Last updated: September 2024
In 2023, the municipality of Cagliari initiated a project to transform 50 school gardens into vibrant, multifunctional outdoor spaces that enhance education and recreation. Co-funded under an EU program, this initiative aims to create environments where students can learn and play outdoors, taking advantage of the city’s favorable climate. The gardens are being upgraded with new features, such as trees, educational vegetable plots, diverse plant species, playground equipment, and furniture, to provide versatile spaces for learning, sports, and play. Automated irrigation systems are being installed in each garden, conserving water by adjusting based on soil humidity and detecting leaks. This technological upgrade ensures efficient maintenance of the green spaces. Overall, the project seeks to enrich the educational experience by integrating nature into daily school life. It aims to promote students' physical and psychological well-being through more opportunities for outdoor learning and activities, fostering a connection with nature, and improving the overall quality of the school environment (Refs. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5).
Photo of the school gardens created during the project's implementation.
Comune di Cagliari. n.d. “Riqualificazione Giardini Scolastici a Cagliari.” Comune Di Cagliari. Accessed August 27, 2024. https://www.comune.cagliari.it/portale/page/it/riqualificazione_giardini_scolastici_a_cagliari?contentId=FPR168314&error=login_required&state=00076454-e5d1-44e6-8c5c-215a3916aad3.
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Community gardens and allotments
- Community gardens
- Grey infrastructure featuring greens
- Green playgrounds and school grounds
Key challenges
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Enabling opportunities for physical activity
- Improving mental health
- Improving physical health
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social interaction
- Environmental education
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable consumption
- Sustainable production
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
- Mental health issues (stress, anxiety)
- Inadequate access to recreational opportunities
- Disconnection from nature
- Social fragmentation and isolation
Key priorities
Social Justice and community
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of areas for food production (community gardens, allotments), Creation of any other green urban spaces, Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Educational and awareness raising programs, Improved governance of green or blue areas, Creation of new, innovative governance and management approaches
Project objectives
The intervention in Cagliari’s school gardens aims to:
Redesign 50 school gardens by planting several tree species and transforming the schools into multifunctional spaces that enhance education, recreation, and sustainability (incorporate sustainable practices, such as automated irrigation systems that conserve water by adjusting to soil humidity levels)
Create educational vegetable plots with diverse plant species that teach agricultural practices and promote environmental stewardship and provide children and young students with outdoor environments for hands-on learning.
Enhance appreciation for nature and biodiversity among students.
Improve student well-being by encouraging outdoor activities and sports. New playground equipment and furniture provide safe and engaging spaces for physical activity, supporting both physical and mental health. ((Refs. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5)
Implementation activities
The renovations covered a total area of 170,000 square meters, representing about 80% of school green spaces. Approximately 4,650 square meters of lawns, 50,000 Mediterranean shrubs and species were planted as part of the greening effort in these outdoor spaces. Every school created an educational garden where students planted, cared for, and learnt about vegetables and basic cultivation practices. Large gazebos were installed to provide shaded areas where students can gather, complete with seating and picnic tables for outdoor lessons and recreation. Each school was equipped with a sub-irrigation system connected to a water storage tank and a telematic detection system. The system monitors soil humidity, ensuring efficient water use by irrigating only when needed and alerting for any faults or malfunctions to avoid waste. Sports and playground equipment suitable for different age groups, was set up, along with safe areas featuring natural surfaces, synthetic turf, or anti-trauma grass.
(Refs. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5).
Main beneficiaries
- Young people and children
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Dissemination of information and education
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
- The Municipality of Cagliari: Responsible for overseeing the project, ensuring its alignment with city-wide goals, and managing the implementation process.
- Local Schools and Educational Institutions: These are directly involved as the sites of the project, benefiting from the redevelopment and incorporating the new outdoor spaces into their educational programs. Thus, school administrators and teachers play a crucial role in integrating the new garden spaces into the curriculum and daily school activities, as well as maintaining and managing these areas.
Funding was provided by the local municipality, the Italian government and the EU. (Refs. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Yes
(PON Metro Plus (National Operational Program for Metropolitan Cities) 2021-2027 (2))
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(The project has been developed as part of the Cagliari strategy within the PON metro plus project(Ref. 8). )
Type of enablers
Support from transitional governance actors, Funds, subsidies or investment for GI/NBS in the city (available for the city or provided by the city)
Financing
Total cost
€2,000,000 - €4,000,000
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
- Public national budget
- EU funds
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
- 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?
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
- Other
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Energy efficiency improvements
- Achieved energy efficiency improvements
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Expected increased green space area
- Increased number of species present
- Achieved increased number of species present
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Expected gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Improved physical health
- Expected improved physical health
- Improved mental health
- Expected improved mental health
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Expected increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Type of reported 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
Yes
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Unknown
References
1.
Comune di Cagliari (n.d.). Riqualificazione giardini scolastici a Cagliari. Accessed on August 26, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Comune di Cagliari (2023). PON METRO REACT EU: riqualificati 50 giardini scolastici comunali. Accessed on August 26, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Ansa (2024). Cagliari, premio 'La città per il verde' ai giardini scolastici. Accessed on August 26, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Comune di Cagliari (2023). Inaugurati i giardini scolastici di via Parigi e via dei Genieri. Accessed on August 26, 2024, [Source link];
5.
L'unione Sarda (2023). Cagliari, inaugurati i nuovi giardini scolastici di via Corona e via Watt. Accessed on August 26, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Italian Government (2021). PNRR: rivoluzione verde e transizione ecologica. Accessed on August 26, 2024, [Source link];
7.
Comune di Cagliari (2022). Atlante Demografico di Cagliari 2022. Accessed on August 26, 2024, [Source link];
8.
Metro Plus e Città Medie Sud (n.d.). Città Metro Plus. Accessed on August 26, 2024, [Source link];
Photo from the presentation of the initiative at one of the schools that joined the project.
Comune di Cagliari. n.d. “Riqualificazione Giardini Scolastici a Cagliari.” Comune Di Cagliari. Accessed August 27, 2024. https://www.comune.cagliari.it/portale/page/it/riqualificazione_giardini_scolastici_a_cagliari?contentId=FPR168314&error=login_required&state=00076454-e5d1-44e6-8c5c-215a3916aad3.
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.