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Life on land

See how neighbors are turning SDG 15 into everyday action.

Forests, soil, and wild neighbors given room to thrive — rewilding, planting, and protecting living ground.

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Ideas advancing SDG 15: Life on land

Food & Garden Cologne

Get a Biotonne: close the compost loop in Cologne

Get a Biotonne: close the compost loop in Cologne About 40% of what lands in the grey residual bin is compostable organic waste. In Niehl it is burned: costing money, CO₂, and fertile matter that could return to parks and gardens as torffreier Kölner Kompost. What you can do - Ask your landlord for the free brown Biotonne (tenants can use Zero Waste Köln’s postcard template on their project page). - Line the bin with newspaper, keep it in the shade, and skip “compostable” plastic bags: they need industrial conditions Cologne’s plants do not offer. - Buy Kölner Kompost or Blumenerde from AWB/AVG outlets (the Verein advocates more neighbourhood pick-up points). Why it matters Separate bio collection has been mandatory in Germany since 2015, but Cologne households still need to request the bin. Less bio in residual waste can mean a smaller (cheaper) grey bin.

compost circular local

EventFood & Garden Frankfurt

Visit Rhine-Main organic farms this harvest wee in Frankfurt

Visit Rhine-Main organic farms this harvest wee in Frankfurt Dottenfelderhof in Bad Vilbel, Querbeet's Pappelhof in Reichelsheim, and Die Kooperative's Cityfarm in Oberrad open for Foodtura: apple pressing, potato digging, a hen walk, a farm festival, and a free family Sunday with a Schnippelparty in Frankfurt. What you can do - Press juice at the Jahreszeitenwerkstatt (19 September) - Dig your own potatoes at Pappelhof - Meet the hens or join the free Hoffest at Dottenfelderhof - Close the festival at the Familiensonntag on the Cityfarm (free) - Book the Farm to Table dinner at Tonka if you want a long table of Cityfarm vegetables How it works Farm days list prices and booking links on each page. The Hoffest and Familiensonntag are free drop-in. Wear shoes you can get dirty. Why it matters Seeing soil, animals, and harvest in the same week as city kitchens makes regional food feel real.

farm harvest organic

EventRewilding Frankfurt

Photograph insects for Frankfurt biodiversity research

Photograph insects for Frankfurt biodiversity research Frankfurt's Umweltamt supports SLInBio (Städtische Lebensstile und die Inwertsetzung von Biodiversität): researchers from Senckenberg, Goethe University, and neighbourhood partners study how everyday city life connects to insect diversity. Residents can join by uploading insect photos to the Insekten Hessen reporting portal. What you can do - Photograph bees, butterflies, or beetles in your garden, balcony, or park (no faces needed) - Upload sightings through the Insekten Hessen meldeportal - Follow project updates on insektenvielfalt-frankfurt.org and join open events when listed - Visit the Insect Embassy art installation by ISOE and HfG Offenbach to learn why urban insects matter How it works Scientists use crowd-sourced images to map distribution and population trends across Hesse. SLInBio links the data to questions about urban lifestyles, green yards, and shared stewardship with NABU Frankfurt, BioFrankfurt, and the Palmengarten. Why it matters Insects pollinate food, recycle nutrients, and signal healthy neighbourhoods. A few phone photos from many streets beat a lone expert survey.

insects citizen-science biodiversity

Food & Garden Brasilia

Walk Brasília's living agroforest gallery

Walk Brasília's living agroforest gallery Cultiva Lab turns about 6,200 m² between SESI Lab and the Biblioteca Nacional into an open-air agroecology laboratory. Roughly 90 species from four Brazilian biomes (Cerrado, Amazônia, Mata Atlântica, Caatinga) grow together to answer one question in public: can you restore an ecosystem and produce food on the same piece of ground? What you can do - Walk the Cultiva Lab gallery and read its four growth phases as they unfold: pioneer species and first harvests, then ecological succession, vegetation layering, and a mature canopy - Look for the short-cycle food crops planted between the large trees (corn, squash, cassava, vegetables, medicinal herbs) and for the sensors that track soil and climate - Follow the pedagogical trails and mediated activities on soil regeneration, biodiversity, food security, and the relationship between city and nature - Trace circular economy in practice on site: water, nutrient, and material flows are routed back through the system to cut waste How it works The technical design came from IPOEMA (Instituto de Permacultura), structured by forest engineer Cláudio Jacintho, and was approved by IPHAN and the urban-planning bodies. The plot sits inside the GDF Adote uma Praça programme and feeds SESI Lab STEAM and CTSA education. Entry follows museum ticketing, including free first-Sunday admission (Visite). Over five years the project plans residencies for 50 artists and 50 researchers working on soil regeneration, carbon capture, and agroforestry systems. Why it matters The numbers are stated honestly. About 3 to 5 tonnes of food in the first two years go to ten social institutions in the Distrito Federal, and the system is expected to capture roughly 10 tonnes of CO2e a year against the some 700 tonnes the museum's own activity generates. Cultiva Lab is not sold as an offset: it is a measured public experiment showing that food, forest, and culture can share the same ground in the middle of a capital.

agroecology agroforestry biodiversity

VolunteerCommunity Rotterdam

Join Indigeneity Workshops in Rotterdam

Join Indigeneity Workshops in Rotterdam Nieuwe Instituut runs COMPOS workshops in Rotterdam linking compost work to indigeneity talks. Neighbour tip Bring a friend who has never visited before; shared first visits help you remember names, routes, and follow-up events you might skip alone. What you can do in Rotterdam - Ask a volunteer what follow-up dates they recommend for newcomers before you leave the site - Book COMPOS workshop slots on 12 November 2026 from 15:30 (Nieuwe Instituut event) - Visit Museumpark 25 galleries before or after your workshop ticket time - Join facilitator-led conversations on indigeneity, soil, and design ethics listed in the event copy - Explore other institute programmes on ecology and colonial collections when the autumn calendar publishes How to join Tickets were listed around €12.50 per workshop on the organiser page. Purchase through nieuweinstituut.nl; arrive at Museumpark 25 for check-in. FLISoL 2027 Rotterdam city pages were unavailable on the source page - this row uses the confirmed COMPOS programme instead. When & where Nieuwe Instituut, Museumpark 25, Rotterdam, Netherlands. Workshop start 15:30 local time on 12 November 2026 per the organiser listing. Why it matters in Rotterdam Hands-on compost and dialogue in a design museum keeps indigeneity debates tactile instead of abstract, linking urban residents to land stories under their feet. Bring a notebook; details you capture on site help your block organise a return visit or small solidarity fund drive. Good to know - Is this the same as FLISoL? No - FLISoL 2027 city details were missing; COMPOS is the verified public event on the source page. - Do I need gardening clothes? Workshop copy mentions compost work; dress for mess and indoor heat. - Is the museum ticket included? Read the ticket description on the event page for gallery access rules.

Rotterdam Nieuwe Instituut COMPOS

LearnFood & Garden Yaxunah

Loan heirloom seeds like a neighbourhood library

Loan heirloom seeds like a neighbourhood library In Yaxunah, Yucatán, nine women run K'an-Lol ("the flower of good corn" in Yucatec Maya): a community seed bank that loans traditional maize, beans, chilies, and other crops at no cost. Borrowers plant their milpa, harvest, and return fresh seed so the stock stays alive for the next season. Most users are subsistence farmers feeding their families, with small surpluses sometimes reaching local markets. The bank is a library, not a shop: seeds move in circulation instead of sitting in a vault. Fundación Haciendas del Mundo Maya supports the project alongside local volunteers. Surplus garden produce can reach buyers through Traspatio Maya (Instagram). What you can do - Visit Yaxunah when community programmes are open and ask how the seed bank lends and receives maize (see Yucatán Magazine coverage) - Message Traspatio Maya to order a guacal of fresh produce from Yaxunah growers when you are in the region - Replicate the pattern at home: labelled jars, a simple loan ledger, and a rule to return double the borrowed grain if you cannot swap seed immediately (as Yaxcabá neighbours describe for their bank) - Pair seed saving with nixtamalization skills so heirloom maize becomes tortillas and staples again, not just decoration How it works Farmers borrow seed, grow in milpa plots, and return after harvest. Varieties such as nuuk nal (reddish maize) stay in use even though they need more care than industrial hybrids. Coordinators track loans; partners like FHMM help with training and fair-trade outlets. There is no fixed online booking: contact organisers through community channels or partner foundations before you travel. Why it matters Imported kernels can cross-pollinate native fields. A seed library keeps criollo genetics in farmers' hands, not only in policy speeches. It is low-tech mutual aid that scales one neighbourhood at a time.

seed library milpa

LearnFood & Garden Dehradun

Join the Navdanya Course in Dehradun

Join the Navdanya Course in Dehradun Navdanya's farm near Dehradun teaches swadeshi economics beside seed banks and demo plots. Neighbour tip Bring a friend who has never visited before; shared first visits help you remember names, routes, and follow-up events you might skip alone. What you can do in Dehradun - Apply for Gandhi and Swadeshi: On Economic Freedom & Self-Reliance, 13–17 November 2026 (Navdanya course page) - Browse other 2026 courses on biodiversity, organic farming, and food democracy (Navdanya 2026 courses) - Walk seed banks and demo plots when course schedules include field sessions - Ask how local farmers integrate swadeshi principles into market tables and seed exchanges How to join Register through Navdanya International forms linked from each course page. Fees, lodging, and visa guidance appear on the course detail sheet. Arrive prepared for farm hours and modest accommodation on or near the campus. When & where Navdanya Biodiversity Farm / Earth University, Dehradun area, Uttarakhand, India. The Gandhi and Swadeshi course runs 13–17 November 2026 on the organiser page; confirm exact campus gate instructions after enrollment. Why it matters in Dehradun Seed and food sovereignty training on a working farm beats slide decks alone. Participants leave with hands-on compost, seed-saving, and economic literacy tied to decolonial land ethics. Bring a notebook; details you capture on site help your block organise a return visit or small solidarity fund drive. Good to know - Do I need farming experience? Courses mix beginners and practitioners; read the prerequisite line on each listing. - Are meals included? Course pages describe farm meals when included; confirm dietary needs on the form. - Can I visit without enrolling? Public open days are rare; respect that the farm is an active training site.

Navdanya Dehradun swadeshi

VolunteerRewilding Frankfurt

Plant a Miyawaki tiny forest at MainWäldchen in Frankfurt

Plant a Miyawaki tiny forest at MainWäldchen in Frankfurt MainWäldchen is Transition Town Frankfurt's Tiny Forest pilot: a dense Miyawaki-style planting on about 110 m² in the Grünzug Feldscheidenstraße (Eckenheim). The mini-wood stores water, lowers heat, and gives birds and insects a permanent home neighbours can help tend. What you can do - Join planting and care days announced on mainwaeldchen.de and frankfurt-im-wandel.de/projekt/mainwäldchen - Observe which species colonise the young forest and share photos with the team - Adapt the pattern for another bare corner in your district How it works Volunteers work with the city park strip created in 2022, packing native layers tightly so the forest matures fast. The group hopes many more Wäldchen follow across Frankfurt. Why it matters Small urban forests turn leftover pavement edges into living shade and biodiversity without waiting decades for a single street tree.

tiny-forest miyawaki urban-nature

Food & Garden Valletta

Visit Valletta Design Cluster roof garden

Visit Valletta Design Cluster roof garden The Valletta Design Cluster keeps a public roof garden with rainwater care. Visit in opening hours to see urban greening on the peninsula. What you can do - Read the urban greening note - Visit the Design Cluster roof during public hours - Ask staff how rainwater systems keep the beds alive How it works Public hours were listed around 08:00 to 18:00. Confirm on site signage. Why it matters Valletta shows that dense stone streets can still host shared green roofs.

valletta roof garden

VolunteerRewilding Riga

Care for Sporta Pils wild meadows, Riga

Care for Sporta Pils wild meadows, Riga Sporta Pils Gardens keep biodiversity meadows on a central brownfield. Ask how to help meadow care beyond allotment plots. What you can do - Browse sportapilsdarzi.lv - Ask about meadow or biodiversity workdays - Visit the gardens and offer habitat help How it works Meadow care sits beside allotments. Confirm volunteer slots with the organiser. Why it matters Riga grows wild flowers where concrete once waited.

riga meadow biodiversity

VolunteerFood & Garden Frankfurt

Share harvests with Solawi Frankfurt

Share harvests with Solawi Frankfurt Solawi Frankfurt is a consumer cooperative that shares the costs and risks of Birkenhof in Egelsbach. Members receive weekly organic vegetables, fruit, and eggs while helping with delivery runs and farm logistics. What you can do - Read how solidarity farming works on frankfurt-im-wandel.de/projekt/solawi - Contact info@solawi-ffm.de about joining the coming harvest year - Volunteer for delivery coordination or distribution days in Frankfurt How it works The group estimates annual farm costs together, pays a fair share to the grower, and splits the harvest. New households are welcome each season. Why it matters Solawi keeps peri-urban soil in food production and gives city residents a direct stake in how their meals are grown.

solawi csa organic

Rewilding Vilnius

Steward Antakalnis garden wildlife, Vilnius

Steward Antakalnis garden wildlife, Vilnius Miesto laboratorija stewards outdoor solutions: insect hotels, compost, and rainwater. Help habitat care in the Antakalnis yard. What you can do - Read tvarus sprendimai lauke - Ask about insect hotel or compost workdays - Visit Antakalnio g. 17-13 when a public slot is open How it works Habitat tasks sit in the same yard as the educational garden. Confirm open hours. Why it matters Vilnius keeps insects and rainwater in a yard neighbours can tend.

vilnius habitat insects

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