Our handbook “INVENTORY OF NATURE-BASED INNOVATIONS” is finally here!
As part of the NABI project, together with our international partners, we collected exemplary practices from municipalities that applied innovative solutions in the area of green space and rainwater in this online publication. The nature-based solutions presented focus on good examples of green space management, urban forests, rainwater collection, biodiversity enhancement, as well as blue and green infrastructure schemes and other examples from all over Europe.
NABI – Nature-based Innovations for Urban Green and Stormwater Management is an Erasmus + Project in cooperation with the partners: Reflex Environmental Association (Hungary), Cospe – Cooperazione per lo Sviluppo dei Paesi Emergenti Onlus (Italy), Klimabündnis Österreich Gemeinnützige Förderungs- und Beratungs GmbH (Austria), FocusEco Center (Romania), Istarska Razvojna Agencija (Croatia).
Here you can find the handbook.
The international Milan Furniture Fair “Salone del Mobile” is not limited to designers with world fame and paying audience in the exhibition halls, but also offers a stage for the new generation in the creative scene. During the “Milan Design Week” various districts of Milan are transformed for a week into a showcase for young creatives, craftsmen and designers, this year from 05 to 10 September 2021.
Also present this year was the Freiburg [p3] lab, which enables young people with a refugee and migrant background to enter the world of work as carpenters and at the same time makes a name for itself with innovative designs. One of the lighthouse projects, a mobile kitchen as a bicycle trailer had been selected as part of the exhibition of the cooperative exhibition “Multicultural Intelligence” organized by the Interreg project SEE ME IN. Through the coordination of the Municipality of Milan and the Fondazione Politecnico, the cultural center La Stecca 3.0. in the “Design District Isola” was chosen to host the exhibition.
Through our project SEE ME IN we had the opportunity to enable the participation of the [p3] lab. Four other companies were selected from the other project partners:
- Ke Chic (Italy), an Italian-Sengali textile design collective based in Milan, which also decorated the exhibition space at Stecca 3.0 to become the “African House”
- Puro Amor (Croatia), a Peruvian-born artist with a passion for Croatian wordplay
- Multipraktik (Hungary), furniture and plywood creations from Serbian-Hungarian inspiration
- Djeliso (Italy), workshop and courses for African musical instruments in cooperation between artists from Burkina Faso and Italy
On the evening of September 08, 2021 there was a public stage at La Stecca 3.0 for those involved in the exhibition “Multicultural Intelligence”. Under the moderation of Andrea Philipp individual ways and creative business concepts of the craftsmen and artists became clear, some hurdles that still have to be overcome, but also potentials. Some of these could already be tapped in the exchange among the temporary project design collective, others became visible in expert discussions with successful companies. Last but not least, the tours of the “Design Districts” accompanied by the Milan organizers and the visit to the official furniture fair “Salone del Mobile” provided further inspiration and contacts. The [p3] workshop also considered its participation in the Design Week a great success and will certainly turn some of the ideas, impulses and contacts into new innovations in its multicultural wood and metal workshop.

Nichts berührt uns alle so sehr wie unsere Kleidung – verschiedenste Textilfasern, die unsere Haut jeden Tag rund um die Uhr schützend umgarnen, wärmen oder beschatten und uns dabei wohl und schön fühlen lassen. Manchmal jedoch juckt, kneift oder zwickt unsere Kleidung aber auch, und zwar nicht nur unsere Haut, sondern auch unser Gewissen. Erschreckende Meldungen über Anbau- und Produktionsbedingungen, von einstürzenden Nähfabriken und vergifteten Flüssen tragen dazu bei. Was steckt dahinter und was können wir tun, um uns wohl in unserer (zweiten) Haut zu fühlen?
Mit dieser Workshop-Reihe wollen wir von aiforia GmbH & e.V., Lernort Kunzenhof e.V. und Doris Brose Schnittkonzept den Weg von den Rohstoffen zur Kleidung verfolgen – ganz praktisch und aktiv – und dabei die Entwicklungen der Textilindustrie und Modeszene beleuchten.
Die geplanten Termine sind: 18. Juni, 25 .Juni, 09. Juli und 16. Juli (jeweils Freitag 13-18 Uhr) mit folgenden Themen:
18. Juni: Stroh zu Gold (Das Hemd aus dem eigenen Garten): In diesem Workshop lernen wir unsere einheimischen Natur-Textilfasern wieder kennen. (Ort: Kunzenhof)
25. Juni: Der Grüne Knopf an der Mode (Zubehör und Verarbeitung): In einem gemeinsamen Rundgang durch die Innenstadt treffen wir auf AkteurInnen, die sich mit Verarbeitung und Handel von Mode auskennen, und explizit auch mit Nachhaltigkeitsfragen bei der Textilproduktion. Wir erfahren, worauf wir beim Kauf von Kleidung achten können, wenn uns ökologische Materialien und faire Arbeitsbedingungen am Herzen liegen. Was verbirgt sich hinter den verschiedenen Gütesiegeln und „grünen“ Labels? (Ort: Innenstadt)
09. Juli: Von Farben und Fäden: In diesem Workshop werden wir ganz praktisch das atemberaubende Handwerk der Pflanzenfärberei kennenlernen. (Ort: Kunzenhof)
16. Juli: Kleidung nachhaltig nutzen (Re-/ Upcycling Workshop). (Ort: VHS im Colombi-Eck)
Der Kurs ist begrenzt auf 8 TeilnehmerInnen, damit der Gesundheit aller Sorge getragen werden kann. Wir würden die Termine nur verlegen wollen (Herbst 2021 oder Frühjahr 2022), falls die jeweils aktuellen Vorgaben es erfordern.
Anmeldungen für die Workshop-Reihe nehmen wir am liebsten per eMail an info@aiforia.eu entgegen, sind aber auch telefonisch erreichbar unter 0761-45877832 (ggf. Name und Tel.Nr. hinterlassen, damit wir zurückrufen können).

Das Projekt wird gefördert durch den BNE-Fonds der Stadt Freiburg.
In cooperation with the Green City Office and the partner agencies, aiforia will organise Green City Dialogues with Freiburg and its sister cities in the upcoming months.
The objective is to promote the exchange of ideas and best practices with regard to the main urban challenges. Save the date!
Save the Date_Green City Dialogues 2021-1
Intrigued by the immense resiliency capacity of natural ecosystems, our team is delighted to join a new endeavour to explore “Nature-Based Innovations for Urban Forest and Rainwater Management” (short: NABI), as is the title of a 3-year project under ERASMUS+ programme. December 14 has seen the official, yet virtual kick-off meeting with 5 more organisations and institutions from all over Europe (Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy and Romania respectively): a great warm-up on the topic with partners sharing examples, discussing definitions and framing the context of Nature-Based Innovations to be focussed on. Schemes for water retention, increased biodiversity and sustainable forest management shall be amongst them.
In a first step, we will study good practice examples from all over Germany (and partners’ countries) and assess them for adaptability. Such Nature-Based Innovations case studies shall feed the development of a learning manual to support local decision-makers and experts, showcasing innovations in urban green space management and exemplary regulation of green space management.
Practicioners and experts in natural resource management, in particular forest and water management are very welcome to get in touch with us and share their experience.
In return, we will organise multiplier events for stakeholders in local communities to inform about the proceeedings an findings, so stay tuned for updates on NABI on our website and facebook!
Contact: info@aiforia.eu

The NABI project consortium joining virtually for the kick-off

Example of urban rainwater management in Freiburg Vauban
We are really happy to see how a day spent together with one of the aiforia experts turns into a splendid article on the city of Freiburg and its 360 ° sustainability.
During a bike tour we accompanied the BBC journalist Kat Barber to visit the emblematic places of the city, that make it clear where the name Green City takes its origins from.
The article ends with unanswered question: “So, what does the future hold for a city already pushing the envelope? “… Aiforia can only tell you to stay tuned and find out together the many new projects that this city still has in store!
We thank Kat Barber again for relying on our experience and for having managed to enclose the essence of Freiburg and our visits in her article.
To read the full article: http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200715-freiburg-germanys-futuristic-city-set-in-a-forest
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