A passion for greenery brings hundreds of Ghent residents together

It was all about greenery that day at Buurtpark Hãm. How do I remove my tiles? How do I start a kitchen garden? Or how do I ferment my vegetables? Visitors were able to get straight to work in a variety of creative workshops. During walks and talks, they learnt about the future park, about trees in the city, and about ways to renovate their homes sustainably. At the plant market, cuttings were freely swapped and plants were sold to the public.

Inspiration for the neighbourhood

The day kicked off with an inspiration market, exclusively for residents of the Sluizeken-Tolhuis-Ham neighbourhood. This is one of the three pilot neighbourhoods within the Rewild the City project. Among other things, they were given an explanation of green projects in their neighbourhood, they got to know the desealing experiment on the site and they discovered how the Courtyard Crushers work. This also marked the launch of the Courtyard Crushing Corner, a caravan where local residents can go until mid-December for advice on transforming their courtyards. There, they can borrow equipment, receive topsoil and have their rubble cleared away.

In the afternoon, project partner Gents MilieuFront took over with the Groene Doeners Festival, aimed at all Ghent residents who want to make their city greener and are keen to lend a hand themselves. From building insect hotels to making seed bombs, from flower box gardening to cooking with wild herbs: here too, the range of activities on offer was diverse and exceptionally extensive.  Visitors learnt how to create façade gardens, went spotting plants and animals in the park, gave textiles a new life at the Repair Café, and went home brimming with inspiration.