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Two major cities acknowledge the considerable sustainability potential of urban fruit and vegetable gardens
Overview
For Dresden and Brazzaville, urban gardening is a shared field of interest with future potential. Following a dialogue event by Connective Cities and reciprocal visits, the two cities and their partner institutions made use of a virtual exchange format to explore various possibilities for cooperation in the field of urban gardening – as part of their push for sustainable urban development.
Initial Situation
Dresden and Brazzaville have been engaged in a municipal partnership since 1975. Following a longer pause in activities, they have since reactivated their engagement in recent years with a host of different activities, including art and school exchanges, a climate partnership and a project on solid waste disposal.
The two partner municipalities have long been interested in how urban gardening can help foster sustainable development while addressing people’s direct food needs. After two return visits by delegations in 2019 and 2020 respectively, both sides shared their experience with the rollout of urban gardening and urban landscaping projects in a Connective Cities dialogue event. A few months later, representatives from the two cities and their partner institutions came together in a virtual workshop facilitated by Connective Cities to exchange their ideas, experience and concrete strategies for urban gardening.
Learning Experience
Brazzaville’s fast-growing urban population means its demand for food is increasing, too. Having a sufficient supply of water is essential for urban gardening but this is a box that Brazzaville is able to tick. Indeed, the city administration has already allocated urban plots as fields and community gardens to be worked by individuals or families. However, high soil moisture levels and flooding continue to pose a challenge and are also affecting the commercialisation of organic products and the management of micro gardens.
With the education project, ‘One child – one planter’, Brazzaville is endeavouring to link environmental education with gardening and food production in schools. Children have a container at school and one at home in which they grow fruits or vegetables. At school, they learn everything they need to this and why fruits and vegetables are so important for a healthy diet. They are multipliers as they then take this knowledge back to their parent’s home.
Dresden is also a veritable gardening hub, especially in respect of its traditional small allotment gardens (4 hectares) and community gardens (790 hectares). An example of this are the International Gardens (Internationale Gärten Dresden) that help foster intercultural skills and a peaceful society. Dresden’s urban gardens promote a better climate and biodiversity in the city. At the initiative of the Dresden & Region Nutrition Council (Ernährungsrat Dresden & Region), Dresden is now aiming to make a name for itself as an ‘edible city’. Moreover, through measures targeting waste avoidance, consumption and biodiversity, it is also working to promote resilient urban development.
Through their activities to date, both Dresden and Brazzaville have realised that successful urban gardening cannot be instigated by municipal authorities alone: it is absolutely vital to get local civil society actors and other institutions on board, too.
Project Ideas
During the virtual exchange, the City of Dresden suggested a collaboration with the project ‘One child – one planter’. In addition, gardeners, who mostly work in garden areas in cooperatives in the city of Brazaville, should complete further training at the Saxon Garden Academy (Sächsische Gartenakademie). Further training courses on composing together with the Dresden allotment garden association Flora 1 were also discussed.
The City of Brazzaville was particularly taken by the idea of further training in the floriculture sector. The concept of International Gardens that cultivate plants from many different nations also definitely struck a chord with the representatives from Brazzaville who discussed ways of replicating similar gardens in Brazzaville.
Finally, the idea of using a gardening podcast or a website to initiate exchanges on urban gardening between interested parties in both cities was also put forward.
Activities
As a next step, the Saxon Garden Academy, the Alloment Garden Association Flora 1 and the city administration want to develop a course and exchange concept for around ten people, which could take place in May/June 2022.
Perspective
A project coordination team is to drive forward cooperation on urban gardening. This team includes the Director of Agriculture and Urban Food Security and the Director of Cooperation and Foreign Relations of the City of Brazzaville together with the Coordinator for Municipal Development Cooperation in the Mayor’s Office of the City of Dresden. The ideas mapped out are to be finalised in the next partnership meeting in January 2022.
In addition to the municipal authorities, many other stakeholders could contribute to Dresden and Brazzaville’s cooperation on urban gardening. Such as: the association dedicated to supporting this municipal partnership (Partnerschaftsverein der Städtepartnerschaft), the Dresden’s International Gardens (Internationale Gärten Dresden), the Dresden Gardening Friends’ Association (Verein Dresdner Gartenfreunde), the City Gardens Association
further Information
Published: 08/08/2023
Contact
Stephan Viertel
SGL Property Management/Allotment Gardening/Special Use
State Capital Dresden
Department of Environment and Municipal Services |
Office for Urban Green Areas and Waste Management | Dept. of Administration/Finance/Properties
Photos
Categories:
Integrated urban development
The social city
City and biodiversity
Urban Gardening
Regions:
Africa
Congo Rebublic
Brazzaville
Europe
Germany
Dresden
