A NbS tour around Europe: Local experiences and lessons learnt from working together with and for nature

News
17 July 2024

Wednesday, June 5 • 11:00 - 12:30 
The Nature of Cities Festival 2024, Berlin, Germany 

NetworkNature isn’t just a knowledge sharing platform, it is a network of cities, professionals, practitioners and community members dedicated to implementing nature-based solutions (NbS) at the local level. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the NbS Hubs community. NetworkNature provides guidance and support to 11 NbS Hubs spanning Europe. These NbS Hubs serve as knowledge centres and support the implementation and understanding of NbS in their regions. They share information and bring people together to identify challenges, gather knowledge, map needs, and take active steps to implement NbS. 

These types of ‘on the ground’ activities formed the basis of The Nature of Cities Festival session “Live tour of Nature-based Solutions around Europe”. Speakers showcased how each NbS Hub worked with and for nature in concrete projects. This tour across 10 countries gathered insights and learnings, provoked questions, and facilitated cross Hub connection and experience sharing. 

Nine NbS Hubs representatives were present from the NetworkNature Hubs community, including the NetworkNature Nordic Hub, the Italy Hub, the Spanish Hub, the Caucasus Hub, the Ukrainian Hub, the Scottish Hub, the Polish Hub in Wroclaw, TeAM Hub Hungary, and the Southeastern Europe Hub.

NbS Hubs representatives and NetworkNature

Hubs presented posters outlining interventions such as community gardens, green roofs, rain gardens, urban parks, seminatural retention basins, urban forests, close-to-nature forestry management, among others. The posters were accompanied by short presentations and panel discussions focused on discussing the successes and challenges encountered during NbS implementation in their local contexts, especially the technical, administrative, and political aspects. Speakers emphasised the importance of sharing lessons learned from previous projects and incorporating citizen insights, instead of strictly following standard protocols.