On June 10th 2022, the workshop “Edible Neighbourhoods for Berlin” was organised as part of the SenUMVK (Senate Department for the Environment, Urban Mobility, Consumer Protection and Climate Action) Summer Conference.

The workshop was aimed at staff members from Berlin’s Neighbourhood Management programme (part of the German capital’s “Social Cohesion” initiative), as well as other city stakeholders. The goal was to reflect on the current situation in Berlin’s neighborhoods and identify potentials, opportunities and strategies for implementing more edible neighborhoods in the city.

At the beginning of the workshop, more than forty participants were welcomed by Tina Hilbert (Senate Department for Urban Development, Building and Housing) and Sarah Al-Alawi (Stadtkümmerei), who presented the workshop schedule. All participants were then asked to reflect on the current situation in the different areas where the Neighbourhood Management programme is active. With the help of area maps, the participants reflected on where Edible City Solutions (ECS) already exist and which areas could serve for the implementation of ECS in the future.

Afterwards, experts from different fields were invited to introduce the following topics:

(a) Community gardens (Paula Firmbach and Daniel Dermitzel, Prinzessinnengarten)

(b) Biodiversity (Ulrike Peters, Senate Department for the Environment, Urban Mobility, Consumer Protection and Climate Action)

(c) Kiez-Parklets, (Merlin Pitz, Senate Department for the Environment, Urban Mobility, Consumer Protection and Climate Action)

(d) Rainwater Management (Samuel Pearson and Paul Kober, Regenwasseragentur Berlin)

(e) Participatory Climate Protection (Eva Hage, Verbraucherzentrale Berlin e. V., and Tim Schumann, Bezirksamt Pankow – Amt für Weiterbildung und Kultur)

Following these so-called “expert pitches”, the participants gathered in small groups and compiled questions for the experts. For the expert sessions, five tables were set up, that were supervised by the experts from the above-mentioned fields. The sessions were organized in a World Café format. There was a total of three rounds of twenty minutes each, during which the participants could ask the experts questions about the implementation of edible neighbourhoods. There was a lively exchange between the participants and experts during the workshop, with many questions asked and answered.

Thank you to all participants, experts and volunteers who made this exchange on edible neighborhoods in Berlin so exciting and enlightening!

The latest EdiCitNet Diamond Model workshop in Rotterdam was full of inspiring discussions and vivid collaboration.

On the afternoon of May 10, 2022, eight representatives from different Edible City Solution Initiatives in

Rotterdam and two representatives of the City of Rotterdam came together at the green initiative Stadskwekerij De Kas for a Diamond Model workshop, based on the Diamond Model concept developed as part of the EdiCitNet Marketplace. The diamond model tool can be used by urban food initiatives to help them gain a new perspective, identify their core values and develop strategies that will ensure the initiatives stay strong, stable and thriving long into the future. The Diamond Model can also help you learn how to communicate effectively about how, why and to whom your organisation makes a difference.

Similar to the Business Model Canvas, the Diamond Model supports business model innovation and strategising. But it’s not just for profit-oriented organisations – it can be used to support all types, including NGOs, NPOs and associations too.

This workshop was the follow-up of the previous Diamond Model workshop held in April 2022 . After a short introduction to the model, participants crafted their own diamonds representing the positive values created by their respective initiatives. Then three value loop analyses were carried out, taking examples from the challenges that different initiatives are facing.

This workshop was initiated by Groen010’s local working group “Visibility and Values of Green Initiatives” with Nienke Bouwhuis (Groen010/Groene Connectie), Paul De Graaf (Groen010/Coöperatie Ondergrond) and Alice Bischof (Wageningen University) who worked to organise the workshop together.

Are you curious to learn more about the Diamond Model methodology? Find out how to apply it to your green urban food initiative here.

The latest EdiCitNet publication explores the ongoing challenges of digital equity and the affects of the pandemic on participatory planning processes.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the participatory planning process in the Edible Cities Network project, in particular the work with the project’s Follower Cities (Berlin, Carthage, Guangzhou, Lomé, Montevideo, Sant Feliu and Sempeter pri Gorici) who are working – mostly online – to develop Edible City Masterplans. The project partners involved in this work have been assessing this impact in order to learn from the pandemic – about what can be done to make digital processes more effective and identify what challenges occur.

With this paper, published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, the EdiCitNet Follower Cities provided insights into their disrupted workflow and helped the project to better understand the difficulties in each city during the pandemic. Additionally, the reflections in this paper offer learnings from the disruptions caused by Covid-19 to better understand how participatory planning processes can be managed online along the lines of equity, access, and participation. The findings demonstrate how participatory processes in the ongoing crisis can be maintained, with relevance to future waves of this and other pandemics.

Click here to explore the full list of EdiCitNet publications.

Under the slogan “Economy meets science”, the annual event “BuGG Day of Research and Education” took place in Stuttgart on the 10^th of May 2022, organized by the German Federation for Building Greening (Bunderverband Gebäudegrün – BuGG).

In attendance were all universities and research institutions active in the fields of roof, façade and interior greening, as well as BuGG members and other building greening experts.

The aims of the “Building Greening Research and Education Day” are:

– To present current research projects

– To identify further research needs

– To network and get to know each other

– To exchange experiences across disciplines

The BuGG Research and Education Day was divided into two parts this year. In the first part (mainly in the morning), the participating universities and research institutions had the opportunity to give short presentations about themselves and their university or institution with their current research and funding projects. Rebecca Gohlke from BuGG presented the EdiCitNet project to the almost 100 participants.

After the lunch break in the second part, there was the opportunity to casually network, get to know each other and exchange ideas.

On June 3rd 2022, EdiCitNet partner UT SEMIDE, together with the city of Nice, organised a workshop for the city’s garden managers. The workshop aimed to present the EdiCitNet project and all of the services, tools and platforms that it offers. 

The workshop brought together the Deputy Mayor in charge of urban agriculture and neighbourhood activities, representatives from the city of Nice, and 5 associations in charge of the management of community gardens.

The associations expressed their interest in using the EdiCitNet Toolbox to be able to compare the positive social and ecological impacts of their Edible City Solutions and to become members of the international network created by the project. 

The workshop ended with a visit to one of the community gardens in the city.  The next step is to visit all the community gardens in Nice to collect the data needed for the EdiCitNet Toolbox.

Until 25 May, bachelor’s and master’s students at the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin can apply for the EdiCitNet Summer School on WATER RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE (June 20th – July 1st 2022), organized as a collaboration between the Edible Cities Network Project, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin and Universitat de Girona. Participants will be part of an interdisciplinary and international team exploring nature-based solutions and their impact on cities.

WHAT:

The intensive course will provide basic understanding of the interdisciplinary topic “The potential of Nature-based solutions (NBS) for water resources management in Mediterranean medium-sized cities” in the context of climate change, using a hybrid approach that combines:

– on-line Problem-Based Learning (PBL) formation, and
– face-to-face practical and interdisciplinary teamwork in Girona (Catalonia) to solve a real urban assignment.

WHEN:

June 20th – July 1st 2022

WHO:

30 students with different backgrounds (environmental sciences, biology, geography, urban planning and engineers) from the following international universities:

• Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
• University of Venice IUAV, Italy
• University of Sassari, Italy
• University of Genoa, Italy
• University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
• University of Girona, Catalonia, Spain

Establishment of three teams of 10 students with different background and origin.

HOW:

First week (mode on-line) (June 20th – June 24th)

– Formation about Problem-Based Learning (PBL) methodology
– Formation about NBS for Water Resources management in the context of Med cities
– Complementary conferences
– Presentation of the case/problem (PBL unit) and discussion

Second week (mode face-to-face in the University of Girona) (June 27th – July 1st)

– Assignment of real practical cases
– Interdisciplinary teamwork on diagnostics and proposals
– Field work and visit to related facilities
– Complementary conferences
– Final presentation and discussion

Detailed programme as download: PDF

More info:

• Participants who successfully complete this summer school will be awarded 3 ECTS points
• Accommodation & breakfast is covered by the University of Girona
• Participants from Humboldt-Universität will have to cover their own travel costs and other expenses

Please send the filled out application form and a CV to marisa.pettit@hu-berlin.de by 25^th May 2022.