Last updated: October 2021
‘Colorieten Hof’ is a community garden in which vegetables, herbs and flowers are grown sustainably. The garden is a social meeting place for elderly, neighborhood citizens and female immigrants who can learn Dutch and about Belgian culture (Ref. 1, 3).
https://www.antwerpen.be/info/58beb95cb85c8dd1c701d8a2/samentuin-colorieten-hof
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Community gardens and allotments
- Community gardens
Key challenges
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Environmental education
- Social cohesion
- Social interaction
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable consumption
- Sustainable production
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Maintenance and management of urban nature
Project objectives
The main goal was creating a community vegetable garden where people of all ages, cultures and social groups meet each other and enjoy seeding, nurturing and harvesting vegetables and herbs. An additional goal is education on ecological gardening and teaching immigrants Dutch and about Belgian culture (Ref. 3).
Implementation activities
Ecological seasonal gardening: growing flowers, herbs and vegetables (Ref. 1, 2, 3). A compost corner for which the residents of the health care centre Hof ter Beke bring their organic waste (Ref. 3). Cooking soup once a year from the vegetables for the residents of the community garden (Ref. 3). Organizing workshops by the ecological gardening association Velt, by two members of the organization (Ref. 3). A chicken coop is placed in the community garden (Ref. 2).
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Marginalized groups: Elderly people, Refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants
Governance
Management set-up
- Led by non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Citizens or community group
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Dissemination of information and education
- Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
- Co-management/Joint management
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The community garden is initiated by Elisabeth de Coninck who is a citizen and member of the ecological gardening association Velt (1, 2). The community garden is implemented and maintained by neighborhood citizens, health care centre Hof ter Beke (public sector institution) and the Intercultural Centre for Women Antwerp, a civil society organization that supports female immigrants by means of education and social events) (Ref. 2). When transforming the courtyard of Hof ter Beke into a community garden, this needed to be discussed with the municipality of Antwerp as they are the land owners. The municipality decided that vegetables should be grown in flowerbeds that are disconnected with the soil because of the risk of contamination (Ref. 3). The municipality is not involved in the management of the garden, therefore 'co-governance' is not selected. Workshops on ecological gardening are provided by two members of Velt, Elisabeth de Coninck and Marijke Vandierendonck (Ref. 3).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
No
... a local policy or strategy?
No
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Unknown
Type of funding
- Unknown
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of land
- Provision of goods
- Provision of labour
- Other
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Environmental quality
- Improved waste management
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
Economic impacts
- Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved social cohesion
- Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Promotion of cultural diversity
- 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
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
1. Gemeente Antwerpen (2017). Samentuin Colorietenhof. [online] Available at: Source link (Accessed: October 6, 2020).
2. Ecoplan (2015). Samentuin Coloriten Hof. [online] Available at: Source link (Website not available in 2020).
3. Boudewijn, N. (n.d.). De Colorieten Hof. Een Antwerpse samentuin. [pdf] Available at:
Source link (Accessed: October 6, 2020).
2. Ecoplan (2015). Samentuin Coloriten Hof. [online] Available at: Source link (Website not available in 2020).
3. Boudewijn, N. (n.d.). De Colorieten Hof. Een Antwerpse samentuin. [pdf] Available at:
Source link (Accessed: October 6, 2020).