Grabiszyński Park Council - Wrocław

The Grabiszyński Park Council (Rada Parku Grabiszyńskiego) is a council of experts, citizens, local NGOs and neighbourhood-level councillors set up by the Wrocław Green Spaces Authority (Zarząd Zieleni Miejskiej) in 2018 in Poland. The Council was set up in response to a local civil society protests against planned changes in the Park Grabiszyński - a biologically rich and ecologically important forest park with a size of 68 hectares established in 1867 - and a lack of a participatory process to consult the planned changes. The council meets 4 times a year and serves as an advisory body to the municipality when it comes to environmental protection, management and maintenance of the park. The members of the council include four scientists who promote a conservative approach to the management of greenery and tree felling and removal; advise on least invasive maintenance techniques; and advise on appropriate timing for maintenance activities not to disturb breeding seasons.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Agreement-based or cooperative instrument›Public-community agreement

Challenges addressed

Ecologic connectivity
Soil quality
Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Heat stress and heat island effect
Air quality
Noise
Nature appropriation / stewardship
Reconnection to the biosphere / environmental education
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

The council provides expert advice and citizen views on issues such as spatial planning and development of the park; reviews plans related to tree felling and removal; initiates activities related to nature protection and the protection of the local natural heritage; provides opinions on municipal projects related to environmental education, nature protection and recreation.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Good practice characteristics:

Effective

Support multifunctional NBS

Sustainable in the long-term

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Inclusivity

Governance

Non-governmental actor(s)

Initiating body:

Citizens or community groups / NGOs

Details about how the instrument was designed:

In 2017, a group of citizens became concerned with tree felling, vegetation removal and the way maintenance works were being conducted in the forested part of the park. They started a petition asking the city to protect part of the park, signed by 110 park users and shortly after a number of citizen associations and initiatives were formed with the purpose of protecting the park and its character. At the same time the municipality published a Masterplan for the park, which would significantly alter the park's character. Shortly after, the municipality began conducting the removal of ca. 300 trees in the park as part of a routine maintenance activity. This was met with concern from the park's users and resulted in further protests. A new petition, demanding, among others, setting up a citizen's council as an advisory body for the park's management collected around 3000 signatures. At the same time, an informal Community Council for the park (Społeczna Rada Parku Grabiszyńskiego) was established. This council included local citizens, activists and environmentalists. The Community Council formulated its postulates related to greenery management in the park. The Green Spaces Authority has realised that in face of an active interest of citizens in the fate of the park, as well as the multitude of ideas and opinions presented it will be beneficial to set up a formalised council. The Grabiszyński Park Council was eventually set up by the Wrocław Green Spaces Authority in November 2018.

Targeted actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Details about the implementation:

The Grabiszyński Park Council has 9 members appointed for a 2-year term. The organisations that nominate members include University of Natural Sciences (two members), University of Wroclaw (two members), neighbourhood council (one member), NGOs and citizen initiatives involved in the public debate around the park (four members). The city consults all decisions related to the park with the Council, which meets quarterly. This includes issues such spatial planning and development of the park; plans related to tree felling and removal; activities related to nature protection; municipal projects related to environmental education, nature protection and recreation.

How did the government support the instrument?:

The Grabiszyński Park Council was formally established by the ordinance 33/2018 of the Director of the Wrocław Green Spaces Authority.

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public local authority’s budget

Budget:

Unknown

Details about instrument financing:

The annual costs of operating the council are not known.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Is a monitoring framework in place?:

Did an evaluation take place?:

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

The city consults all decisions related to the park with the Council that represents voice of citizens and experts. The city and the council conduct regular field meetings in the park, where other citizens can also participate. The involvement of citizens in decisions related to management and planned changes in the park resulted in change of maintenance and management practices in the park. The historic park is maintained like a natural forest where natural processes take place - fallen leaves accumulate, shrubs are not pruned, young trees support old trees and replace them slowly. Dead birch and spruce are left to naturally decompose, as are branches discarded by mature beech trees. The tranquillity of the soil and the growing humus encourage the presence of numerous fungi, including rare species. There are more of them in the park than in the average forest. The timing of maintenance activities is adjusted not to interrupt the breeding season. The amount of tree felling has been minimised as plans related to felling are verified by the council. The city has granted the contract to maintain the park to a new company, better equipped to conduct environmentally friendly maintenance practices.

Success factors and lessons learned:

The decision to create the council and the municipality's openness to discuss various approaches to park maintenance are part of a wider process in the city that includes growing awareness of and an active public debate about good practices in green spaces management and the importance of urban green spaces and urban trees, both inside the municipality and the Green Spaces Authority and among citizens (see Urban Governance Atlas entry "Binding standards for tree protection during construction - Wroclaw"). Multiple activities were organised by the various citizen groups and initiatives interested in the fate of the park in order to convince the municipality to change its approach to parks management and enter into active dialogue with citizens. These included for example creating greenery management standards by one of the experts involved in citizen movements; organising a popular science conference to highlight the important ecological role the park plays for the city; direct involvement of citizens in conducting environmentally friendly maintenance activities in the park. The changes in management practices in the park proposed by the council are combined with educational activities such as educational walks for residents to convince them of benefits of these innovations in maintenance and to gain public acceptance. According to the Green Spaces Authority, active involvement of citizens, including protests but also for example active interest in the city's participatory budget programme (see Urban Governance Atlas entry "Wrocław's Participatory Budget") leads to increased support and budget for activities related to green spaces development and management across the city.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Zarząd Zieleni Miejskiej we Wrocławiu (2018), Zarządzenie nr 33/2018 Dyrektora Zarządu Zieleni Miejskiej we Wrocławiu w sprawie powołania Rady ds. Parku Grabiszyńskiego we Wrocławiu. Available at: https://www.zzm.wroc.pl/userdata/rada_parku/154753868128.pdf

Kozakiewicz (2022), Park Grabiszyński jest wyjątkowy. Jego część to prawdziwa miejska puszcza. Available at: https://wroclaw.wyborcza.pl/wroclaw/7,35771,28385490,park-grabiszynski-jest-wyjatkowy-walka-wroclawian-o-przyrode.html

Zarząd Zieleni Miejskiej we Wrocławiu (2018), Rada Parku Grabiszyńskiego, prezentacja. Available at: https://www.zzm.wroc.pl/userdata/grabiszy/154693943835.pdf

Matusiak, F. (2021), Jednak może być dobrze – Park Grabiszyński trzy lata po konsultacjach. Available at: https://www.akcjamiasto.org/jednak-moze-byc-dobrze-park-grabiszynski-trzy-lata-po-konsultacjach/

Gasiorowski, A. (2021), Zapuszczony świat – rozmowa z Małgorzatą Piszczek. Available at: https://andrzejgasiorowski.wordpress.com/2021/01/30/zapuszczony-swiat-rozmowa-z-malgorzata-piszczek/

Guziak, A., (n.d.), Biosfera. Available at: http://eko.org.pl/wroclaw/pdf/biosfera.pdf

Kaszuwara, P. (2019), Pierwsze spotkanie Rady Parku Grabiszyńskiego w terenie. Available at: https://www.radiowroclaw.pl/articles/view/84024/Pierwsze-spotkanie-Rady-Parku-Grabiszynskiego-w-terenie

Suchocka, Lubaczewska, Zienkiewicz (2021), Park Grabiszyński we Wrocławiu – sytuacje konfliktowe i zaangażowanie społeczne. Available at: https://sendzimir.org.pl/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/ZRZ6_web_rozdzial_06.pdf

Photos

@Agencja wyborcza.pl