URBAN - Engaging youth with Urban Gardening Activities

 

Challenge

Community urban gardens are gardens operated jointly and through volunteer commitment, offering a space where social inclusion, community spirit, learning and solidarity could be strengthened. Urban gardens provide an opportunity for constructive activities, contributions to the community, relationship building and interpersonal skills development. Moreover, urban gardening contributes to the climate change adaptation and the ecosystem dimension.

In this context, URBAN aims at encouraging the active participation and education of local community members - including vulnerable and threatened with exclusion young people, migrants/refugees - through setting up and maintaining urban gardens and working together in this inclusive environment.

About the project

Urban gardening is a way to stimulate positive and local dynamics and create a sense of community amongst people who believe that the environment plays a fundamental role in the ecosystem and the climate change adaptation. By participating in the setting up and maintenance of urban gardens, vulnerable young people will engage, connect and feel empowered thanks to the knowledge they will acquire.

Additionally, the project will elaborate an innovative educational method to teach soft skills by garden working to future youth farmers, e.g. interpersonal communication, teamwork, management and planning.

 

URBAN aims at:

• Developing training and learning resources, which support the professional development of new and existing practitioners and educators in the field of adult teaching.
• Actively involving local young people threatened of marginalization.
• Developing a training method, programme and methodology, including the training module, based on activities connected with setting up and maintaining urban gardens.

 

Who will benefit?

• Vulnerable and threatened of exclusion young people
• Youth with migrant/refugee background
• Young people that face economic obstacles or come from rural areas
• Trainers, members of organizations

Action

URBAN eco urban gardening handbook

The handbook for youth will be a useful resource of practical information for the direct implementation of innovative methods and approaches in urban gardening methodologies. It intends to provide a tangible roadmap, with technical assistance directions, to guide youth and local communities towards their goal of a sustainable community garden. The handbook will contain a set of practical tools and methods adapted to the specific needs of trained youth in the field – and other beneficiaries of the project – to be applied in organizations, services and professional activities related.

Curriculum & training manual on provision of urban gardening training for trainers

The manual will guide trainers to better approach and guide youth participants who want to be educated in the field of urban agriculture activities. The trainer’s manual will examine the overall process, roles and skills involved in urban agriculture activities and aims to provide the trainers with a good understanding of the training journey. 

Training course curriculum on urban gardening for youth

The training course curriculum will be dedicated to urban gardening as a means to support social inclusion and community development. The aim is to design and develop a youth training programme for young people who want to know more, be trained and get involved in urban agriculture activities.

App & training platform

The platform that will be developed, will be compatible with desktop and mobile devices, will include case studies and training modules providing the knowledge needed to create an urban garden and turn it into a meeting point for social integration, as well as important tips and info for future youth urban gardeners.

URBAN training course for youth and hands-on workshops

The purpose of piloting the curriculum as a training course is to make sure the curriculum is effective, and to make the changes and adjustments before it is distributed widely. Thus, the information gathered from the pilot will be used to strengthen and improve the course content, materials, etc. Training sessions will take place in each partner country and will be based on the blended learning approach, including webinars.

Funded by: Erasmus+

Duration: 01/06/2020 - 01/06/2022

Project Partners:

KMOP (GR)

Xwhy (LT)

BUPNET (DE)

KMOP Skopje (MK)

AMADORA INOVA (PT)

 

Contact

For more information visit project web site www.urbangardeningproject.eu