For cities to meet challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss and to remain attractive, they need to become greener. The Institute of Plant Sciences at the University of Bern is now launching an experiment: with the help of local residents and private and public partners, Bern’s Old Town is to be enhanced with plants, with the aim of turning Postgasse into the greenest street in Switzerland. The project kicks off on 6 May 2023.
Read the original media release here. (in German)
A good half of the world’s population, 4.2 billion people, lives in urban areas. Cities have many advantages, but they also face enormous challenges. With climate change, they heat up considerably more than the surrounding countryside, their centres offer hardly any habitat for plants and animals, and their quality of life is often lower than desired. An efficient way to meet all these challenges is appropriate greening. However, the desired greening is difficult to achieve, particularly in city centres and historic cores with structures worth preserving. How can these places offer more space for nature, and thus a higher quality of life, without destroying existing structures or breaking the budget? Answers to these questions are urgently needed.
The University of Bern is intensively engaged in research and teaching on climate change, biodiversity loss, urbanisation and health. At the instigation of Professor Matthias Erb, the Institute of Plant Sciences at the University of Bern is now launching an initiative to develop a solution for the rapid, cost-effective greening of city centres.
Green instead of grey in Postgasse #
Postgasse, a picturesque, listed street in Bern’s Old Town, is set to blossom through a participatory approach. “We are supporting residents in greening their own window sills and outdoor areas with suitable plants,” says Matthias Erb, the initiator of the project. The arcades will be included in the greening without affecting public life or the street’s built structures. The effects of the greening on temperature, biodiversity, water balance and quality of life will then be studied (see info box). In the long term, Postgasse is thus to become the greenest street in Switzerland, including documentation of this transformation. “The data and experience gathered in this pilot project should help Bern and other cities to increase their sustainability and attractiveness even more quickly and easily in future,” says Armin Komposch of the Institute of Plant Sciences, who supervises the project as a research associate.
Partner companies make the greening possible #
The project is supported by committed partners from the Bernese business community. Thanks to this support, the residents of Postgasse can green their buildings largely free of charge as part of a planting day. Native and site-appropriate shrubs and trees, organically produced vegetable and herb seedlings and sustainable soil made from by-products of Swiss forestry and agriculture are being contributed by companies from the green sector (see info box). In addition, a University of Bern spin-off company is providing planters with automatic irrigation. “We all consider the exchange between science and practice to be particularly valuable. In this way, scientific findings are quickly put into practice, and the insights gained flow back into science,” explains Matthias Erb.
Planting day on 6 May 2023 #
The project officially kicks off on Saturday, 6 May 2023. On this day, together with the Leist der Untern Stadt Bern, residents and other interested parties are invited to a planting day. Plants, pots and soil will be delivered, and residents can collect the material and use it to green their street further as they see fit.
“We hope that the residents themselves will then take care of the plants so that the greening is preserved in the long term,” explains Matthias Erb. The planting day also offers an opportunity for in-depth discussions with everyone involved in the project. “We are excited about our pilot project, with which we are conducting research on current societal challenges such as climate change while at the same time involving the affected urban population in the process,” Erb concludes.
Green sector commitment as a sign of scientifically supported sustainability #
The “Greenest street in Switzerland” is supported by companies from the green sector, which provide plants, seedlings, soil, planters and irrigation. Support comes from Baumschule Gartenpflanzen Daepp, Ricoter, Zollinger Bio and Boum.
Scientific monitoring of the “Greenest street in Switzerland” #
Research in Postgasse: the University of Bern is planning various campaigns to measure the positive effects of the greening. The microclimatic effects will be documented under the direction of Prof. Stefan Brönnimann and Dr Moritz Gubler of the Institute of Geography using permanently installed temperature sensors and thermal imaging.
Topics such as the sponge city and urban quality of life will be brought into the project through workshops and cultural performances by Prof. Andreas Zischg of the Institute of Geography together with partners from Bern’s cultural scene (motile.ch). The effects on biodiversity will be monitored by Dr Armin Komposch of the Institute of Plant Sciences. As the “Greenest street in Switzerland”, Postgasse is available as a public case study and a research and teaching environment for interested partners.
