In December 2021, the EdiCitNet Project kicked off a social media series called “Meet the Partners”, where we share information and insights into the individuals and organisations that work together to make this project what it is. 

The EdiCitNet consortium consists of more than 30 partners and more than 100 employees from diverse fields, including academia, business, NGOs, government agencies and professional gardeners and horticulturalists. All of the partners in the project contribute different types of skills and expertise, which all complement and serve the different goals and aims of EdiCitNet.

With this social media series, we’re showcasing the diversity of our consortium and the many different types of expertise, while also giving our project a face (or many faces!).

To follow the series and find out more, visit the EdiCitNet official LinkedIn or Instagram.

On December 11th, 2021, the EdiCitNet project was represented by the REACT team at the National Forum of Climate Change Adaptation Actors “FNAACC” – Tunisia which took place at the City of Sciences of Tunis with more than 500 participants and environmental activists attending.

REACT was there to highlight the impact of nature-based urban food innovation on biodiversity, waste/water recycling the creation of micro-climates and sustainable ecosystems, while supporting a self-sustainable and healthy food system. Exchanges between participants and REACT members offered opportunities for discussion – with a representative of the Urban Planning Agency of Greater Tunis, about integrating edible and climate components into city planning, and with an expert on marine science, about what kind of innovations can be developed for urban fisheries.

A team of young students working on an idea for a household composter that produces bio-energy, and who were looking for collaborators, were very inspired by the team’s accounts of the work done in EdiCitNet. The event was an important and successful one for extenting the Ediible Cities Network, and REACT members are already working on ideas for how to strengthen these new connections for the benefit of all and for even more effective climate change adaptation in the city.

This first National Forum of Climate Change Adaptation forum («La Conférence du Forum National des Acteurs de l’Adaptation au Changement Climatique “FNAACC”») was organised by the Ministry of the Environment and the German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ).

Join the Edible Cities Network for our 1st ever Annual Conference, held live online over two days, 16th & 17th February 2022. “Making Cities Edible” will bring together leading researchers, policymakers and city administrators, civil society actors, green city activists and entrepreneurs to discuss the potentials, challenges and development of sustainable urban food innovation in cities around the world.

With a mixture of keynote addresses and roundtable discussions and an open networking session, the event will explore the latest findings about the power of urban food innovation to tackle social, ecological and economic challenges within cities, including insights from the EdiCitNet Project’s partner cities – as well as explore the social, technical, ethical, ecological, governance and financial challenges around scaling up sustainable solutions and anchoring them in current and future urban planning.  

Beyond highlighting successes, potentials and next steps for further action, the event also aims to generate guidelines on how to successfully integrate edible NBS in city planning, offering ideas to decision-makers in policy and business and addressing the societal and environmental problems facing our communities and our cities today.

Whether you are a newcomer to the topic of urban food innovation, or a seasoned professional, here are just a few reasons why Making Cities Edible is the event you don’t want to miss:

• Hear first-hand experiences from expert practitioners in the field of urban farming, community gardening and sustainable food collectives
• Explore recent developments, successes and challenges from the EdiCitNet project’s Living Labs in Oslo, Andernach, Berlin and Rotterdam
• Learn about what different cities around the world are doing to integrate edible city policies & strategies into their urban planning
• Network with other urban food enthusiasts from around the world and build alliances for more resilient urban food futures

Click here to find out more and to register!

Nabolagshager and the Agency for Urban Environment (Municipality of Oslo), hosted on the 21st of October the second taworkshop of a series of three workshops to help urban agriculture initiatives in Oslo to develop their sustainable financial models. During this workshop “Enhancing customer relations and strategic partnerships” we focused on how ECS initiatives can utilise the value of their organisation to better connect with customers and form partnerships. We looked at how to find new customers, better connect with customers via social media, and how to create mutually beneficial partnerships – both private and public. It is important to recognize the benefits we can all produce and receive when we work better collaboratively.

We want to thank again all the participants for attending our second workshop at Linderud gård. Special thanks goes to our guest speaker Helene Gallis from Nabolagshager who gave participants many tips and tricks about how to get noticed and how to attract (traditional) media as a way to promote our work, products and services.

We look forward very much to meeting all the participants again at our next and last workshop on the 11 of November.

You can find more information about the workshops “Finding Sustainable Economic Models in Urban Agriculture” in this link: https://www.edicitnet.com/workshops-oslo-finding-sustainable-economic-models-in- urban-agriculture/ 

There are numerous edible fruit trees, edible fruit bushes and herbs on the public green spaces in Rüdersdorf near Berlin. Citizens of the community are committed to this rich cultural landscape with the support of two local companies. In October, a tree pruning course took place on a newly planted orchard with 40 fruit trees under the professional guidance of EdiCitNet partner Mundraub. Young Fruit Trees need a regular care in the first ten or even better 15 years. Because this is nowadays not considered in most cases, many new orchards do not survive their adolescence. This is a waste of money and a waste of valuable living resources.

Alice from Wageningen University developed an interesting Tool to look at Edible City Businesses. She named it “The Diamond”. It is designed to get a holistic overview about organizations. Mundraub met her for an intense workshop to map the Ecosystem around Mundraub and the new sister brand “We are Edible”. There are some innovative features in the diamond that are different from traditional Business Model canvases: stakeholders are living beings but also “dead” data bases. Money is not a resource in this model and any resource can be translated into another. So the diamond seems to be a process oriented and very lively tool which is lurking to take off.