Garden Workers in the “Plant Nursery”

The project is implemented by the Plato NGO that has been operating since 2019. The team pursues the objective to implement a comprehensive climate policy in Lviv, where the community members participate in climate adaptation effort for the city. 

The project’s aim is to co-create through gardening and horticulture in urbanized spaces.

Actuality and Significance 

According to the last year’s KIIS survey, three quarters (78%) of adult citizens of Ukraine would like to engage in gardening. At the same time, the most frequently stated reason for not doing it was the lack of a land plot, lack of money and knowledge. 

Since plant growing is part of Ukrainian identity, many believe that cultivating an orchard or a garden can only be possible in rural areas, for food provision. However, in response to the fast pace of urbanization, gardens and orchards, as well as farms, are becoming a more common phenomenon in cities. In the process of plant growing, they can also be used for awareness-raising, co-creation, and therapy.

An illustration for such a space in Lviv is the “Plant Nursery” launched in 2021 on the territory of the former flower farm in the Zalizna Voda park. In two years, the project’s volunteers and partners have taken away over 18 trucks of waste from the random waste site. They made 14 patches to grow vegetables and decorative plants. They built 4 types of composters and a stage for events. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion alone, the space conducted over 40 garden therapy sessions engaging over 1300 persons, including IDPs. It is a meeting place for visitors of different age, gender, social status, and interests. The space grows plants and cultivates human relations.

What for? 

The project is implemented to share the practices and effective formats of modern urban gardening and horticulture.

Focus areas

• socio cultural practices
• engagement and co-creation
• adaptivity
• educational eco initiatives 
• information and advocacy campaigns

Who and With Who?

The project targets local actors interested in community building and developing green spaces in the city. They are community residents, members of small communities (residential condominiums, schools, initiative groups, etc.).

Change Brought by the Project

• promoting the idea of smart consumption of natural resources;
• promoting the spirit of urban gardening and horticulture;
• promoting local growing;
• supporting strategic partnerships among civil society and local self-governments;
• developing good neighborly culture.

The project is implemented by the Plato NGO with financial support from ЗMIN under the Grant Program 2023.

Photos: Plato