Rouen, France
City population: 484661
Duration: 2011 – unknown
Implementation status: Completed
Scale: Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level, Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Project area: 700 m2
Type of area: Unknown
Last updated: October 2021

The community garden "Les Hauts Sèment" is located in Rouen in the district of Lombardy, being the first community garden of Rouen animated by the city in 2011. It is "an educational garden which has been created and is maintained by the gardener in association with users wishing to invest in the association. It is supported by different animations" (Ref. 1 and 2, page 12).

Garden with a building behind it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb86C7jyvVo

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
  • Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
  • Inclusive governance
  • Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
  • Environmental education
  • Social justice and equity
  • Social interaction
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Improving mental health
  • Creation of opportunities for recreation
  • Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
  • Preservation of natural heritage
  • Preservation of historic traditions
  • Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
  • Sustainable consumption
  • Sustainable production

Focus

Maintenance and management of urban nature, Knowledge creation and awareness raising

Project objectives

"The aim is to cultivate vegetables, flowers, aromatic plants, medicinal plants (health education), fruit shrubs. Gardening, exchanging plantations, cooking, respecting the cultures of various countries of the world. Work on the balance of food. Respect the techniques of organic cultivation. Approaching Art and Nature as well as the history of the gardens" (Ref. 1).

Implementation activities

-Culinary activities according to season -Traditional Activities (Christmas, Easter...) -Environmental education activities -Visits to farms, botanical gardens, parks, ... -Handicrafts workshops: pottery, manufacture of musical instruments, weaving of wicker, ... -Cuttings, and the exchange of seeds for other plots -Educative activities (Ref. 1) -Charter of urban gardening signed (therefore, no usage of pesticides or harmful products to the environment) (Ref. 3) - “At the instigation of the "Mer et Campagne" Association, a 700 m2 plot "les Hauts sèment" welcomes since 2011, under the responsibility of an animator, children and adults to discover the growing vegetables and flowers (sowing, pricking, cuttings, etc.) and cultivating social ties” (Ref. 4). -"Collective spaces designed and maintained by associations of residents of a neighborhood, urban gardening spaces" (Ref. 5).

Main beneficiaries

  • Non-government organisation/Civil Society
  • Citizens or community groups
  • Marginalized groups: People with functional diversities
  • Food producers and cultivators (i.e. farmers, gardeners)
  • Young people and children

Governance

Management set-up

  • Led by non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

  • Citizens or community group
  • District/neighbourhood association

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
  • Taskforce groups
  • Dissemination of information and education
  • Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
  • Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
  • Co-management/Joint management

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

-"Maintained by the animator of the garden (the main contact) in connection with the users wishing to invest themselves within the association." -This garden created by the citizens and the association "Mer et Campagne" and supported and encouraged by the city of Rouen (Ref. 2, page 12). -It is opened to all kind the inhabitants of the neighborhood: families, children, single people, associations of different structures...(Ref. 1) -The association "Mer et Campagne" managed this garden up until 2017 (Ref. 2, page 12). It is now managed by the Pernet social centre (Ref. 1). -The city is involved in the animations organized for the garden and encouraged and supported this initiative by providing public space to create this garden (Ref. 2, page 12).

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown
... a national policy or strategy? Unknown
... a local policy or strategy? Yes ("Encouraging citizen initiatives" Strategy from the City commitment of COP 21 towards sustainable development and climate change; It is mentioned: "The City actively promotes and supports citizen solidarity initiatives and creating social ties throughout the country" giving the example of this intervention of the "Hauts Sèment" community garden (Ref. 3, page 2).)

Financing

Total cost

Unknown

Source(s) of funding

  • Public local authority budget

Type of funding

  • Earmarked public budget

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

  • Environmental quality
  • Improved air quality
  • Improved waste management
  • Improved soil quality
  • Water management and blue areas
  • Improved water quality
  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased green space area
  • Increased conversion of degraded land or soil
  • Improved prevention or control of invasive alien species

Economic impacts

  • Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Improved social cohesion
  • Improved access to urban green space
  • Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
  • Increased opportunities for social interaction
  • Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
  • Increased access to healthy/affordable food
  • Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Improved mental health
  • Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
  • Cultural heritage and sense of place
  • Promotion of cultural diversity
  • Protection of natural heritage
  • Increased sense of place identity, memory and belonging
  • Increased awareness of flora and fauna as culturally and historically meaningful
  • Education
  • Increased support for education and scientific research
  • Increased knowledge of locals about local nature

Type of reported 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. Mer et Campagne (n.d). "Les Hauts Sèment". Available at: Source link (Website not available in 2020).
2. Ville de Rouen (2015). " Agenda 21 Local de la ville de Rouen". Available at: Source link (Accessed: August 27, 2020).
3. Ville de Rouen (2015). Communiqué de Presse: Soutenir la biodiversité au cœur de Rouen. Available at: Source link (Website not available in 2020).
4. Lamy, Phillippe, and Lesconnec, Françoise. "« DEVELOPPEMENT D’ESPACES PARTAGES » DE LA DIRECTION DES
ESPACES PUBLICS ET NATURELS". Available at: Source link (Accessed: August 27, 2020).
5. Ville de Rouen (n.d.). "Le jardinage urbain". Available at: Source link (Accessed: August 27, 2020).
6. Ville de Rouen (n.d.) "Charte du jardinage urbain". Available at: Source link (Acessed: August 27, 2020).