Urban gardening – Csermely

Urban Garden 2.0

Youth Urban Garden concept

What is it?

The European Green Deal, underpinned by a new Sustainable Europe Investment Plan, must deliver significant and rapid reductions of greenhouse gases by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050 while also curtailing the loss of biodiversity and cutting pollution from plastics, particulate matter, toxic wastes, and other sources. This transition must address the environmental objectives laid out in the SDGs, but it must also promote economic development and be fair.

Partners of this project agreed that youth in general, youth leaders, workers, and civil society representatives must play an essential role in European Green Deal implementation. Their potential has to be strengthened. That is how the idea of Strategic Partnership’ Urban Garden 2.0′ was born. The analysis of scientific literature and political documents show us the importance of the topic. Still, the analysis of youth workers’ practical materials and work experience identifies a lack of a systemic approach for SDG’s development. Real-life youth protest and actions show that youth are not empowered enough to work for sustainable our future.

Specific aims

To raise awareness about urban youth gardening and environmental challenges, and climate change;
To develop competencies needed for a sustainable approach to life among youth;
To create a methodology for acquiring urban gardening skills;
To test innovative practice from the project’s countries by implementing them in the base of the project “green platform”;
To develop a youth urban gardening platform that meets the current needs of youth, youth workers and youth leaders (e.g. save resources, grow green, opt for sustainable food and mobility choices);
To strengthen young people’s sense of initiative, notably in the social field, and support their communities by giving instruments to start a new step from Protest to Action.

Project elements

Three management meetings

A kick-off meeting – on-line, a mid-term meeting in Hungary, an evaluation meeting – on-line.

Development of two intellectual outputs

1) Youth urban gardening concept 2) Youth urban gardening platform.

Four multiplier events

in Sweden, Netherlands, Hungary, Italy

Results during the project

Raised awareness of urban gardening among youth, youth workers;
Develop urban gardening platform for effective methodological and systemic approach to urban gardening across Europe and among youth;
To encourage youth, youth organizations to begin with Green deal actions;
To show youth the way from Protest to Actions for instance by starting urban gardening initiatives

Long-term results

Empowering youth, youth workers to use urban gardening saving our planet resources;
Gaining knowledge about the possibilities for youth to develop urban gardening ideas individually and together with group;
Creating network seeds focused on urban gardening;
Increased youth, youth workers eco-literacy competencies;
Improved cooperation between EU partners in creating an effective urban gardening platform.

Main results

Have a look at our Urban Garden Concept 2.0! It includes many creative, ecological, sustainable and economical forms of planting and gardening!
Download it from here.
Youth urban gardening platform contains:
- Seed swapping (download pdf)
- A possibility of adopting green areas of the city (download pdf)
- Urban gardening (Balcony gardening, Community gardening, Compositing)
- Photo gallery (Gallery here)
- Useful resources (Seed swap Facebook, Blowbebisar.se, Tradgardssverige.org)

The project followed the European Green Deal strategy and did our best to create a sustainable life example through urban gardening concept and applying it even by our organisations and our members. We, as organisations working with youth, are ambitious to take actions to help youth to implement environmental and sustainable life-style initiatives. In its turn, it will help future generations and contribute to a sustainable future. In the project we used methods based on circular economy principles.