The Gar'den: community garden at the railway station

Aix-en-Provence, France

City population: 354452

Duration: 2014 – 2015

Implementation status: Completed

Scale: Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)

Project area: 100 m²

Type of area: Other

Last updated: November 2021

The Gar'den is a Provencal garden and a vegetable garden of permaculture, both a relaxing space and a participatory garden. Indeed, everyone will be invited to participate in the life of this Gar'den, common good to protect. Young and older will be able to discover the Provencal vegetable treasures and relax in a space devoted to the sharing of goods and knowledge. (Ref. 11)

Community garden at the railway

Source: https://www.facebook.com/gareatoi.aix/photos/?ref=page_internal

Overview

Nature-based solution

Community gardens and allotments
Community gardens

Key challenges

Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change mitigation
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Conversion of former industrial areas
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Social cohesion
Social interaction
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Improving physical health
Creation of opportunities for recreation
Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
Economic development: agriculture
Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
Promotion of cultural diversity
Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Sustainable consumption
Sustainable production

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Transformation of previously derelict areas, Knowledge creation and awareness raising

Project objectives

-"Create common good to protect for the happiness of living together" "contribute to the sharing of knowledge" -"At its scale, the Gar'den exposes the potential of an efficient and sustainable agriculture as a message of hope for the world: to be able to produce locally, in abundance, with unequaled efficiency per m² of soil and unit of energy invested"(Ref. 2) -"The project consists of enhancing the green space located in the railway station center of Aix-en-Provence"."The goal now is to create a social bond among different populations that do not meet. To do this, it is necessary to promote "the best way to live together" and thus create a space that can encourage get together."(Ref. 5)

Implementation activities

-Guided tour and tasting of vegetable products -Events organized (Ref.2) -Installation of the drip (Ref. 3) -"Everyone is invited to participate in the life of the Gar'den, common good to protect for the happiness of living together. Young and older will be able to discover the multicolored patterns, the olfactory path, the Provencal garden and contribute to the sharing of knowledge." (Ref. 2) -"Bulletin board is a simple way of information to share, frequently updated" (Ref. 4) -"Creation of explanatory panels by classes of elementary schools or associations (MJC) -School classes will come to plant, discover the annual cycle of plants and contribute to the life of the garden -Gardening / Permaculture workshops -The sale of organic vegetable baskets" -Permaculture method of gardening -"Without fossil fuels, without fertilizers or pesticides and with very little water usage"(ref. 5) -"A garden charter is developed" (Ref. 6, page 3)

Climate-focused activities

Climate change mitigation:

Sustainable agriculture practices to reduce energy use or carbon emissions

Main beneficiaries

Citizens or community groups
Young people and children
Other

Governance

Management set-up

Led by non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

Non-government organisation/civil society
Private sector/corporate actor/company

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
Dissemination of information and education
Other

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

The main initiators are the SNCF (Train Company) and the association "Pays d'Aix en Transition" with the partner "E-Balances" (NGOs). Initially, "the project was conceived by 2 students of the IEP of Aix-en-Provence: Ingrid Quefeulou and Lara Lestrade, and chosen by the SNCF Foundation (French Train Company, private sector) under the project "My provencal Garden"" (Ref. 5). "Stakeholders are identified as follows: -The SNCF Foundation, which supports solidarity initiatives for better living together -Gare & Connexions (part of the SNCF private company), which manages, designs, develops and welcomes users -e-balances (NGO), which promotes local initiatives in favor of ecology environmental and human - Pays d'Aix en Transition (NGO), which disseminates permaculture, initiates and projects of orchards and vegetable gardens around Aix." (Ref. 7) -"It is managed by the association e-balances and animated by collective Pays d'Aix in Transition." (Ref. 2)

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown

... a national policy or strategy? Unknown

... a local policy or strategy? Unknown

Financing

Total cost

Less than €10,000

Source(s) of funding

Corporate investment
Funds provided by non-governmental organization (NGO)

Type of funding

Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)

Non-financial contribution

Type of non-financial contribution

Provision of land
Provision of labour

Who provided the non-financial contribution?

Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
Citizens (e.g. volunteering)

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

Green space and habitat
Increased green space area

Economic impacts

Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
Increased market share for green economies
Other

Socio-cultural impacts

Social justice and cohesion
Improved access to urban green space
Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
Cultural heritage and sense of place
Improvement in people’s connection to nature
Education
Increased knowledge of locals about local nature

Type of reported impacts

Achieved impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Yes

Presence of indicators used in reporting

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

Yes

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

References

1. Anon. (n.d). Video "Le Gar’den : un jardin partagé à la gare SNCF d’Aix-en-Provence". Available at: Source link (Accessed: Jul 7 2020).
2. Pays d'Aix en Transition (2014). "Fête du Gar'den". Website not available in 2020.
3. Pays d'Aix en Transition (2014). "Gar'den : Installation du goutte-à-goutte". Website not available in 2020.
4. Pays d'Aix en Transition (2014). "Gar'den Compte-rendu de la réunion du 13/03/2014". Website not available in 2020.
5. Pays d'Aix en Transition (2014). "Projet Gar'den". Website not available in 2020.
6. Anon (n.d). "Concept Note". Projet SNCF mon jardin de provence. Website not available in 2020.
7. Anon (2014). "Jardin Le Gar'den-Concept d'emploi". Available at: Source link (Accessed: Jul 7 2020).
8. Pays d'Aix en Transition (2014). "Gar'den : Réunion pour la création d'un jardin permacole au centre d'Aix-en-Provence". Website not available in 2020.
9. Pays d'Aix en Transition (2014). "Gar'den Plan de d'éroulement". Available at: Source link (Accessed:Jul 7 2020).
10. Pays d'Aix en Transition (2015). "Le Gar'den Année 2". Website not available in 2020.
11. Facebook Page of the Garden. "Gare à Toi". Available at: Source link (Accessed: Jul 7 2020).
12. Pays d'Aix en Transition (n.d). "Qui sommes-nous ?". Available at: Source link (Accessed: Jul 7 2020).
13. Pays d'Aix en Transition (2016). "Nouveau reportage FR3 sur le Gar’den". Available at: Source link (Accessed: Jul 7 2020).
14. Pays d'Aix en Transition (2014). "Design du Gar’den". Available at: Source link (Accessed: Jul 7 2020).
15. Pays d'Aix en Transition (n.d). "Catégorie : Le Gar’den". Available at: Source link (Accessed: Jul 7 2020).

Community garden at the railway

Source: https://www.facebook.com/gareatoi.aix/photos/?ref=page_internalSource: