IPON develops construction projects in which greenery and biodiversity are structurally and legally embedded, so that every resident actively contributes to a sustainable living environment.
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Facade garden brigade
With the Facade Garden Brigade, GMF are making a significant contribution to a biodiverse and climate-adaptive city by creating facade gardens.
Developing the green-blue network
The project
What began in 2017 as a community budget has now grown into one of the largest and best-known greening projects in Ghent: the Facade Garden Brigade.
With the Facade Garden Brigade, we want to make a significant contribution to a city with pleasant green facades. These bring peace, provide oxygen and form a habitat for birds and insects. We chose to focus on creating facade gardens in the city in order to achieve maximum impact and have built up a great deal of expertise in this area. The team of freelancers and volunteers ensures a light and agile brigade. After eight years of the Facade Garden Brigade, more than 5,000 facades in Ghent have already been greened!
Project location
Ghent
Contribution(s)
5000 buildings and/or infrastructures
Project costs
Participant(s)
The Facade Garden Brigade is part of Ghent’s Environmental Front (Gents MilieuFront) and was initially established as a project thanks to support from Ghent’s participatory budget.
The City of Ghent gives away a number of facade gardens free of charge each year.
How are the criteria of the objective met?
Buildings and infrastructures
- As little alteration of the initial landscape as possible /as much naturalness as possible to replace grey and concrete surfaces (e.g. green roofs and walls, greening the surroundings, incorporating the existing landscape into the infrastructure);
- Respect and/or improve the specific ecological characteristics of the area (e.g. the topography, the type of landscape, the local plant and animal life) to effectively replace the gray/concrete surface;
- Incorporate the amenities into the surrounding area and environment;
- Use native species/subspecies that are more resilient and resistant to climate change, if appropriate;
- Incorporate elements that are suitable for the local biodiversity (e.g. birdhouses suitable for the bird species on site, insect houses at an appropriate height, appropriate vegetation types);
- Provide amenities with sufficient space/length/thickness to ensure the creation of habitats, green-blue areas and veins.
Possible initiatives in which the project is involved :
The project is not part of any existing initiative.
Long-term maintenance
After the facade garden has been constructed, it is maintained by the owner of the property. The Facade Garden Brigade also offers a maintenance service, whereby we prune and replace plants on request. We specialise in pruning climbing plants.
Benefits
- Green facades promote biodiversity;
- Green facades promote climate adaptation (mitigation of both heat stress and water stress);
- Green facades purify the air;
- Green facades contribute to the visual quality and scent experience of our streets;
- The Facade Garden Brigade website also has a step-by-step plan on how to create your own facade garden. Anyone who wants to create a facade garden together with neighbours, friends, colleagues, etc. can sign up for a workshop. One of the brigade members will then visit to demonstrate how to create a facade garden, after which you can get to work yourself.
Other projects linked to the objective: "Buildings and infrastructures"
EcoSchools Antwerp
The city supports EcoSchools that focus on climate with coaching and a subsidy of up to 30,000 euros.
Opération Ré-création
Bringing nature into school playgrounds.