composer Jean Sibelius and the Sibelius Monument is one of Finland's most famous monuments and a popular tourist destination.

The site will be completed in autumn 2024.

VRJ Group

In recent months, over 15 companies and institutions have joined the Center of Vocational Excellence in Urban Greening (CoVE) - Spain, part of the European Platform for Urban Greening (EPLUG). This initiative fosters collaboration across sectors to enhance biodiversity, climate adaptation, and well-being in green urban environments.
New members include vocational training centers, green sector associations, companies, and public institutions from Spain, reflecting strong support for CoVE’s goals. The aim is to promote innovation in urban landscaping through knowledge sharing, continuous professional training, job creation, and rural promotion.
This collaboration seeks to improve urban life quality and strengthen the urban-rural connection through sustainability and innovation. Emphasizing ongoing education, the initiative ensures green sector professionals stay at the forefront of best practices.

In the Nature-inclusive Area Development project, four universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands researched three levels of area development to accelerate the transition to nature-inclusive area development. Yuverta and the European Platform for Urban Greening were part of the sounding board of this project.
Read more about this research in the whitepaper 'Nature-inclusive Guiding Principles'.

Friends from Green Academy and WorldSkills Romania are making excellent progress with the EPLUG project. Currently, at Green Academy they have 14 students and 4 teachers from Romania participating in a three-week pilot program focused on climate adaptations for urban landscapers. During this time, they will learn about biodiversity, green roofs and walls, designing rain gardens, water management, dimensioning of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS), wild bees, basic greenhouse work, and the basic use of drones. Their learning will be enhanced with professional excursions. Stay tuned for more updates!
JU Århus

Weeding festivals in Tampere Finland 🍀

Last week AhlmanEdu and Wild Zone NGO organised weeding festivals in Viinikanlahti dry meadow, Tampere Finland. This dry meadow unit is built and maintained on the principles of nature-based solutions. 💚

At the weeding festival, a dozen volunteers weeded the area and learned how to identify leaf rosettes. Plant identification is extremely important for the maintenance of such a dynamic area.

Watch the video from last year's weeding festival: https://youtu.be/pvax5vHLBgE?si=N60syYxAKpf0fA4V

AhlmanEdu Villi vyöhyke ry.

Nature-based Solutions How to maintain a meadow that has been established using nature-based solutions? And how to use participatory maintenance to maintain such an area? Watch the...

Transforming the Environment with Urban Greening! 🏡
First-year Gardening and Floristry students at EFA La Malvesia have created a new green space at the school as part of their "Urban Greening" challenge. They have transformed a degraded area into an oasis of nature and well-being for the school, implementing sustainable irrigation and drainage systems and including plant species selected for this environment.

This challenge, undertaken by the students, is part of the European Union's EPLUG project, in which EFA participates. The project aims to increase knowledge and skills necessary to address biodiversity, climate adaptation, and well-being in urban settings, and to greenify cities.



https://platformurbangreening.eu/news/efa-students-transform-their-own-school-into-a-green-oasis/

The International Week of Urban Greening 🌿 in the Czech Republic 🇨🇿, held from April 15-19, brought together young gardeners from five European countries 🇫🇮🇳🇴 🇩🇰🇧🇶🇪🇸🇨🇿 to explore "Green Smart Cities."🏙 🌳
🌿Participants delved into smart solutions for green roofs, learning from experts and discovering innovative uses of recycled materials.
🌿Excursions to , Depot, and Prague's green spaces offered hands-on learning.
🤲Collaborating with BRENS EUROPE, the creation of the foundations for a new green roof 🏡 at Vyšší odborná a Střední zemědělská škola Benešov, Mendelova 131 .
🏆Teams competed to design green roof solutions for a hospital pavilion. 🏥Organized by the Czech Centre of Vocational Excellence for , the event aimed to inspire 😉 future generations in creating sustainable, greener cities.

The combination of greenery and water availability is the key to the future-proof city. We find that key by developing the city as a natural ecosystem in which the water system is in balance. Royal Ginkel Group has published a whitepaper on this subject, called 'Reversing every drop', in which the role of water in greening the urban environment is further explored.
Koninklijke Ginkel Groep
https://platformurbangreening.eu/results/

Impossible - such a world doesn't exist for teachers from Green Academy JU Århus. Last week, we kicked off Monday with staff training led by our invited expert Laura Roebroeck. 28 teachers were trained by her, gearing up to guide 150 basic course students during the Green Innovation Camp. 🚀 The next day, students toured various companies, getting a taste of real-life challenges. Throughout the week, they tackled some of the issues companies face in the green transition. A huge thanks to all companies that came up with the challange: Yding Smedie & Maskiner - BG Byggros, Danmark OKNygaard A/S - Randers Regnskov - Stutteri Lillegården - Pogager Agro ApS - Graff Growing, and Hjorthede Planteskole A/S for involving JU's students in their work. Students culminated the week by pitching their ideas to both teachers and companies. Congratulations to all students and teachers for their great results. Many thanks to Anne-Marie Thomassen for her great initiatives.
European Platform Urban Greening