Last updated: October 2024
The initiative involved the creation of three educational spaces in social service centers for children (Bucium, Ion Holban, Bogdanesti) in Iasi and its peri-urban area that included urban gardens, the development of green spaces, and facilities for sports activities. In the urban gardens, raised and arranged in a circular design, various orchards and food-producing plants were planted, along with bushes and perennial plants introduced in the new green spaces. Additionally, benches, workshop stations, a volleyball court, and a ping-pong table were constructed alongside the green areas. The initiative was implemented by the NGO "Asociatia Outventure" and financed through the "In stare de Bine" program, funded by Kaufland Romania and managed by the Fundatia Pentru Dezvoltarea Societatii Civile (Foundation for the Development of Civil Society). The project also included training for permanent volunteers involved in the initiative and conducted 16 thematic workshops on healthy living and ecological behaviors. The primary target group for the initiative was children and young people at risk of social exclusion, whose circumstances worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective was to provide them with "an alternative space to develop their personalities, as well as the necessary tools to adopt a healthy lifestyle in harmony with the surrounding environment." The project had a budget of 22,127 euros and was implemented over the span of six months. (1-5)
Bucium
https://www.iasulnostru.ro/p/e-satisfacator-sa-faci-din-nimic?fbclid=IwY2xjawFD6Z5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHcL4WgRFTRKKCW_aCwZdSMs1YjwmT6ZEA1awXNig-NWY8JQzwpuDf9NkRw_aem_dlaV08nAyJvZrmk4OPoPBg
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Community gardens and allotments
- Community gardens
- Horticulture
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
- Improving mental health
- Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
- Inclusive governance
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Social justice and equity
- Social interaction
- Environmental education
- Sense of community and community engagement
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable consumption
- Sustainable production
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Limited economic opportunities and local livelihoods
- Unequal availability and access to public green spaces
- 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), Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Educational and awareness raising programs, Improved governance of green or blue areas, Establishment of inclusive governance mechanisms involving local communities
Project objectives
To create an alternative space (3 urban gardens ) for children and young people at risk of exclusion to develop their personalities through biodiversity education, leisure and recreation, while providing green spaces for their development.
To engage the surrounding community in volunteering and ecological behavior programs, including the children in the management, care, and implementation of the gardens.
To increase social interaction among children and young people at risk and improve their integration into the community (including mental health discussions and improvement).
To promote healthy lifestyles and ecological behaviors among young people.
To provide healthy and free nutritional sources for children and young people at risk of exclusion. (1-5)
Implementation activities
1. Creating three educational spaces for 115 children and young people in social service centers (1 -5). These spaces included food-producing urban gardens, providing nutrition for the children and fostering ecological behaviour (1 - 5). They were also arranged circularly and designed so it would be possible to sit on them, so they would also be spaces for social interaction, leisure and relaxation, as spaces for alternative ways for personality development (1-5).
2. Designing and conducting 16 educational workshops dealing with emotional issues, practical skills related to ecological attitudes and behaviours, and biodiveristy education for the children to promote healthy lifestyles for them and improve the social interaction and involvement in the community (1 - 5).
3. Organise two opening events in the green spaces created where 30 community members were invited to promote community engagement in the centers and with the children (3).
4. Implement vounteer-training programs to ensure the adequate implementation of the spaces and the workshops (1).
5. Plant nearby perennial and bush plant species to increment contact with nature and foster ecological lifestyles (1). Task the children with the care of the plants for their maintenance (2).
6. Construct and arrange a volley field, a table tennis, and other recreational and sport facilities to promote healthy lifestyles and alternative spaces for recreation (1 to 5).
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Young people and children
Governance
Management set-up
- Led by non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Non-government organisation/civil society
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)
- Co-management/Joint management
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The project was led by the Outventure Association which implemented the green and recreational spaces, prepared and conducted the workshops (1 - 5). The company Kaufland Romania provided the funds for the programme "In Stare the Bine", coordinated by the NGO Fundatia pentru Dezvoltarea Societatii Civile, who helped implementing the project by granting the fund (1 - 4). Children and young people in the social centers (public institution) participated in the activities and helped implementing the gardens, and citizens and member of the community attended the opening of the urban garden and new spaces (3).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Type of enablers
Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships), Funds, subsidies or investment for GI/NBS in the city (available for the city or provided by the city)
Financing
Total cost
€10,000 - €50,000
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 labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Achieved increased green space area
Economic impacts
- Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
- Expected increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved social cohesion
- Achieved improved social cohesion
- Improved access to urban green space
- Achieved improved access to urban green space
- Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
- Achieved increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Achieved increased opportunities for social interaction
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Achieved increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Expected increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Achieved gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Improved mental health
- Achieved improved mental health
- Supporting ill-health communities facing loneliness, anxitey or depression
- Achieved supporting ill-health communities facing loneliness, anxitey or depression
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Achieved increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Yes
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.
Ness (n.d.). Grădină educativă la centrul de servicii sociale ”Bucium” - Eroi Urbani. Accessed on September 3, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Asociatia Outventure (2023). Final de proiect – Asociatia Outventure. Accessed on September 3, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Asociatia Outventure (2023). Plantăm semințe de responsabilizare. Contribuim la integrare – Asociatia Outventure. Accessed on September 3, 2024, [Source link];
4.
In Stare de Bine (2022). Plantăm semințe de responsabilizare. Contribuim la integrare - În stare de bine. Accessed on September 3, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Alex Enasescu (2023). "E satisfăcător să faci din nimic, ceva” - Adriana Costin, Asociația Outventure. Iasul Nostru , Accessed on September 3, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Alex Andrei (2019 ). Iaşul, cel mai poluat oraş din România. Valori mai mari în Bucium decât în India - Ziarul de Iaşi - liderul presei ieşene. Ziarul de Iasi , Accessed on September 4, 2024, [Source link];
7.
STORIA (n.d.). Trai STORIA Bucium. Accessed on September 4, 2024, [Source link];
8.
STORIA (n.d.). Trai STORIA Nicolina 1. Accessed on September 4, 2024, [Source link];
9.
Populatia RO (n.d.). Populația Comunei Horlești, Jud. Iași - 2023 _ Populatia.ro. Accessed on September 4, 2024, [Source link];
10.
Fundatia pentru Dezvoltarea Societatii Civile (n.d.). Despre - În stare de bine. Accessed on September 4, 2024, [Source link];
11.
Asociatia Outventure (2023). Am inaugurat și grădina educativă de la... . Facebook , Accessed on September 30, 2024, [Source link];
Plots of urban gardens
https://outventure.ro/proiecte/plantam-seminte-de-responsabilizare-contribuim-la-integrare/
Children working
https://www.iasulnostru.ro/p/e-satisfacator-sa-faci-din-nimic?fbclid=IwY2xjawFD6Z5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHcL4WgRFTRKKCW_aCwZdSMs1YjwmT6ZEA1awXNig-NWY8JQzwpuDf9NkRw_aem_dlaV08nAyJvZrmk4OPoPBg
Volunteers constructing urban garden plots
https://outventure.ro/proiecte/plantam-seminte-de-responsabilizare-contribuim-la-integrare/
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.