Last updated: October 2024
The Färjenäs Agroforestry Garden started in 2013 in the Färjenäs park in Hisingen, Gothenburg. A group of people interested in agroforestry started a study circle on the topic the year before and then formed an association to apply their knowledge in practice. The City of Gothenburg helped the project get started by providing some funding and finding a 2000 sqm spot for the garden on land owned by the city. The Färjenäs agroforestry garden association is run by volunteers, who have planted about 200 different species of trees, bushes and herbs that produce produce. The planting and management of the garden aims to promote soil health and biodiversity. The association received funding from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency in 2020 and partnered with the Natural History Museum in Gothenburg to further promote biodiversity and wild pollinators, and has partnered with a local beekeeping association to establish a beehive in the garden. The garden is open to the public and invites the public to educational activities and working events such as planting. The association aims to be a meeting place for locals and visitors from all over the city, with different cultural backgrounds and generations. Several courses and educational programs within agroforestry, agriculture and gardening have been held at the garden. [Ref. 1-7]
Some of the ground level plants in the Färjenäs garden
Ref. 4
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Community gardens and allotments
- Community gardens
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Environmental quality
- Soil quality improvement
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Habitat and biodiversity conservation
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social interaction
- Environmental education
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable production
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Environmental Degradation
- Biodiversity loss
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Agriculture/ crop production
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration), Social Justice and community
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of areas for food production (community gardens, allotments)
Project objectives
- Test the concept of agroforestry and different plants and crops in a Swedish climate to produce food sustainably
- Demonstrate and inspire others to learn about and adopt similar practices
- Promote biodiversity by planting various plants and creating habitats for animals, particularly wild pollinators [Ref. 1-7]
- Enhance pollination and presence of bees
- Organise educational activities such as courses in agroforestry and create study visits from different gardening or agricultural education programs [Ref. 1, 2, 4].
Implementation activities
1. In 2012, a group of people with a common interest in agroforestry started a "study circle" to learn about the practice [Ref. 2, 4]
2. In 2013, the group formed an association and was supported by the City of Gothenburg in finding a location to start an agroforestry garden, leading to the creation of Färjenäs agroforestry garden [Ref. 1-].
3. The association has continously planted a variety of woody and herbaceous plants, about 200 in total, that can produce food.
4. The association led a course in agroforestry in 2018 and hosted several study visits from different gardening or agricultural education programs [Ref. 1, 2, 4].
5. The association invites the public to visit the garden and to participate in planting and other activities [Ref. 1-3].
6. In 2020-2021, the association applied for and recieved money from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's "Local nature conservation investment", in order to promote biodiversity. They partnered with the natural history museum in Gothenburg to survey existing species of pollinators, and made efforts to benefit wild pollinators in the garden using certain plants and habitat creation such as sand beds and insect hotels [Ref. 4, 6, 7].
7. A beehive was placed in the garden in partnership with a local beekeeping association [Ref. 1, 7].
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Improved agricultural practices for improved food security and prevention of food scarcity
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity conservation:
- Protect and enhance urban habitats
- Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
- Create new habitats
- Protect species
- Undertake specific measures to protect species
- Means for conservation governance
- Raise public awareness
- Public engagement
- Protect and apply traditional knowledge and conservation practices
Main beneficiaries
- Non-government organisation/Civil Society
- Citizens or community groups
- Food producers and cultivators (i.e. farmers, gardeners)
Governance
Management set-up
- Led by non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Non-government organisation/civil society
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
Initially, a group of people with a common interest formed a non-profit organisation, Färjenäs Skogsträdgård, which initiated and runs the garden. The City of Gothenburg supported the establishment financially and by providing the land. Studiefrämjandet, an NGO doing various educational activities, supported the initial agroforestry study group and has supported additional agroforestry courses held at the garden. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the Gothenburg Natural History Museum were involved in biodiversity-promoting activities. Citizens are invited to public educational activities and to be involved in e.g. planting of new crops [Ref. 1-6].
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
No
... a local policy or strategy?
No
Type of enablers
Change agents (individual with major role influence on launching), Funds, subsidies or investment for GI/NBS in the city (available for the city or provided by the city)
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
- Public national budget
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
- Achieved increased green space area
- Increased conversion of degraded land or soil
- Expected increased conversion of degraded land or soil
- Increased number of species present
- Achieved increased number of species present
- Increased presence and recovery of wild species
- Expected increased presence and recovery of wild species
- Enhanced support of pollination
- Expected enhanced support of pollination
Economic impacts
- Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
- Achieved increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Achieved increased opportunities for social interaction
- Increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Achieved increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Expected increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
- Expected increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Unknown
References
1.
Färjenäs skogsträdgård (n.d.). Skogsträdgården i Färjenäs: Info. Accessed on September 4, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Froster, A. (2021). Att anlägga en skogsträdgård. Naturkompaniet 365, Spring 2021, p. 42-45 [Source link];
3.
Färjenäs Skogsträdgård (n.d.). Färjenäs Skogsträdgård. Grow Here, Accessed on September 4, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Studiefrämjandet (n.d.). Färjenäs Skogsträdgård – Biologisk mångfald och social mångfald i staden. Accessed on September 4, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Färjenäs Skogsträdgård (n.d.). Färjenäs Skogsträdgård. Samarbetet, Accessed on September 4, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Färjenäs Skogsträdgård (n.d.). Vilda pollinatörer i Färjenäs Skogsträdgård. Accessed on September 4, 2024, [Source link];
7.
Hållbarhetsfestivalen Västra Götaland (2021). Hållbarhetsfestivalen, Färjenäs skogsträdgård [Movie]. [Source link];
8.
The Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning (n.d.). Segregationsbarometern: Göteborg. Accessed on September 4, 2024, [Source link];
9.
Frid, K. (2021). Trädgårdar runt Göteborg värda ett besök i sommar. Göteborgs-Posten, [Source link];
A group of people working in the garden
Ref. 3
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.