A year ago, we started noticing the amount of unused grey space that covers our little square in Rotterdam Noord. This grey space, concrete street tiles, covered nearly every square meter, resulting in a monochromatic environment with little biodiversity. Because of this, we have started to take out large numbers of street tiles, creating areas that are now used to grow crops, flowers, and other vegetation. We have also added places to sit and started small scale art exhibitions, turning this neutral concrete square into a small urban oasis.

Since starting our guerilla gardening initiative, we have noticed an increase in the insect population, befriended our neighbors and of course spent quality time in our newly transformed square. This has been, so far, done on our own initiative and resources. We are now looking to increase our positive impact and provide an outdoor garden for all inhabitants of our square, so we will need to take this a step further.

We, therefore, aim to expand the garden beds we have created. These will be excavated and filled with healthy soil in order to provide for permanent vegetation and crops to grow. To ensure that the soil stays healthy, we will also build a communal compost bin. This will allow the neighbourhood to put their organic waste to use, previously impossible in this part of Rotterdam. The compost generated can then be used in the communal garden and the people their backyards, all adding to the biodiversity and livability of this urban jungle.