Urban Gardens

Because of the vast number of refugees that have reached Europe over the last two decades, integration has become a critical issue. Migrants are more likely than natives to be socially excluded, especially in terms of jobs, education, health, and social services. At the same time, seniors are at risk of social isolation, and long-term unemployment raises the likelihood of social alienation and deprivation - challenges made even more acute by the social isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Community gardens bring neighbours together. Along with their practical qualities, such as the ability to grow vegetables and other plants, they also have sentimental and social importance: they can be transformed into spaces for education, integration, active involvement, and intercultural and intergenerational dialogue, while addressing environmental issues such as soil sustainability, urban biodiversity, organic waste recycling, and green neighbourhood spaces.

Urban Gardens - “Urban gardening for inclusion, interaction, participation and solidarity” - used urban gardening as a tool for education, intercultural dialogue, community building, healthy lifestyles, and the social participation and integration of disadvantaged groups. The objectives of the project were to:

• Promote urban gardening as a tool for the active involvement and empowerment of local community members, especially those who are marginalized and at risk of exclusion, such as migrants, seniors, and long-term unemployed people.

• Develop a creative instructional approach to soft skills such as interpersonal contact, teamwork, management, and preparation through garden work.

• Combat the mental fatigue caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Promote an eco-friendly way of living by creating and maintaining urban gardens.

• Strengthen the ideals of active citizenship, socialization, and volunteering.

• Use urban gardening as a tool of intercultural and intergenerational dialogue.

The project produced a practical Guide focused on using the garden as a space for education and socializing - including good practices and recommendations for long-term growth - and delivered hands-on urban gardening workshops that encouraged people to work in the gardens and socialize with their community, strengthening community relations and promoting healthy, sustainable lifestyles.