Climate Pilot Actions: Small steps can make a big difference

In April 2024 we published a publication showcasing the first 15 Climate Pilot Actions from members of Mreža za prostor – Slovenian network of NGOs and initiatives in the field of sustainable urban planning. That is how we named small projects that offer practical solutions with concrete spatial impacts, have a high awareness-raising potential, can be scaled up or transferred to other environments, and support local community networking. These projects, although small in financial scope, allow for experimentation, explore new topics, test new solutions, and often go beyond the usual frameworks set by calls for proposals.  We believe that even small steps can make a big difference, which is why we support our members’ Climate Pilot Actions under the Climate Programme of our network. Climate Programme is co-finances by the Slovenian Environmental Public Fund (Eco Fund) and Ministry for Environment, Climate and Energy. The projects are implemented in the same year, do not require a lot of bureaucracy, and the network coordinator provides mentoring and other support to the projects. In the absence of systemic calls for tenders, which would also give opportunities to smaller organisations, we are proving that such calls are extremely useful and engage the creativity of the network members. Although the project budgets are small, usually between €2,000 and €6,000, the funds are often just a trigger for the engagement of individuals and communities, which, together with the hours of effort invested, far exceeds the financial value of the projects themselves. The selection of projects is carried out in a process that could be described as networks’ participatory budget. The coordinator launches a call for proposals to which members of the network who do not have a public interest status, or who have fewer than three employees, or who operate only at local level, can submit their project ideas. The projects are first checked by an expert committee to ensure that they meet the formal requirements and are in line with the networks’ strategic objectives and the objectives of the Climate Programme. The proposals are then voted on by the members at a so-called Ideas Breakfast. This type of an event was developed within the network and was first held in 2017. At the event, members who have submitted projects present their project ideas, followed by a peer review of the project and by a vote on the projects by all members present. Based on the voting order, proposals that do not exceed the total funds available in the call are accepted for implementation. The projects presented in this publication have been selected in the framework of the four calls for proposals carried out between 2020 and 2023. It is our strong hope that the network will be able to continue this type of support to its members in the years to come. Publication – In Slovenian

Short summaries of Climate Pilot Actions

2020
Urban hot spots in Ljubljana	Cities need to start adapting to rising temperatures today, and this is particularly important in parts of public space that are most exposed to heat, so-called hotspots. Through their daily use of the city, public space users, especially pedestrians and cyclists, have the best insight into which parts of the city are most vulnerable and can help to identify hotspots. As part of this Climate Pilot Action, users of public space in Ljubljana were invited to identify the locations they perceive as hot. During one of the heatwaves in the summer of 2020, individuals marked a total of 699 urban hotspots on an interactive map. Analysis of the responses showed that people choose to take longer routes in heat or avoid certain locations in the city altogether. Many respondents suggested ways to improve the city’s microclimate – they would like to see more trees, bigger trees, less asphalt and concrete, and less areas dedicated to parking. For locations with the most votes, proposals for cooling measures were prepared and presented to the Municipality of Ljubljana. The municipality welcomed the proposals and decided to take them into account in the planning of some future projects.
Maribor’s courtyards and their potential to address climate change and social cohesion	Courtyards are cities’ hidden potentials, often not visible or accessible to the citizens. Unfortunately, they are often undeveloped or even used for parking. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Living Courtyards Festival, the initiators of this Climate Pilot Action have opened a broader debate on Maribor’s inner city courtyards and their potential, to find out how they respond to the need for social cohesion within the community as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation. A small-scale research project on Maribor’s courtyards was prepared, which included an inventory of courtyards within the former city walls, a survey on their use and residents’ perspectives, and a review of the relevant legal basis about courtyards. In parallel with the survey, a competition for the Best Courtyard in Maribor was launched and the winning courtyards were presented with a sign saying “Best Courtyard” and a prize in the form of greenery. Two events were also organized to open discussions about the courtyards with their residents and users, as well as with various experts.
Mini Miyawaki urban forest	Green spaces in urban areas are becoming increasingly important in the face of the climate crisis, and their roles have long exceeded those of mere places for people to rest and recreate, and as an aesthetic part of the urban environment. The initiators of this Climate Pilot Action have found the potential for additional greening and improving the quality of green space functions in the Miyawaki method of planting a small urban forest. The method of the Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki involves planting small forests by recreating conditions that occur in nature. This means, among other things, planting the seedlings close together to encourage competition between them, which leads to faster seedling growth. Planting a wide variety of seedlings also increases the biodiversity in the area, inviting anything from insects, snails, amphibians, birds, and small mammals. The Miyawaki grove was carefully planned and planted with the help of volunteers on a selected plot of land in Maribor. The area was thickly planted with tree seedlings, shrubs, and perennials and surrounded by a flowering meadow. The area was also surrounded by a fence and equipped with an information board.
2021
Revitalisation of the Radvanjski creek	Water bodies and their banks are increasingly threatened in the cultural landscape. Interventions in or the removal of green belts along watercourses are destroying ecological stability and often wash in nutrients from nearby farmland. Green belts along watercourses intercept many of these nutrients, as well as provide biodiversity, and shelter for animal species and mitigate temperature fluctuations in the surrounding area. The initiators of this Climate Pilot Action noticed a similar pattern of degradation in the Radvanje Stream area in Maribor and decided to take action. They set themselves the goal of improving the condition of the Radvanje Stream in a selected section through greening. During the project, tree and shrub seedlings suitable for wet areas were planted in a 400-metre strip along the stream together in coordination with the utility company managing the water body and with the help of volunteers from the local community. An information board was also placed at the site. A series of workshops were held on the site to allow participants to learn about the inhabitants of streams and their surroundings.
Bike-tree campaign to  raise awareness about urban hot spots and our every-day mobility choices	This Climate Pilot Action addressed inadequate transport policies in our cities and contributed to raising awareness about the environmental and climate impacts of our mobility choices. The consequences of large paved areas for parking and driving include urban heat island effects and hot spots, which further reduce the quality of life. For that purpose project partners deployed a mobile tree on a so-called tree-bike, to raise awareness among urban residents about the importance of mobility choices and urban greening. The tree bike has been equipped with a GPS tracker and information material and has been shared with residents and visitors to cities, who were able to ride it and park it around the city to suggest locations for greening. The campaign was carried out in Ljubljana and Novo mesto, after which trees were finally planted in a permanent location.
Monument to Housing Crisis “6 square meters”	A just green transition will not be possible without questioning the role of communities in addressing climate change, including their right to housing and the city as one of the key ones. This Climate Pilot Action drew attention to unaffordable housing, the aging housing stock, to apartments that are too small, in poor state and do not respond to today’s living standards through the installation of the Monument to Housing Crisis and a temporary intervention on a Museum square in Ljubljana. The monument consisted of a structure with 6 cubes of 1 square meter in the imitation of concrete. The installation was accompanied by an art performance and a public discussion with an expert panel.
2022
Educational module on climate-resilient spatial planning	Land is a finite commodity and decisions and interventions in it can have long-term consequences for the quality of life and the environment. Schoolchildren currently have little opportunity within the school system to learn about the principles of spatial planning, how it affects climate change, and how we can adapt to it. Within this Climate Pilot Action, an educational module on climate-resilient spatial planning for the second triad of primary school has been developed. The module was designed to stimulate interest and enhance understanding of how we are connected to our surroundings, how our habits affect it, and how spaces can better adapt to climate-related challenges. The module was structured in the form of four hands-on workshops. Project partners worked with a selected primary school to test out the module. After the workshops, the prepared material, handouts, and instructions were published on the website, giving interested teachers all the information and tools they need to run similar workshops on their own.
The last chapter of the community garden on a dormant contruction site in Ljubljana	This Climate Pilot Action helped conclude the story of the community garden Onkraj gradbišča (Beyond a Construction Site), which has been operating on a dormant construction site in Ljubljana since 2010. The members of KUD Obrat, who were involved in the design and implementation of the community garden, together with the garden’s users, had to leave the site as public housing was planned on the site. The last chapter of the story was a several-day public event where shrubs, perennials, flowers, and tree saplings were distributed to the community. The campaign was concluded by the relocation of selected large trees to a new permanent site.
Opportunities for cohabitation of the elderly and the potential of oversized and underused houses	Elderly people are one of the social groups most at risk from climate change. This includes their weaker capacity to adapt to change, which can lead, among others, to energy and, ultimately, housing poverty. For older people, housing poverty is primarily a matter of living conditions, which often means living in oversized, space- and energy-wasting spaces. This Climate Pilot Action explored opportunities for cohabitation of the elderly and the potential of oversized and underused houses for sustainable renovation and cooperative living. Based on the research on the current situation and visits to existing cohousing communities in Slovenia, the concept of a cohousing community with the organizational form of a housing cooperative has been developed. The concept was upgraded with an example of a conceptual design for the sustainable renovation of an oversized house for cohousing purposes. The concept was also presented to an elderly group, among whom potential interest in joining this type of housing community was also explored.
2023
Analysis and improvement of key cycling infrastructure in Maribor	Good quality and safe cycling infrastructure is important to encourage everyday cycling. In Maribor 11 cycling corridors have been previously identified with a total length of 228 kilometers, linking Maribor’s neighborhoods to each other and surrounding municipalities. However the state of the network’s infrastructure is far from ideal, so this Climate Pilot Action aimed to carry out a detailed analysis of the corridors. Together with volunteers, all 11 corridors were cycled and video-documented to provide input for further analysis. Each video was then closely analyzed and an interactive map was produced for each corridor, indicating the types of cycling surfaces and highlighting critical spots. The analysis and the proposal for improvements were presented to the municipality, with whom they agreed to further cooperate on the removal of obstacles and critical spots of cycling infrastructure in the city.
Mini urban tree nursery	Both large and small green spaces are important for effective adaptation to climate change in urban environments. However, creating new green spaces and maintaining existing ones can be costly. The purchase of saplings of trees, shrubs, etc. is expensive, especially when it comes to buying large quantities or larger saplings. This problem was encountered by both Climate Pilot Actions implemented beforehand (Miyawaki forest and Radvanje Stream revitalization). There the planning process also encountered the problem of sourcing smaller and locally grown seedlings that would be best adapted to the conditions and thus more resilient to climate change. The project team therefore decided to set up a small urban tree nursery. They envisioned it as a high bed for pilot sapling production, where they could improve their knowledge, experience, and techniques for growing planting material. They intend to use newly grown seedlings in future greening actions and at the same time offer the knowledge and plants to other interested groups considering similar initiatives.
Urban renewal office in one of Novo mesto’s  neighourhood	Urbanka – Office of Integrated Urban Regeneration Novo mesto is conceived as an informal network of local NGOs and individuals working in the field of space. In their Climate Pilot Action, they decided to bring Urbanka to the Bršljin Community in Novo mesto. The project aimed to encourage residents and visitors of the local community to participate and suggest improvements to the public space, initially collecting suggestions for removing barriers to walking and cycling in the local community. Suggestions were collected in person at stands, through an Idea Box set in different locations, by phone, and by email. A total of 248 public space improvement initiatives were collected for the Bršljin Community area. All the suggestions were analyzed and presented to the municipality. The project concluded with the realization of one of the initiatives, planting an extension of the line of trees next to a sidewalk near the primary school.
Envisioning the future of the Stolpniška area in a participatory and solidary way	The Stolpniška area in Ljubljana is one of the few large undeveloped areas of land close to the city center, which allows for the construction of a new neighborhood and accompanying social infrastructure. It is currently owned by Slovenian State Holding, but the future of its development remains a matter of political will. The initiators of this Climate Pilot Action, in cooperation with a team of external collaborators, designed and implemented a pilot case of a participatory process to develop conceptual solutions for the area. The project aimed to demonstrate and test how urban development projects could be designed more inclusively, and how the city quarter would look like if it is designed by the people. The process of co-designing the development of the neighborhood was carried out through a series of workshops and other events involving the residents and users of the area as well as various interested stakeholders. The vision was also presented at a wrap-up event, which opened up a broader debate on spatial and housing policies and participatory processes. The event was accompanied by an exhibition about the participatory process and its results.
Urban tree inventories in Slovenia	Trees play an important role in the urban environment’s ability to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Despite the growing awareness of the benefits of individual trees and tree stands in cities, reckless and harmful decisions are still being made in practice. This is among others a result of a lack of knowledge on the management of urban trees and the systematic protection of trees in public and other areas. To effectively plan, protect, and manage trees in the urban environment, it is recommended that municipalities establish a tree inventory. This Climate Pilot Action set out to examine the state of the art of urban tree inventories in Slovenia to encourage the development and use of such tools in the integrated management of urban trees. To this end, an online questionnaire for Slovenian municipalities was developed. Its full analysis, together with a set of recommendations for further action, has been compiled in a publication which will serve as a starting point for further advocacy activities.
Fostering community engagement in one of Maribor courtyards	In cities, courtyards have in recent decades lost their social significance and have often become parking areas. This further reduces spaces in the city that could foster community engagement and enable people to be better connected and able to adapt to social, climate, and other challenges. This Climate Pilot Action decided to pilot a community placemaking method in cooperation with a selected courtyard in Maribor. The process was thoughtfully guided through a series of workshops and other activities where residents learned about their courtyard, thought about how they wanted to use it, created a shared vision, and formed a neighbors’ pact. They also organized a gathering where they planted selected greenery, brought in a bench, and had a picnic.

— Graphic: Darja Klančar, Darka