Call for Pilot projects: Green Spaces as an ‘Ecosystem of Care’

> Open Call Guidelines (.pdf)

call for projects: Green Spaces as an ‘Ecosystem of Care’

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown how widely green spaces contribute to urbans’ wellbeing. It has also highlighted how access to green spaces is unequal! Depending on factors such as social class, socioeconomic status, ethnicity or even gender, community residents are more or less able to enjoy green spaces in their everyday life. Some groups of people won’t even perceive these areas as a place of wellbeing.

What do we call a Green space? We of course generally think of the green space itself and its structures: public furniture, sports facilities, etc. Within the RESISTIRÉ project, we focus on the ways in which a green space is used. This refers to the activities that take place there, but also to the users, and the timing of its use. Considering everyone’s needs, and more specifically those of vulnerable groups in the area, various programmes could be implemented and adapted in a participatory way.

Pilot projects developed within RESISTIRÉ should promote inclusiveness and contribute to developing a green spaces as an ‘Ecosystem of Care’. Considered as an expansion of the ‘home realm’, problems and needs for care can be addressed with the support of the community. This ‘Ecosystem of Care’ not only refers to  care of the individual, it also recognises and cares for groups that are typically discouraged from going to parks or using green spaces. An ‘Ecosystem of Care’ also addresses the natural inhabitants of green spaces and embraces the need to protect wildlife. Finally, it also refers to democratic care and conflict resolution.

What sort of projects are we looking for?

We are calling on civil society organisations to submit one to two projects that could transform green spaces into an ‘Ecosystem of Care’ through the development and implementation of programmes that make all users, and in particular vulnerable groups (from a gender+ perspective), feel welcome and able to access green spaces. 

This pilot project has three main specific objectives:

• To identify diverse community members who could use a specific green space and to identify their respective needs;
• To formulate an agenda/plan, based on the above findings, that provides a clear programme of activities for the local community, especially people from vulnerable groups;
• To implement, communicate and evaluate this plan to assess its strengths and weaknesses, measure the increased use by vulnerable groups, as well as capture feedback from community members.

Particular attention should be paid to the role of care in this process: one of the ways in which this project tries to create more inclusive green spaces is to address the issues people are facing in a collective and holistic way, thereby creating a caring environment and strengthening local ties and solidarity.

The project should make use of a participatory approach, meaning that the programming should be inspired by and based on the involvement and contributions of local communities and users of the space.

what do we hope to achieve by funding this project?

The outcome of the project should be:

• A programme of green space activities, able to attract a diverse range of users from the local community,
• Vulnerable groups (from a gender+ perspective) are specifically targeted and involved in the programming of the space and in the creation of new social networks.
• The surrounding areas are positively affected in terms of inclusiveness, participation, collaboration and solidarity. The local community is reinforced and durable social networks are built.

Timeframe and funding

The pilot project should run from February 2022 until August 2022. The actual realisation of the programme should last from 4 to 10 months.

We are expecting proposals with a budget of around 20,000 € and intend to fund up to two proposals.

Who can apply?

Funding is available to legal entities established in EU Member States, as well as in the UK, Serbia, Iceland, and Turkey.

Eligible applicants are non-governmental organisations, associations from civil society and municipalities involved in the field of urban environmental justice, socio-cultural activities and cohesion, gender and women’s rights, human rights, etc.

Do you have a question?