Last updated: August 2022
The environmental NGO Dodo started their Guerilla Gardening projects in 2009 with a garden on the wasteland by the main railroad tracks in Helsinki, Pasila. The key idea was to make use of temporary derelict spaces. Raised beds were constructed from old pallets and filled with donated soil. Crops were grown by local citizens and provided both food and aesthetic beauty on the otherwise unused area. In 2012 the project developed into "Turn Table - The Urban Garden", as the garden was supplemented by a small pop-up restaurant and café in a movable greenhouse (Ref 1, 2, 7). The Turn Table garden space was organized to promote awareness and discussion on the ecological and social aspects of food. The urban garden project included not just the greenhouse, but also an apiary, cultivation beds, a summer café with a terrace, and a market (ref. 4).
Turn Table: An Urban Farm And Restaurant In The Middle Of The City
Source: Ref. 3
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)
- Social justice and equity
- Social interaction
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Economic development: agriculture
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable consumption
- Sustainable production
Focus
Transformation of previously derelict areas
Project objectives
1. Instill consciousness about where food comes from,
2. Provide growing space to meet the rapidly increasing demand,
3. To make unused areas more beautiful,
4. To make urban gardening available for everyone (ref 1, 2,)
Implementation activities
1. In 2009 raised beds were constructed out of wooden shop pallets and donated soil originating from sewage waters of Helsinki, 2. Seeds were sown and edible crops planted,
3. In 2012 the Turn Table pop-up restaurant was opened in a newly built greenhouse. It was built on a railway turntable (a rotating platform that used to be used for turning railroad rolling stock). This addition was part of the Helsinki 2012 World Design Capital initiative of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Ref 1, 2, 3),
4. Organised educational workshops about gardening and beekeeping (Ref 4).
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
- Dissemination of information and education
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
- Co-management/Joint management
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
Dodo NGO initiated, led and executed the intervention (Ref 2) but the greenhouse was built by Treeform company.
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
No
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(The initiation of the garden was partly in response to the lack of allotment space that the current city plans provide (Ref 2).)
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
- Provision of expertise
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
- Other
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Environmental quality
- Improved waste management
- Improved soil quality
- Green space and habitat
- Increased conversion of degraded land or soil
- Increased number of species present
- Restoration of derelict areas
- Other
Economic impacts
- Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
- Generation of income from NBS
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved social cohesion
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Type of reported impacts
Expected 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: Kaupunkiviljely. (n.d.). Urban gardening projects in Finland. Retrieved from Source link (Accessed 24 July 2020)
2: Six Degrees. (2010). Seeds of change. Retrieved from Source link (Accessed 24 July 2020)
3: Pop Up City. (2012). Design in Helsinki: Turn Table: An urban farm and restaurant in the middle of the city. Retrieved from Source link (Accessed 24 July 2020)
4: Horton, R. P. (2012). Turn table urban garden sprouts in old railway bay. Retrieved from Source link (Accessed 24 July 2020)
5: Alavedra, G. (2012). This is Finland: My secret gardens. Retrieved from Source link (Accessed 24 July 2020)
6: Hernberg, H. (2010). Bagfield in Kalasatama. Retrieved from Source link (Accessed 24 July 2020)
7: Päivi Raivio. (n.d.). Kääntöpöytä urban garden. Retrieved from Source link (Accessed 24 July 2020)
8: Kääntöpöytä. (n.d.). Helsinki-päivä Kääntöpöydällä. Retrieved from Source link (Accessed 24 July 2020)
2: Six Degrees. (2010). Seeds of change. Retrieved from Source link (Accessed 24 July 2020)
3: Pop Up City. (2012). Design in Helsinki: Turn Table: An urban farm and restaurant in the middle of the city. Retrieved from Source link (Accessed 24 July 2020)
4: Horton, R. P. (2012). Turn table urban garden sprouts in old railway bay. Retrieved from Source link (Accessed 24 July 2020)
5: Alavedra, G. (2012). This is Finland: My secret gardens. Retrieved from Source link (Accessed 24 July 2020)
6: Hernberg, H. (2010). Bagfield in Kalasatama. Retrieved from Source link (Accessed 24 July 2020)
7: Päivi Raivio. (n.d.). Kääntöpöytä urban garden. Retrieved from Source link (Accessed 24 July 2020)
8: Kääntöpöytä. (n.d.). Helsinki-päivä Kääntöpöydällä. Retrieved from Source link (Accessed 24 July 2020)
Turn Table: An Urban Farm And Restaurant In The Middle Of The City
Source: Ref. 3
Turn Table: An Urban Farm And Restaurant In The Middle Of The City
Source: Ref. 3