A bit more green

In a time when we have few reasons to go out besides shopping, parks are seeing more walkers than ever. Particularly in cities where you don't normally have the forest on your doorstep, they offer many people a glimmer of peace and quiet in the hustle and bustle of city life. Because all the things that made cities so attractive otherwise came to a standstill last year: no nightclubs, no restaurant visits, no opportunities to meet new people. One might well wish for country life back, which has drawn many students to the city!
A bit more greenery would be nice for that. Especially now, when productivity and industry are preferred to nature in the blink of an eye, that seems like a sensible wish. And that's exactly what many cities are already taking care of: Utrecht in the Netherlands was the first city to plant over 300 bus shelter roofs in the summer of 2020, and many German cities like Berlin and Hamburg have followed suit.

"Urban Gardening" is the name of the trend that wants to bring more greenery to cities. In addition to beautifying the grey urban everyday, the vertical gardens on walls or wildly planted balconies are also meant to improve the microclimate of cities. They can, for example, provide threatened bees with new food sources and even provide better air by binding more CO2. Through the cultivation of fruit, herbs and vegetables, Urban Gardening can also promote the supply of local foodstuffs with local consumption and thus also reduce CO2 emissions. The roots of this movement lie in New York, where so-called Community Gardens have existed since the 1970s. The idea behind it was to combine urban planning with gardening and nutritional policy questions and to implement them in everyday practice. This eventually led to the concept of non-commercial garden projects, which were further boosted by society's increasingly sustainability-oriented approach.
There are also various Urban Gardening projects in Würzburg. In addition to the herb garden, which has found its place in the courtyard of the Cairo Youth Culture House, this also includes the "CampusGarten" of Uni Würzburg. Until recently, it was located at the Students' House on the Hubland, but had to give up this space as the Students' House will be demolished in the near future. However, the Department of Ecology has already been granted a relocation to a new location on the university grounds. Nevertheless, it will still take a while before this becomes available. The garden, which was founded back in 2014, is already making quite an impression. Through its division into self-planting and a constructed rock garden, it is intended to promote biodiversity. In doing so, insect hotels and wildflower meadows provide new habitats for many animals.
Together with the Würzburg Urban Gardening association Stadtgärtner, the Department of Ecology was even able to put together a 2,000 square metre urban garden exhibition for the State Garden Show grounds in 2018. Not without reason, the CampusGarten inspires over 100 students. With its area, which now covers two handball courts, the CampusGarten thus shapes the everyday life of Würzburg University. And that is also urgently necessary. Because in addition to positive effects on the climate and biodiversity in the city, nature can also improve people's mental wellbeing.
The next time you feel exhausted and worn out before the university day with Zoom meetings and lecture recordings has even really started, instead of just opening the window and airing it briefly, you should take a walk in nature. Perhaps in the nearest park?
This can lower heart rate, blood pressure and adrenaline release and thus also reduce the stress that can grip you far too often when you feel in university life that you are not productive enough. That is why you can see: Urban Gardening and a bit more greenery in the city does indeed seem thoroughly sensible.