Kraków, Poland
City population: 760089
Duration: 2017 – 2017
Implementation status: Completed
Scale: Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Project area: 1860 m2
Type of area: Natural Heritage Area/Untouched nature, Cultural Heritage Area, Other
Last updated: October 2021

The garden is located on the territory of the social welfare home 'Helclów' in Kraków under the protection of a regional monument conservator. It is supposed to integrate the residents of various age and support physical rehabilitation and leisure with elements of garden therapy. Its main goal is to integrate the elderly from the social welfare home with other citizens through joint activities, such as flowers and herbs planting and caretaking. The initiative involves planting greenery (including 314 trees and 134 square meters of shrubs between 2010 and 2016), setting a grill area, and renovating the infrastructure for the disabled. The garden is supposed to serve as an offset for harmful developments in other parts of the city. Private investors are often obliged to provide resources for new trees in the garden’s natural wall and a noise and pollution barrier. The park is publicly accessible between 9 AM and 6 PM and is available for the organization of events and meetings. The concept to open the previously closed garden to the public was initiated an application for a participatory budget in 2016 and very much supported by all parties involved [1,2,3].

Secret Garden in Cracow
Secret Garden in Cracow
Source: https://dziennikpolski24.pl/tajemniczy-ogrod-w-centrum-miasta-otworzy-bramy-dla-krakowian/ga/11495209/zd/21657421

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Grey infrastructure featuring greens
  • Institutional green space
  • Parks and urban forests
  • Pocket parks/neighbourhood green spaces
  • Community gardens and allotments
  • Community gardens

Key challenges

  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Habitat and biodiversity conservation
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Environmental quality
  • Air quality improvement
  • Noise reduction
  • Regeneration, land-use and urban development
  • Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
  • Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
  • Inclusive governance
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Social cohesion
  • Social interaction
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Enabling opportunities for physical activity
  • Improving physical health
  • Creation of opportunities for recreation
  • Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
  • Preservation of natural heritage
  • Protection of historic and cultural landscape/infrastructure

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Maintenance and management of urban nature, Protection of natural ecosystems

Project objectives

1) Creating a green recreational area around the social welfare home that will be accessible to the public; 2) Increasing multigenerational integration between the local citizens (e.g. joint activities such as flowers and herbs planting, open barbecue); 3) Providing an offsetting for cutting trees in other parts of the city; 4) Protecting local natural and cultural heritage (e.g. a statue in the garden and ancient trees); 5) Creating a natural noise and pollution barrier around the fence of the park [1,2].

Implementation activities

1. Planting trees to build a 'green screen' or a natural noise and pollution barrier; 2. Installing benches, a chess table, a table tennis table, a brick grill, swings and areas for public gardening/care of plants; 3. Maintenance and protection of the already existing ancient trees belonging to a valuable family of plane trees; 4. The removal of sick and dangerous trees [1,2].

Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities

Biodiversity conservation:

  • Protect and enhance urban habitats
  • Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
  • Reduce negative impacts and avoid the alteration/damage of ecosystem
  • Protect species
  • Undertake specific measures to protect species
  • Undertake specific measures to protect valued species
  • Means for conservation governance
  • Biodiversity offsets
  • Public engagement

Main beneficiaries

  • Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)
  • Citizens or community groups
  • Marginalized groups: Elderly people

Governance

Management set-up

  • Co-governance with government and non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

  • Public sector institution
  • Citizens or community group

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
  • Crowd-sourcing/Crowd-funding/Participatory budget
  • Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

The social welfare home together with local citizens' community prepared the project proposal and applied for funding. The social welfare home was responsible for the project's implementation [1].

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown
... a national policy or strategy? Unknown
... a local policy or strategy? Yes (All the projects submitted to the Cracow participatory budget have to be compatible with the statue of the city district in which they would be implemented, as well as with the city plans, policies and programs (including spatial development plans, City Council resolutions and decrees of the city mayor), with law (including property rights law), and they have to be implemented on the lands belonging to the municipality.(3))

Financing

Total cost

€50,000 - €100,000

Source(s) of funding

  • Public national budget
  • Public local authority budget

Type of funding

  • Earmarked public budget
  • Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)

Non-financial contribution

Unknown

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Environmental quality
  • Reduced noise exposure
  • Green space and habitat
  • Promotion of naturalistic styles of landscape design for urban development
  • Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
  • Reduced biodiversity loss
  • Increased number of species present

Economic impacts

  • Unknown

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Improved social cohesion
  • Improved access to urban green space
  • Increased opportunities for social interaction
  • Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Improved physical health
  • Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
  • Cultural heritage and sense of place
  • Protection of natural heritage
  • Protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts, Achieved impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Yes

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

Yes

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

References

1. City council projects' progress webpage,(2017) 'State of implementation of projects from the III edition of the participatory budget' ('Stan realizacji zadań III edycji budżetu obywatelskiego'), Source link (Accessed: 29 August 2020).
2. Agaciak, A., (2016), 'The mysterious garden in the city center will open the gates for Cracovians' ('Tajemniczy ogród w centrum miasta otworzy bramy dla krakowian'), Source link, Source link (Accessed: 29 August 2020).
3. (See attachment) 'RESOLUTION NO. XXXIV / 566/15 CITY COUNCIL OF KRAKOW December 16, 2015 On the Regulations of Citizens' Budget of the City of Cracow' ('UCHWAŁA NR XXXIV/566/15 RADY MIASTA KRAKOWA z dnia 16 grudnia 2015 r. w sprawie Regulaminu budżetu obywatelskiego Miasta Krakowa')
4. (See attachment) 'RESOLUTION NO. 35/2018 SOCIAL WELFARE HOME (UCHWAŁA 35/2018 DOM POMOCY SPOŁECZNEJ IM. LUDWIKA I ANNY HELCLÓW W KRAKOWIE). 07 July 2018.