Guide to Fostering Cooperation for Integrated Forms of Urban Gardening (ENG) by Anna Dańkowska

Guide to fostering cooperation for integrated forms of urban gardening Anna Dańkowska Agnieszka Dragon Elena Ferrari

2021

Guide to fostering cooperation for integrated forms of urban gardening The publication was created within the “Integration of Allotment and Community Gardens in Warsaw and Berlin” project. authors Anna Dańkowska Agnieszka Dragon Elena Ferrari GRAPHIC DESIGN Agnieszka Dybowska TRANSLATION INTO GERMAN Malwina Szczypta TRANSLATION INTO POLISH Anna Dańkowska PROOF-READING OF POLISH Malwina Szczypta, Agnieszka Dragon Proof-reading of English Ian Maloy PROOF-READING OF GERMAN Agnes Przewozny Supervisors Annegret Haase Dagmar Haase Jakub Kronenberg financed by Deutsch-Polnische Wissenschaftsstiftung Polsko-Niemiecka Fundacja na rzecz Nauki 2021

CONTENTS I

page 6

Introduction Gardeners In Transition

page 10

About Integration What does the integration of allotment and community gardens mean?

III

page 13

GOOD PRACTICES Examples of integration in Warsaw and Berlin

page 32

Toolkit Step by step integration

page 54

GARDENS IN WARSAW AND BERLIN Basic information about allotment and community gardens in two cities

page 56

Urban gardens of the future Ideas, visions and future

INTRODUCTION GARDENERS IN TRANSITION In the metropolis of the future, all citizens should have the opportunity to be gardeners and have access to garden spaces! The activity of urban gardeners is becoming more and more important in cities. Urban nature is an increasingly valuable asset and must be protected and shared as a common good. This period of environmental crisis that we are experiencing clearly demonstrates the way in which the active engagement of residents in gardens enables them to meet sustainability challenges on a local and global scale. Although urban gardens provide several services that contribute to the sustainable development of our cities, they are often jeopardised by urbanisation and are fragile to broader processes of urban development. The “Integration of allotment and community gardens in Warsaw and Berlin’’ project is dedicated in the first place to all kinds of urban gardeners, stakeholders supporting gardens’ development, and people interested in being in touch with gardening practices. The project gives indications on how to implement forms of collaboration and co-operation between seemingly disparate gardening worlds, i.e. allotment and community gardens, in order to combine their forces and collectively deal with external urban dynamics, which often turns out to be unfavourable to urban gardening. This guide results from a research that began in November 2019 and came into being via a multidisciplinary understanding of the long tradition of urban gardens in Warsaw and Berlin. Their historical and contemporary urban transformation make a comparison between the two cities possible. Both cities gained the status of being a metropolis at a relatively late period in history, and are located in sparsely populated regions with a lower-than-average level of economic development within their country. The radical geopolitical transformations of the 20th century, processes of densification and shrinkage as well as neoliberal policies, are conditions that have constantly questioned the configuration of the Warsaw and Berlin urban landscapes and the role of their gardens. The tradition of allotment gardens is well established in both cities,

while the phenomenon of community gardens, which began in Berlin in the 2000s, is still in its infancy in Warsaw. Nowadays gardens in both cities face a new phase of transition that must address new challenges such as climate crisis and the equitable distribution of natural resources. The possible integration of allotment and community gardens in the two cities is considered to be a resilient strategy for their sustainable future development. The research developed in three main phases, built on dialogue with gardeners, activists, researchers and authorities, as well as on active participation in events and meetings in both cities. Gardens taking part in the project: Allotment Gardens (henceforth AG) Warsaw: ROD Sigma-Bartycka, ROD Pratulińska Berlin: Am Stadtpark I, Harztal Wilde-Rose, Freie Stunde, Tempelhofer Berg Community Gardens (henceforth CG) Warsaw: Modraszka, Motyka i Słońce, Fort Bema Berlin: Peace of Land, Himmelbeet PROJECT TIMELINE

COVID - 19 PANDEMIC

2019

2020

2021

11 12 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 01 02 03 04 05

start

FSG

exploring the field

city lab

workshop FSG DOS workshop gardeners at gardeners at Pratulińska Peace Of Land

FSG - Forum Stadtgärtnern DOS - Dożynki Ogrodów Społecznościowych

synthesis

final online workshop

ALLOTMENT GARDENS AND COMMUNITY GARDENS — SIMILARITIES AMONG DIFFERENCES Urban gardens are unique places where it is possible to experience synergistic contact between humans and nature on a daily basis. They have different shapes, sizes, and types of administrative organisation. Despite the differences however, they share many similarities. Gardens are learning spaces, within which co-operation between people increases their practical and theoretical knowledge about nature in the city. They are spaces of coexistence of different generations and cultural backgrounds. They also encourage encounters between humans and non-human species, contributing to the improvement of biodiversity awareness and conservation in cities. Allotment and community gardens differ in terms of their spatial arrangement, management regimes and property rights: Allotment gardens in Europe have existed for about 150 years. They originated as garden colonies that provided an increase in self-subsistence and served as recreational spaces for mainly working-class people. Allotment gardens occur as green structures delimited by a perimeter and divided into individual plots, rented by individuals or families. In Warsaw and Berlin they are mostly located on publicly owned land. They are regulated by law and are formally recognised and well organised. Community gardens movement dates back to the 1970s, when guerrilla gardeners started to occupy empty plots in New York City. The first community gardens began to appear in Berlin around the beginning of the 2000s and about fifteen years later in Warsaw. Community gardens are pieces of land cultivated by groups of city dwellers and do not have a defined spatial configuration. Their organisation is based on forms of shared interests, bottom-up practices and voluntary work. They embrace different forms of gardening and co-operation that can be found on private and public land – along the streets, in parks and inner courtyards of residential and school buildings. In Warsaw and Berlin the status of CG is not formally regulated.

INFORMAL EDUCATION

lf se learning

self-care

outdoor activity

m ulti generational

tisfactio a s

breake from urban life

SPACES

healthy vegetables

colla

borat

local food production B

food sovereignty

D IO

S ER

ions

self-governing

ABOUT INTEGRATION WHAT does the INTEGRATION OF ALLOTMENT AND COMMUNITY GARDENS mean?

WhY The Integration of allotment and community gardens project covers a range of practices that have evolved formally or informally in Warsaw and Berlin as well as in some other cities. They aim to implement new ways of resource sharing and cooperation between people and communities for strengthening the gardens’ resilience. Such practices are gaining importance in the context of increasing pressure on land in the cities.

AIM Allotment and community gardens are often considered as different worlds. However, they share many similarities. The Integration of allotment and community gardens project shows the closeness between these two worlds and all others that evolve around urban gardening, highlighting the powerful synergy that their potential union can create. This guide demonstrates ways that enable gardeners to stabilise and enhance their role in the city, it encourages new forms of co-operation between different state and non-state actors, and it fosters new models of sustainable land use. Both kinds of garden draw benefits through mutual learning; the sharing of knowledge, experience and resources; as well as the strengthening of their role in the urban arena – a condition that can ensure their recognition within urban landscape management plans. In the process of integration, urban gardens become more accessible for wider constituencies, thus ensuring environmental, spatial and social justice. They can become multifunctional spaces responding to the needs of different communities.

DIVERSE WAYS OF INTEGRATION The Integration of allotment and community gardens can be practised in many ways and involves both mental and physical proximity. The urban gardener is the protagonist of integration by performing different actions that can vary in character and scale, the type of actors involved, time perspectives, and topics. These initiatives range from a one-off joint event organised together by allotment and community gardens, to building a strong network of urban gardens in the city; from getting a group to enter the otherwise closed gates of a colony, to making colonies permanently open for hosting community activities within it; or organising joint activities, such as workshops on composting, which can result in long-term collaboration between gardens. For the purposes of this guide, these practices have been classified into three types of action in which integration is presented gradually, as a long-term process carried out step-by-step. 1. Co-operation and dialogue among gardeners 2. the Opening of allotment gardens 3. the Common use of a plot in an allotment garden

The result of such integration would be the creation of a new model of urban garden, thus reaching people of different ages, genders, educational levels and social backgrounds, as well as highlighting important social functions by showing their impact on the improvement of the quality of life in the city. To ensure these qualities, the spatial outcome will result in accessible, welcoming, and multifunctional urban gardens.

III

GOOD PRACTICES Examples of integration from Warsaw and Berlin The good practices presented here show integration processes initiated by different actors that have been implemented at different levels, following a gradual step-by-step process: Urban Gardeners: co-operation and dialogue a forum for dialogue, collaboration and research projects, allowing for more integration between the two garden types; Allotment gardeners: THE opening of allotment gardens the physical opening of the gates and promotion of activities which welcome and engage guests from outside a garden; Allotment gardeners giving space to different communities: the common use of a plot in an allotment garden creating a common plot where people from the outside can gain access to space in the colony; City administration and integration: THE new usAGE of allotment gardens proposed by the city administration the efforts of the city administration to support the integration processes of community and allotment gardens; Urban planners and landscape architects: THE Integration of allotment and community gardens design spatial design solutions which propose new integrated models of gardens. The examples of integration presented below include micro-stories told by the protagonists of integration. They broaden the view on this phenomenon and show how each project is closely linked to specific local conditions. They can serve as an inspiration for urban gardeners, planners, researchers and administration from other cities as well.

urban gardeners: co-operation & dialogue

Gardeners’ dialogue and co-operation through activism

What: Forum Stadtgärtnern, Berlin www.forum-stadtgaertnern.org Who initiated it: Urban gardeners, activists and scientistis. Since when: Since 2014 Background: The Forum Stadtgärtnern began its work in 2014 as the continuation and union of the completed “Round table urban gardening” project (2010-2014, financed by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, involving the Humboldt-University among others) and the “Gartenaktivist*innentreffen” — an activist network of community gardeners in Berlin (2010-2015). Although their legal organisation and status vary considerably, community gardens as well as allotment gardens are under exceeding pressure due to planned construction in the growing city of Berlin. This has led garden activists from both types of urban gardens to join together under the banner of the “Forum Stadtgärtnern” and gather their creativity, knowledge and resources in order to protect and support the diversity of urban gardens in Berlin. How does it work: The Forum organises debates, addressing papers to politicians, and participates in demonstrations and events in order to protect urban green space, sustainable urban development, and concerning climate change. The forum is itinerant and the appointments take place in different gardens in the city. It is purely volunteer led. At the beginning, the organisational team was fluctuant, working towards different goals. Nowadays, the responsibilities and tasks are shared by a stable group who welcomes new members and supports self-organised activities under the banner of the “Forum Stadtgärtnern”. The Forum has effectively become the most significant meeting place for communication between allotment and community gardens in Berlin. It is recognised by the public as well as by politicians as a strong voice for the protection of gardens and green space in the city. In 2020, this initiative also led to the “Berlin braucht MEHR Gärten!” campaign, and the connected events combined with various activist networks for the protection of the city’s gardens.

It started bottom up and still is so; initiated and kept going by a few activists connecting the AG and CG with open minds, co-operation and the overcoming of old prejudices. In the beginning, the CG was more powerful; now I perceive the allotment garden activists to be more involved. However, in general we achieve quite a good mix and much more understanding and support for each other. This can be called a success in my opinion. Kerstin from Forum Stadtgärtnern, Berlin

Dialogue between gardeners thanks to a research project

What: Research projects for the sake of integration: the dialogue of allotments and community gardens in Warsaw and Berlin. Who initiated it: Eva Foos, Humboldt University, Anna Dańkowska, Dagmar Haase, Humboldt University, and Jakub Kronenberg, University of Łódź. Since when: 2015 - 2017 “(Stadt-)gärtnern im Klimawandel”; 2019 - 2021 ”Integration of allotment and community gardens in Berlin and Warsaw”. Background: The integration of AG and CG has also been supported and investigated in different forms by academia. Two research projects are worth mentioning as a way to enhance the dialogue between the two types of gardeners and encourage their integration, which support a sustainable use of natural urban resources. How does it work: How can academic projects support the gardeners with their challenges and generate interest among local decision-makers? They must be based on a participatory approach and be applicable. The “(Stadt-)gärtnern im Klimawandel” and “Integration of allotment and community gardens…” projects are based upon a strong intersection between research in the field of environmental sustainability and participatory processes.

The project, initiated by Dr. Thomas Aenis and Eva Foos from (HUB), focused on providing allotment and community gardeners with expert gardening knowledge on gardening and climate change, creating an exchange platform between the science and praxis of gardening as well as between allotment and community gardens, nature protection NGOs and the city administration. The goal was to make the gardens capable of dealing with challenges connected with the climate change and to strengthen the network amongst the engaged people. One principle was to connect the work with that which was in the field already, in order to avoid parallel structures, and foster co-operation. Several “Forum Stadtgärtnern” were therefore planned in participatory ways within the existing structure and were then organised and documented by the HUB project. The “Integration of allotment and community gardens…” project aims at exploring ways of co-operation, dialogue between allotment and community gardens, as well as the integrated forms of gardens. The idea is to encourage integration practices by studying and sharing different examples of such co-operation taking place with many actors in Warsaw and Berlin. These actions ensure the strengthening of gardens’ position in the cities, where the pressure on land is constantly rising and the sustainable use of resources is so much needed. The project enabled the participants to get to know each other and exchange about issues related to integration between the gardeners of both garden types and between the two capital cities. The outcome of the project is, among others, this guide.

During the comparative Polish-German garden project, I learned that working on integration creates a mind-set that allows an individual to look at the big picture and facilitate the synergistic interaction of many imaginable, previously unknown, anticipated and surprising components of the issue itself, so that purely dealing with integration is a terrific win for everyone’s side.

Dagmar Hasse from Humboldt University

We wanted to offer a space where people could come together and meet at eye level: scientists and practitioners, people from the administration, NGOs and of course gardeners from both the allotments and community gardens. We were fortunate that the “Berliner Gartenfreund” - the members’ magazine of the allotment gardeners was interested in what we were doing. As a consequence we regularly reported on the topics and events on gardening and climate change, and were able to reach many people.

Eva Foos from Humboldt University

Different forms of urban gardens, allotment gardens in particular, are under constant pressure from other forms of land use. Collaboration is necessary to show the benefits of gardening, not just for the gardeners. Dialogue opens new opportunities to work together for the common good. Gardeners of all types of gardens, unite!

Jakub Kronenberg from University of Łódź

ALLOTMENT gardeners: the OPENING OF ALLOTMENT GARDENS

A WALK THROUGH ALLOTMENTs

What: Gardens inviting residents. WhERE: ROD Park Dolny, ROD Waszyngtona, ROD Obrońców Pokoju, ROD Sigma Bartycka, ROD Wiarus, ROD Pratulińska, ROD Zelmot. WHO INITIATED IT: Board members, active allotment gardeners’, local municipality. Background: The pre-war model of allotment gardens resulted in the creation of green areas accessible to residents. Their social functions were fulfilled by the frequency of interactions and social relations which were produced in a shared space within the garden area. Currently, the majority of Warsaw’s allotment colonies are closed off due to garden burglaries, the privatisation of communal spaces in the 1990s, or the past decisions of the garden’s community. Nevertheless, some gardens never closed their gates or were made to open them under certain circumstances, forming an area well integrated with the surrounding urban space. There are also gardens which are either open to the public or create opportunities to invite residents inside. There are different reasons and needs for initiating social interactions in gardens: the consciousness of being part of a larger urban realm, the fear of liquidation, and a need to support different groups by providing them with space within the gardens. How does it work: Open allotment gardens allow residents to use common spaces, such as paths and squares. Board members raise external funds for infrastructural improvements, outdoor gyms or educational boards. ROD Obrońców Pokoju is a wedge of greenery located within an intensively built-up part of the city and for a long period of time now, provides communal space for residents while functioning as a garden-park in the consciousness of several generations. The opening of ROD Park Dolny was the result of an agreement with the district, as part of which

the infrastructure inside the garden was improved and its space is opened to residents at weekends. ROD Waszyngtona promoted the idea of open gardens for a long time thanks to its president Barbara Frydrychewicz. In addition to providing space, they encourage people to enter, take a stroll and get to know the species by means of information boards set up on the main path. The gardens that are closed have begun to recognise the necessity of opening up and to do so in different ways. They try to organise the common space and create a community plot for neighbours (ROD Sigma-Bartycka), participate in municipal programmes to support the social and infrastructural development of allotment gardens (ROD Wiarus, ROD Zelmot, ROD Kolejarz), and co-operate with cultural institutions and NGOs (ROD Pratulińska).

Paweł from ROD Sigma-Bartycka

We had an idea to open this garden, to build a community, so that in case of attempts to liquidate it, the community would help. [...] We have friendly residents, and we give one lady a key, so that she can walk around. Apparently, at one time in the 1980s, this garden was open, and she used to walk there. […] And if there are a few people who like that, they can come in and walk. This is safer for the gardens during the winter.

Allotment gardeners giving space to different communities

Taking care of a plot together allotments welcoming guests from outside

What: Common plots in two Neukölln AGs: Harztal-Wilde Rose KGA and Freie Stunde KGA. www.freiestunde.de SINCE WHEN: Harztal-Wilde Rose — since 2018, Freie Stunde — since 2016. WHO INITIATED IT: Active board members of the AG colonies. Background: Both the Harztal-Wilde Rose and the Freie Stunde are small AGs in Neukölln with only one entrance on the main street. This condition makes it difficult for passers-by to cross them. The district of Neukölln has been strongly affected by processes of urban densification and gentrification, something which has made the location of the garden colonies endangered in recent years. When the board members from the two colonies came to the realisation that the garden’s status is not permanently secured according to the Plan for the Development of Allotment Gardens (KEP, Kleingartenentwicklungsplan), they decided that it was the right time to open up the AG to the neighbourhood and allow a common use of one plot in the colony. This way, the privilege of individually using a plot in the city centre can be shared with more people, who would better understand the broader need for keeping the gardens in their place. How does it work: After identifying the possible common usages of spaces in the gardens, Harztal-Wilde Rose and Freie Stunde board members started to foster collaborations with neighbourhood associations and schools. Formally, the plot’s tenant is the garden association and the rent is divided among all the gardeners. The two colonies faced one main problem: maintaining a permanent group that would independently care for the common-use plot. Despite the pandemic period and several changes to the organisation of the community garden, the projects survived, and are presumed to continue, probably with more plot-users and maybe even with more plots in the future.

In my opinion, garden colonies are the areas that were made available by the city and I think that obliges us to think in a more socially responsible way, because otherwise we are taking advantage of a privilege of having a parcel. Antonia from Harztal-Wilde Rose, Berlin

Sabine from Freie Stunde, Berlin

We have a lot of young, open-minded families in our colony. We thought that we needed to do something for the neighbours. We all agreed that we needed to open up our backyard to prevent construction.

Common plot in ROD

What: A common plot and educational garden, called Zasiejówka, which is inside an allotment garden colony at ROD Pratulińska in the Targówek district of Warsaw. SINCE WHEN: Since early 2020. WHO INITIATED IT: The Zasiej Association in co-operation with ROD Pratulińska. Background: The garden was created on one of the abandoned plots in the colony. During the first year, it was looked after by between four and seven people, mainly the garden’s initiators, members and friends of the Zasiej Association. The garden raised particular interest during the lockdown when the access to all green spaces have been strongly limited.

How does it work: The plot is leased to the Zasiej Association by the garden’s management board and can be used for gardening and educational purposes. Zasiejówka got off to a difficult start during the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, however they managed to run a series of permaculture workshops for young people and co-hosted the 4th Harvest Festival of Community Gardens. Together with the Women’s Circle formed by allotment gardeners, they created a Seed Bank which is part of the Network of Seed Keepers created during the Nyeleni Food Sovereignty Forum.

Sława from Pratulińska AG and Zasiejówka CG

In March 2020 there was an open meeting about composting, and that is when I first came to the Pratulinska gardens. [...] When they closed everything down [due to the COVID-19 pandemic], I walked around the garden. I asked the management if there was a free plot but nothing became available. During one conversation, the president of the garden told me that there was no plot, but the girls were organising a joint Zasiej plot. [...] That’s where it all started. For me, it was something wonderful. The parks were closed, and here I suddenly had access to greenery. Everything was blooming.

Integration for social purposes working with refugees at Tempelhofer Feld

What: A plot in an AG (allotment garden) for social purposes, including working with refugees at Tempelhofer Berg allotment garden colony, Berlin SINCE WHEN: 2015 WHO INITIATED IT: The AGC board members, Rolf Peinert and Wilfried Buettner Background: Tempelhofer Feld is a former airport in the middle of the city which has been utilised as a field for social experiments and activities for over ten years. Many NGOs and informal groups, after successfully defending the area from being built up, use the space for different initiatives. From 2015, its proximity to a refugee shelter added another dimension to the Tempelhofer Feld. This called for reflection on the refugee crisis and the need for action. A nearby allotment garden colony, located on railway land, responded to it. How does it work: Although the Tempelhofer Berg AG’s gates are usually closed, owing to its socially sensitive board members it welcomes refugees, immigrants and people socially excluded or other sensitive groups. They ran a Tempelhofer Berg association actively as tenants in the colony. It has the same name as the AG, however it is run by a different group and has a different agenda. Its co-operation with refugees was established shortly after the shelter in the former airport hangars came into being. The initiators, Wilfried Buettner and Rolf Peinert, started by inviting women from the shelter to cultivate vegetables in raised beds on the plot rented by Wilfried Buettner. The project grew, received funding from organisations like the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, and evolved into a social garden on an abandoned plot. It offers volunteering possibilities for people with an immigration background and also participants of one of the state voluntary services (Bundesfreiwilligendienst BFD).

We came up with the conclusion that we had to open an intercultural garden. In 2014/2015 many refugees came, and we were in discussion with the landowner about how to rent this land, and they gave us the possibility to do so. However, the garden season started and the contracts were not yet signed, therefore we used my garden at the beginning. We had to meet two women with traumamanagement, gardening and social skills, and they joined us. Wilfried from Tempelhofer Berg association and AG

City administration and integration

Programme supporting allotment and community gardens What: Bujna Warszawa is a support platform for urban gardens and a network of existing garden initiatives in Warsaw. www.bujnawarszawa.pl. SINCE WHEN: Since 2017. WHO INITIATED IT: City administration and garden activists.

Background: First steps were bottom-up activities such as ‘Map of Community Gardens’ and ‘School of Urban Gardeners’ facilitated by The Commons Lab (Pracownia Dóbr Wspólnych) in 2016. These and other grassroots initiatives helped to increase awareness of the phenomenon of community gardening and access to basic information about them, whilst simultaneously promoting them among a wider group of residents. In 2017 Greenery Authority has launched the first edition of the Bujna Warszawa programme, preceded by a process of consultations and analysing the needs of residents, informal groups, community centres wanting to create community gardens, as well as activists involved in opening allotment gardens. The city recognized the value of gardens and the role in enhancing social cohesion, noting the dynamic development of community gardening in other European cities. How does it work: The Bujna Warszawa project is currently implemented by The Commons Lab, in cooperation with other entities and individuals. The program reinforces community gardens by organizing workshops and publishing articles on horticulture as well as supports groups interested in the creation of new gardens. One of the elements of support within Bujna Warszawa is a pilot programme Onward Allotments being carried out by SAM Rozkwit Association since 2019. This NGO organizes events in selected allotment gardens, thus opening them up to the inhabitants and endeavouring to include garden colonies in urban space. An example of an integration event implemented by Bujna Warszawa was Harvest Day of Community Gardens 2020 organized for the first time in cooperation with an allotment garden colony.

Bujna Warszawa is a platform for sharing knowledge and know-how on how to create a garden. It is a great success that the city administration co-operates with gardeners. Bujna Warszawa is a half-online and half-real-life hybrid. We also organise harvest festivals, support gardeners, and try to approach the subject scientifically, because we’ve created our own definition of a CG and its rules, in order that Warsaw gardens that meet these criteria can benefit from our support. Piotr Śmiechowski from Bujna Warszawa

How the city administration can support a diverse usage of AGs

What: A pilot project to introduce multiple use in AG called: Freiheit, Am Kienberg, Bornholm I, Dahlwitzer Str and Grönland, Berlin. SINCE WHEN: Since 2017. WHO INITIATED IT: The Berlin Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection. Background: The need to support urban gardening has been apparent in the Berlin Senate for some years. Representatives of the unit for Open Space Planning and Urban Greenery (Freiraumplanung und Stadtgrün) have been meeting with activists, urban gardeners as well as researchers in so-called Workshop Talks (Werkstattgespräche). During these meetings, it became apparent that in order to effectively support community gardens, there should be a position responsible for them in the department. Interestingly, the decision about it was a part of an agreement of the government coalition, brought about by the Green party. Since then, not only allotment gardens but also community gardeners have a representative. There is also an online platform for community gardens called Produktives Stadtgrün. How does it work: The discussion about opening up the AG is not new and the problem has been recognised by many. The person responsible for the CG closely co-operates with the administration staff on behalf of the AG. The attitude towards opening the AG is gradually moving from the state of opening the gates of the colonies, through bringing new use in there, to opening some plots themselves for community usage. In the beginning of 2020, a pilot project for the multiple use (Mehrfachnutzung) of the AG was initiated, aiming at expanding the traditional functions of allotments for new people who are not necessarily connected with gardening. It will be creating a bike service in a colony which is located on the trail of one of the most popular bike-lanes in Berlin. In another AG piece of land, a community oven was installed and in another, signage will guide visitors through the gardens. In two other AGs, landscape architects will create overall concepts for adding various public uses.

Urban planners and landscape architects

the Integration of urban gardens in a newly designed public park

What: A new urban project, and the preservation of existing urban gardens in the Park am Gleisdreieck, Berlin. SINCE WHEN: 2008 WHO INITIATED IT: The Potsdamer Güterbahnhof AG, the Rosenduft intercultural garden, Grün Berlin, and the Atelier Loidl Landschaftsarchitekten. Background: The area on which Park am Gleisdreick has been designed runs along a railroad infrastructure that has gradually been disused since the end of the World War II, turning it into an urban wasteland. The design of the park incorporated significant pre-existing features of the local landscape: the wild vegetation grown along the railroad tracks, and two urban gardens ― the Potsdamer Güterbahnhof (POG) allotment garden and Rosenduft intercultural garden. The POG garden was created around 1914 and served during World War II as a food supply in a highly bombed-out neighbourhood. The Rosenduft intercultural garden is one of the first community gardens in Berlin. It was established by a group of Bosnian refugee women in 2006. How does it work: The park, designed by Atelier Loidl, was completed in 2014 and the two gardens have been integrated into the project, following a negotiation phase among stakeholders. Nowadays, access to the Rosenduft Garden is through the south-eastern portion of Park am Gleisdreick. The POG colony is now fully integrated within the park, and all internal pathways are open to the public. The heart of the allotment is Café Eule and the nearby common areas. Café Eule was first informally founded by Kristiana Elig ― a tenant at the colony ― in a common space near her plot. The original idea was to create a meeting place for the gardeners to chat and exchange ideas. Visitors came along later.

Some plots from the POG were to be disposed of in 2008 when the park project began, but thanks to the resilience of the gardeners under the leadership of President Klaus Trappmann, the colony was retained. The condition for maintaining the AG on the site of Park am Gleisdreick was to create common areas accessible to visitors and gardeners together. Café Eule played a crucial role in integrating the colony into the park, becoming a meeting point for different users and a new public space for the neighbours.

Urbane Waldgärten - a research and development project in Berlin

What: The design of a food forest garden that integrates both allotment and community gardens’ spatial forms. SINCE WHEN: Since 2018. WHO INITIATED IT: Dr. Jennifer Schulz & Dr. Torsten Lipp, University of Potsdam. Background: The Urbane Waldgärten project grew out of Jennifer Schulz’s practical experience and scientific interest in designing an urban food forest garden in Berlin. After a systematic search for a suitable space, the allotment garden association (Bezirksverband Berlin Süden) proposed an area in Neukölln Britz to develop the project in co-operation between the team of the University of Potsdam, the allotment garden association, the public administration (green spaces agency Neukölln) and the environmental administration (SenUVK) of the federal state of Berlin. The area was intended as an allotment, hence a new allotment forest garden structure was jointly developed. How does it work: The Urbane Waldgärten project has been developed on a participatory design process involving various professionals, state and non-state actors and the community of future users. The proposed layout of the area follows food forest design principles by proposing different garden types. The largest central space in the area will be dedicated to a community garden, while along the

perimeter, allotment-like plots will form small garden clusters, integrated in green areas where edible plants will be grown. The Urbane Waldgärten project is an interpretation of a new garden spatial configuration in which gardeners and visitors will be able to share common spaces and resources. Over the past few years, in parallel with the spatial design, much work has been devoted to building and strengthening the future gardeners’ community.

Jennifer Schulz from Urbane Waldgärten

I was used to working with food forests in the countryside but urban citizens are different; the motivation that they have is not just concerning the garden but also of being part in saving environmental problems such as biodiversity loss and climate change, as well as being part of a community.

TOOLKIT INTEGRATION STEP BY STEP

INTRODUCTION The integration process between allotment and community gardens cannot be based on ready-made solutions. Urban gardens are diverse ecosystems that are vulnerable to specific internal and external conditions.

This toolkit proposes actions and strategies which serve to enable one to design integration between allotment and community gardens, with the aim of working on the similarities of different types of gardens instead of the differences. Actions that lead to the integration of allotment and community gardens can be performed step-by-step, in order to facilitate a successful implementation of changes. The integrative initiatives can be, to a various extent, complex and long-term, requiring many different actions. The impulses for them and the necessary support can come from both bottom-up and top down, from gardeners themselves or from appropriate state authority policies and programmes.

Among the numerous ways and daily actions that can fortify the connections between allotment and community gardens, from the least challenging ones to the most complex and advanced forms of integration, the following issues stand out:

1. Co-operation and dialogue among gardeners 2. the Opening of allotment gardens 3. the Common use of a plot in an allotment garden

The toolkit offers step-by-step guidance on how to start and go through the whole process. For each type of action, suggestions for the authorities are also included that indicate ways in which they can foster the integration processes.

1. get to know local gardeners

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establishing personal connections & alliances

cooperation & dialogue among gardeners being part of a network

2. share knowledge & materials 3. promote your activities

1. be in touch with the network of gardeners in your city 2. share interests & struggles 3. check support programs for gardeners

1. build an active group in your colony 2. work on the first ideas

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3. map local actors getting community prepared

opening of allotment gardens

4. ensure funding for the project implementation 5. meet regularly within committee group & do first small activities 6. promoting the activities

opening up the garden

1. make your garden welcoming to other people 2. make inner paths & common spaces accessible

1. summarize your work in the garden 2. planning ahead how action can unite gardeners

1. find people interested in gardening inside allotment colony 2. contact the management of the selected garden 3. find a place together 4. map of the area of the garden

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5. meet with the gar deners regularly outside group making cg inside ag

common use of a plot in allotment garden establishing cg in your ag as board members

preparing the ground

1. Check possible space in the garden 2. make sure you have support of the idea by the colony community 3. set the general frames of the community plot functioning 4. ensure financing & other material recources 5. find a group interested in creating the cg

1. ensure community plot users get integrated into the colony

6. agree on rules between the garden board & the group to use the garden

2. make sure there is continuity in running the plot 3. evaluation and plan the future evaluate and plan the futre

getting started 1. organize meetings in the garden 2. gardening and team work 3. evaluation and plan the future

1. summarize your work in the garden 3. plan next steps

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co-operation & dialogue among gardeners

Co-operation and dialogue among gardeners of different types is based upon common interests and practices that aim for attitudes of collaboration rather than competition. The first part of the toolkit gives suggestions as to how one can strengthen alliances among community and allotment gardeners; this is the necessary condition for developing integration.

1.1. Establishing personal connections and alliances Get to know local gardeners

Do not confine yourself to your garden. Stroll through the neighbourhood and make sure that you know other gardens in the vicinity. If there are other gardens, go and see what is being done there. Invite those gardeners to your garden. If you are a gardener in an AG: Be open to meeting new people in your colony. Be a part of community activities and, depending on time resources, try to be an active and responsible member. Make the practice of inviting people into your plot more than just occasional. Berlin: Check the waiting list of people waiting for a garden assignment and get them involved in the colony activities. If you are gardener in a CG: Be open to learn about allotment garden colonies in your city. Go to visit some of them and see if you can participate in their activities that are open to the public.

Q1. Do I know the neighbours of my garden? Q2. Do I have good relationships with the neighbours of my garden? Q3. To what kind of activities in my garden can I invite them?

Share knowledge and materials

Share your knowledge and interests: try to network with gardeners from different gardens in order to learn more about interests you have in common. You can think of organising joint activities among gardeners in your plot or your garden colony about gardening, permaculture, tree pruning, biodiversity, adapting to climate change, plant and animal species, and bees.

Share materials and facilities with other gardeners in order to improve a circular and sustainable use of the resources. You can announce on the garden information board or social media that you have some materials to share, e.g. compost, gardening tools, water collectors. You can exchange seeds, unused garden equipment or scrap materials to reuse.

Q1. What do we have in common? Q2. What can we share? Q3. What can we learn from each other?

Promote your activities

Check if there are institutions or NGOs in the neighbourhood. Try to establish co-operation with them. Warsaw: Cultural Centres, Local Activity Centres (MAL), Senior Clubs, schools. Berlin: Quartiersmanagement (QM), Kiez associations, schools, the local Bezirksamt.

1.2. Being part of a network get in touch with a network of gardeners in your city

Get information about other gardens in your city, get in touch with them. Attend events organised by both types of gardens. Check if your garden is already part of at least one of these networks in your city. Some gardens are comfortable with online tools and share their information via social networks. This way, communication between different realities is more immediate.

Q1 Do I know any garden networks? Are they active? What do they do? Q2 Is my garden a part of any garden network? Q3 How to reach out to other gardens?

Share interests and cope with common struggles

Find ways to exchange information on your interests or struggles with other gardeners. Organise garden events (workshops, celebrations, discussions, common work) with other gardeners; Create an online communication channel or platform; Act together for the sake of urban gardens in a joint action such as writing a petition, organising a campaign or creating a common manifesto. You can get inspired by learning about common AG and CG actions done so far (both in your city and elsewhere). Furthermore, get up to date with developments of urban gardening in your city and understand what the most important issues are. Worth checking: Warsaw CG: Bujna Warszawa. Warsaw AG: Polski Związek Działkowców, Okręg Mazowiecki PZD, Bujna Warszawa (Naprzód działki).

Berlin CG: Netzwerk Urbane Gärten Berlin, Antstiftung, Berlin Gartenkarte, Plattform Produktives Stadtgrün by Berlin Senate’s, Urban Gardening Manifest. Berlin AG: Landesverband Berlin der Gartenfreunde, Bezirksverband der Gartenfreunde. Berlin AG and CG: Forum Stadtgärtnern, Berlin Braucht mehr Gärten activist campaign.

Q1 What are our biggest struggles, shared by AG and CG? Q2 Can we learn from our struggles and the ways we deal with them? Q3 Can we support each other in our struggles? Q4 What kind of interests do we have in common with the other garden type?

Recommendations for the authorities: (PZD, Gartenfreunde e.V., City Greenery Authorities, Municipality Authorities) Take part in events organised by the urban gardens networks and be in dialogue with both community and allotment gardens. As an AG umbrella organisation, try to arrange meetings with CG representatives to see how you could co-operate strategically.

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opening of allotment gardens

In order to be integrated socially, culturally and spatially, AGs must be prepared to welcome people into their colony. This implies two types of actions: organising open activities involving members of the colony and external public, and opening the gates of the colony. This second part of the toolkit proposes how AGs can gradually become inclusive spaces.

It should be pointed out that allotment gardens in Berlin should by law keep their gates open to ensure public use of the area, although this is not always the case. The opening of the gates in Warsaw is not regulated and most allotments are permanently closed to the public. In both cities, however, the opening of gates leads to security and space management issues that affect communities and which also need to be addressed by garden administrations. This direction seems necessary to ensure saving AGs’ further existence.

2.1. Opening practices Build an active group in your colony Build a group that is interested in creating a project in an allotment. You can announce it on the information board or general plenum. Develop preliminary ideas for the future project that will welcome people from outside, such as nature walks in the garden, crop and seed exchanges, visits to plots, celebrating gardening holidays together, compost workshops, or ‘seeking spring’ workshops for children.

Work on the first ideas Present your ideas to the community of gardeners.

Try to answer the questions together: Q1. Would potential external guests be able to find information about an event you organize? Do you have an information board or a website? Making your garden more visible will help people to find it more easily. Q2. Do you have a good infrastructure in your garden to invite guests? Think about paved paths, good alley markings and map, lighting and creating a place where guests can shelter in case of rain.

Map local actors If you are thinking of making a piece of land available for external groups, map local institutions (e.g. schools or kindergardens) and inform them about the idea (more in section 3 of the toolkit). It is good to think about acting locally. Make contact with local actors interested in joint projects, like local Community Centre, NGO, Senior Club, school, cultural institution. Try to get in touch with the local community garden. They have experience in working with communities. They can share it or even get involved in organizing workshops about e.g. permaculture or composting. Perhaps you can think of organizing something together. Ensure funding for the project implementation (optional) It is not necessary, but it can help to sustain the project. Possible funding and/or support: Warsaw: city or voivodeship funding for ecological projects (funding), Bujna Warszawa (tutoring), small grant offered by NGOs; Berlin: Landesverban Gartenfreunde. Meet regularly within committee group, and At first carry out small activities Brainstorming ideas for the project. In the beginning it is worth thinking about something simple that does not require much effort, such as: Building a shelf outside the garden for surplus harvests from the plots; An information board with interesting stories about the history of the colony;

Organising a workshop on how to help hedgehogs or birds in the city; Organising a seeds swap; Community gardeners might be interested in these activities! Use your garden’s resources, through things like organising a walk in the garden where you visit others gardeners’ plots, or getting in touch with a local school and invite them for a gardening lesson. Promoting the activity Select groups you want to address your activity towards and invite them to the garden. This could be neighbours, community gardeners, or a local group of bird watchers. Remember to always inform plot holders about the idea of activities for gardeners of your colony. They can also offer you help or suggest ideas as to how to make the garden more open. You can use posters for promoting activities and put them on the gate to your garden, on the information boards, local shops, cafés or institutions.

2.2 Opening up the garden Make your garden welcoming to other people Once a year: organise celebrations in your garden. Open the gates and let the public in. Warsaw: The Allotment Gardeners Day (Dzień Działkowca) is an opportunity to show your crops and plots and have a talk about different ways of gardening or composting. Berlin: Long day of the cityNature (Langer Tag der StadtNatur); promote your garden as a natural space to be admired and experienced. Once a month: hold a community event at your colony in which people from the outside can participate. It is a good way to connect with people interested in your garden and overcome prejudices about strangers. Examples include nature walks in the garden, crop and seed exchanges, visits to plots, celebrating gardening holidays together, compost workshops.

Once a week: open the gates during the weekends. The weekend is usually the time when there are the most active gardeners in the colonies. This is a good time to show off your community and your common areas to the public. You also have a way to get to know your visitors and control the influx of people.

Q1. Do we know people who are interested in entering the AGs? Q2. What are the real reasons for permanently closing the colony apart from vandalism? Q3. How can the issue of vandalism be solved?

Make inner paths and common spaces accessible Equip interior pathways and common areas with benches or playground equipment. Let the inner paths and common spaces be places to be admired for their nature. Maintain paths and common spaces but allow wildlife to grow. This will encourage nature lovers to willingly enter the colonies and help these spaces to function as areas which are to be preserved for their biodiversity. Make the crossing of your colonies safe and accessible. Make your colony a space of solidarity. Use common spaces to share and donate products and items you no longer use.

Warsaw: Apply for funding via MIAD (Mazowiecki Instrument Aktywizacji Działkowców) for the improvement of the infrastructure inside the garden. Local authorities might also help you to renovate paths in exchange for opening the garden for residents on certain days or times (case of ROD Park Dolny).

Q1. What can people enjoy in our garden? Q2. How can our garden be accessible? Q3. How can our garden be inclusive?

2.3 Next steps Summarise your work in the garden

Q1. Who did you successfully invite to the gardens? Q2. How well is your co-operation with the garden management and the allotment gardeners functioning? Plan future actions Think ahead as to how your actions can unite allotment holders for the common cause of opening your garden:

Q1. Are you ready to keep your gardens open? Q2. Are you able to organise events in the garden? Do you need support from outside groups such as community practitioners or community gardeners?

Try to build a group of active gardeners and propose the management to establish a committee that will be responsible for communication and open activities in the garden. Network with local initiatives. Think about funding for future projects and infrastructure. Recommendations to the authorities: Promote programs for opening the AG that include financial incentives and material support. Provide a legal framework that will regulate the opening of allotments, ensuring their safety.

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common use of a plot in an allotment garden

A community usage of a plot within the allotment by an outside group of people is an opportunity to more equitably redistribute the natural resources available for gardening in the city. It is also a way of strengthening unique relations and alliances among gardeners, and enhancing the exchange of experience and knowledge. It fosters a sustainable and durable development of allotment colonies. Two options are presented in this part of the toolkit: when the community plot is initiated by the board members and when it is an initiative of an external group.

3.1 Establishing a community garden in your allotment garden as a board member Preparing the ground: Check possible space in the garden Before you start planning and decision-making, check if you have an area for community gardening inside the colony. This could be a part of a common area, reclaimed for gardening purposes (e.g. around the clubhouse - Vereinshaus, Dom Działkowca) or on a free and/or neglected plot. Warsaw: The plot can be made available for an external group or association (NGO) on the basis of a loan agreement (dzierżawa). In case of a plot whose owner is not able to take care of it, a plot keeper (opiekun działki) can be found and a yearly agreement, approved by the garden board, can be signed.

Berlin: There are several legal ways to facilitate the usage of the plot by more people. One person can rent the plot from the AG association and signs a user contract (Nutzungsvertrag) with further users of the plot. Another method is when the AG association rents the plot itself, that means paying for it themselves, and allows external groups to use it. There can be a tenancy contract with an external association (NGO) or a usage agreement (Nutzungsvereinbarung) of every person from the CG with the AG association. Make sure that you have the support of the colony community for the idea Discuss the idea with the other executive board members, get their support and develop a concept together. In preparation for the next General Assembly (Mitgliederversammlung/Zebranie Walne), inform all the fellow gardeners and then bring about a decision in the General Assembly if necessary. Inspire the garden community by presenting similar projects (e.g. from this brochure) and show the benefits of the idea of a common plot. The main argument is always, especially for threatened colonies, that it contributes to the safeguarding of the colony.

Set the general framework of the community plot functioning, and get permissions if needed Check if you need some permission from any authority (city administration, the garden association/umbrella organisation). Warsaw: Get to know the law and programmes applicable to allotment gardens (Act on Family Allotments, 2013, Art. 3 s. 10) and the Open Programme of Modern Development and Use of Plots (2019). You can inform the PZD (Mazovian branch) about your plans and ask for suggestions about target groups. They can help you to promote your initiative. Berlin: In order to set up a CG in your AG, you need permission from the District Allotment Gardens Association (Bezirksverband der Gartenfreunde) and in addition in some cases, depending on your district, the District Office (Bezirksamt) as the owner of the land. Presenting a quite detailed concept of your idea may be obligatory.

Ensure financing and other material resources for the common plot Ask allotment gardeners in your colony whether they have some unnecessary materials, tools or plants they could donate; Check if there is some community garden in your area that has some materials to share; Decide if you would like to apply for some additional funds for the community plot. You can attempt to procure grants from: Berlin: Anstiftung, the Berlin Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection (via Bezirksverband der Gartenfreunde). Warsaw: Bujna Warszawa is supporting and tutoring newly established community gardens.

Find or form a group interested in creating a CG Make your offer of community gardening known publicly, tailored to your target group: If you are thinking of organisations or institutions like schools, kindergarten, homes for the elderly or local cultural centres, get into contact with those in the neighbourhood. Inform them about your idea and invite them to the gardens. If you are thinking of forming an open group, make a date for an initial meeting known by advertising it on your noticeboards, fences, your website, social media or newsletter. Try to get in touch with community gardeners. They may be willing to give you some advice and share their experience in engaging the community and reaching out to local groups. Berlin: You can inform allotment garden applicants from the waiting list of your garden association ﹣ they might be interested in joining the community plot. Agree on rules between the allotment association and the group to use the garden Is your colony gated? How will the plot users get in? Will you give them keys? Do you need some materials in order to get the garden started? Can you use

some materials available in the colony? Can other gardeners help you? What kind of contract do you sign with the members? Is there any fee to use the garden? Or will the group only pay for water and waste management? How much responsibility and duties do you give the group leader? How much freedom do you leave to the group? How do you ensure that they follow the rules of the garden? Do you agree to have a stable group, or you would like to change it every season? Ask for advice about creating a community plot in your colony community gardeners or other AG colonies board members with experience of running a common plot in their colonies. THINK ABOUT HOW TO: Provide access to the storage of tools, and the toilet; Label the plants on the beds; Organise regular watering, especially in the summer holiday period; Share the space: should there be small individual parts or one common plot? Getting started Depending on the group and the rules worked out together, the creation of a garden can proceed in different ways. New gardeners should feel that it is their piece of land, and on the other hand that they are aware of being part of the garden colony. Try to involve them in the life and affairs of the whole garden. It may be the case that they can share some skills and help you to apply for funding or run a website of your colony. Help community plot users get integrated into the colony Provide good communication channels. Invite the community plot users for common celebrations, meetings and the general plenum. Try to help them get more integrated; at the same time leave them room for their independence and freedom. Make sure there is continuity in running the plot The different members’ enthusiasm may decrease with time. Monitor people’s engagement in the project. Consider giving more responsibility to the most constantly engaged people. Ask if they need some help or support.

Evaluation and plans for the future At the end of the season the group should discuss the issue of what worked well and what could be improved. Be sensitive both to the feedback of the users of a common plot and also of other gardeners about the initiative. How would you wish the group and the project to develop? Do you see the need to establish a new common plot(s)? With which groups could you establish permanent co-operation? Do you know any community gardens which could help or advise you with some issues you had with the community plot? 3.2. Establishing a community garden in an allotment garden by an outside group Preparing the ground Find people interested in gardening inside AG colony Map allotment gardens in your proximity. You can use the information provided by the PZD and Bujna Warszawa, Naprzód Działki (Warsaw) and Kleingartenentwicklungsplan or Senate Website (Berlin). Try to find out if you know any allotment gardeners – this might help you to get access to the garden and build allies of your idea. Go to a community garden. Observe how they organise their work. Ask for tips. Contact the management of the selected garden Present the idea of community gardening and explain how such a garden might work in the allotments, using examples of such practices (see Good practices, pages 20-23). If the management is supportive, try to decide upon a location together (see page 46, Check possible space in the garden’) and sign the agreement. Map of the area of the garden Find out about common resources you can have access to: water supply, a communal compost box, a place where gardeners dispose of branches. Ask gardeners and management for unused things like: wood, old boxes etc. – maybe you can use some of them in the garden. Think about what you can do together with the gardeners.

Meet with the gardeners Have a regular walk in the garden and inform allotment gardeners about your future garden. Try to be visible in the garden. Check the time of the next General Assembly of the garden and try to participate in it. Present the idea to the community there or at other occasion.

Getting started Organize meetings in the garden Organise the first open meeting in your new established community garden and introduce yourself to the gardeners. Show your ideas and plans and share your doubts. Older gardeners are experienced and can share their knowledge. This will serve as a great opportunity to integrate or think about some future collaboration. Try to build a group of allies within the community who will be supporting your project and keep in touch with them. Ask your friendly allotment holder neighbours if they can help you with watering or opening the green house in the morning while you are away. Offer them your help as well. Gardening and teamwork To help to organise your teamwork, set up gardening regulations/a manifesto. Try to think about group decision-making. If you need organisational support, you can try to get in touch with community gardeners. They can share their experience through the organisation of a community. Evaluate and plan the future Summarize your work in the garden so far

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Q1. How is your co-operation with the management and the allotment gardeners going? Q2. Do you inform the garden community about your activities? Q3. Do you also inform people from outside the garden?

Next steps Try to network with other community gardening initiatives. Invite them to your garden and show them around the colony. Organise common projects and activities with gardeners, such as seed exchange, garden archive, etc. Do not forget to celebrate. There are plenty of reasons to organise something together with allotment and community gardeners, e.g. seeds days, harvest days, Summer Solstice. Recommendations to the authorities: Help to promote the AG among the residents and show that they are inclusive places. Work to give official legal status to community gardens, so that their activities are recognised by the administration and their position and prospects in the city can be independent of other green infrastructure.

Websites of institutions, organizations and programs mentioned in the toolkit: Warsaw: Bujna Warszawa http://bujnawarszawa.pl Polski Związek Działkowców http://pzd.pl/ Okręg Mazowiecki PZD http://mazowiecki.pzd.pl/ Biuro Architektury i Planowania Przestrzennego http://www.architektura.um.warszawa.pl/ Berlin: Netzwerk Urbane Gärten Berlin https://www.netzwerkurbanegaertenberlin.org/ Antstiftung urbane-gaerten.de https://anstiftung.de/ Berlin Gartenkarte by Kollektiv Orangotango https://gartenkarte.de/#!index.md Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr und Klimaschutz Kleingärten https://www.berlin.de/sen/uvk/natur-und-gruen/stadtgruen/gaertnern-inder-stadt/kleingaerten/ Plattform Produktives Stadtgrün https://www.berlin.de/gemeinschaftsgaertnern/ Landesverband Berlin der Gartenfreunde e. V. https://www.gartenfreunde-berlin.de/ Bezirksverband der Gartenfreunde https://www.gartenfreunde-berlin.de/ueber-uns/mitgliedsverbaende

GARDENS IN WARSAW AND BERLIN Basic data on allotment and community gardens in two cities

BERLIN category LAND

aspect

NUMBERS

877 AG associations

over 200

151 AG

Around 25

2900 hectares 3% city’s surface

Accurate data not available

1060 hectares 2% city’s surface

Accurate data not available

City of Warsaw

City of Warsaw (leased by Real Estate Management, Co-operatives)

1902 (ROD Obrońców Pokoju)

2014 (Motyka i Słońce)

OF GARDENS OVERALL GARDEN AREA

LAND OWNERSHIP

ORGANISATION

DATE OF FIRST GARDEN’S FOUNDATION SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

¾ City of Berlin, ¼ Private - City of Berlin owners including - Private owners Bahn-Landwirtschaft 1887 (Zur Linde)

Recognised as AG in spatial planning (Ger. STATUS/ RECOGNITION Flächennutzungsplan) LEGAL

LAW

RENT PRICES REGULATION INTEGRATION

City programmes bottom up-Initiatives

1999 (Kids’ Garden)

Der Landes - und - Anstiftung Bundesverband - Netzwerk Deutscher Urbane Gärten Gartenfreunde. Berlin V., BDG

LEGAL ASPECTS

WARSAW

Not recognised

- Polski Związek Rada Ogrodów Działkowców Społecznościo- PZD Mazovia wych District Recognised in Zoning Plans (category ZDAllotment Gardens Greenery). Not recognised in Spatial Development Plans.

Not recognised

Bundeskleingartengesetz (1983)

Not regulated by law

Act on Family Allotments (2013)

Not regulated by law

0.36 € /m² per year

It depends on the internal arrangements of the gardeners

No regulations on plots prices – free market rules

It depends on the internal arrangements of the gardeners

Berlin Senate: “Mehrfachnutzung” program

Bujna Warszawa

Forum Stadtgärtnern

Naprzód Działki

URBAN GARDENS OF THE FUTURE IDEAS, VISIONS AND FUTURE Agnieszka, CG Modraszka

It would be nice to use those large spaces on the roofs of blocks of flats, especially since we have small balconies. I regret that I cannot fit anything on mine.

Mrs. Sława, AG Pratulinska

I wish that there would be more CG. I wish that they could be near parks in these areas of ours. These old districts are not so dense, so there are possibilities that something else could be developed, something new could be planted.

Agnieszka, CG Zasiejówka in AG

It looks like it will be inevitable that urban gardens will thrive. People will need to go out, to grow; they will need to eat and recover from crisis. [...] I think that urban gardening is a trend too, and it comes from a compulsion, a need. Soon, they will be planting these plants everywhere, I believe. Mila, CG Zasiejówka in AG

It would be nice if there were groups of volunteers who looked after a piece of greenery. When I came back from London, I obsessively wanted every school to have a garden and every child to plant a plant. I think that lessons in nature, chemistry or physics should take place in gardens [...] It would be a good idea to create community gardens in designated places in parks, and also to combine allotment gardens and cultivate horticulture there. It would be nice if such an allotment house was a place to promote and spread good practice. This is a good resource that is already available.

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Maciek, CG Motyka i Słońce

I do not know if the allotments will survive. Maybe some will be annexed be annexed by the city and developers? It depends on weather whether the allotments can prove that they serve a wider purpose. Maybe new or different allotment areas will be created for example multi-purpose parks with allotment gardens without fences.

Barbara Frydrychewicz

In the 21st century, it is impossible for allotment gardens to function as a place for allotment holders only. The residents of neighbouring housing estates must also find their place in the gardens (part of the interview for warszawa.pl, with Jerzy Gierszewski)

Paweł, AG Sigma-Bartycka

Given the deficit of green space in the city, the gardens should open up. If they do that, they have a better chance of remaining. Decision-makers must take into account the will of the people. [...] I think this is needed if we do not want to end up in a concrete jungle. For me, the place for community gardening is allotments, as long as the people there are willing. There is space in such locations where such activities can take place. [...] We have this idea to open this garden in the future, to build a bond and community, in order that in the event of liquidation attempts, there will be a community.

Birgit, CG in AG Am Stadtpark I

There are many examples. More and more people want a garden or more nature in the city. As a consequence, urban gardens are everywhere.

Gabriele, AG Am Stadpark I

For urban gardens of the future, the AGs should make more space for community gardens, especially big colonies.

Toni, Berlin Senate Administration

We can make the city green, this would be my vision. However not only as decoration but also for harvesting, either social- or plant-wise.

Antonia, AG Harztal-Wilde Rose

In AGs, people should pay attention that they manage their garden more ecologically. We should think more circularly. It gives us the right to exist when we say that we contribute to urban nature, while with a lawn we contribute nothing. AGs raise awareness about nature but also for the cultivation of food, by growing something oneself.

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Kerstin, activist

Gardens of the future? Sustainable and permanently protected ones, diverse ones, learning and developing ones, inclusive ones, based-on ecological gardening ones, feminist ones!

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Stefan, CG Peace of Land

I would like urban gardens to be equally distributed among the population and to be accessible to all. I hope that they will become official places for permaculture and ecology education including for schools. This way gardeners could receive a permanent income from this work. Gardens can become places to produce our own energy, reuse water... that would be my dream.

Johannes, CG Himmelbeet

It would be great to have in future more and more urban community gardens that are highly accepted due to an open dialogue and trustful co-operation with their neighborhood together with representatives from politics and the city administration. This would make their work much easier and give them promising perspectives.

Am stadtpark I, BERLIN

motyka i słońce, warsaw

fort bema, warsaw

park Am gleisdreieck 19, BERLIN

rosenduft, BERLIN

Guide to Fostering Cooperation for Integrated Forms of Urban Gardening (ENG)

Articles inside

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