The Europe Challenge

The Local Challenge

One of Europe’s hottest cities, Seville faces increasingly frequent and severe heat waves each summer, posing significant health risks. These extreme conditions particularly endanger vulnerable populations, including the elderly, children and those with preexisting health conditions. Recently, some public libraries have been used as climate refuges, offering a respite with their cooler interior temperatures. This highlights a pressing challenge: the need for safe, accessible spaces to protect the community during extreme heat events. 

 The Initiative  

Bibliokepos is rethinking library spaces as climate gardens, particularly in vulnerable neighbourhoods. This initiative aims to provide a safe haven during extreme heat events, raise awareness of ecological challenges, promote sustainable adaptation tools and resilience, and serve as a community hub. Working with university students and the library community to create an indoor garden using recycled water, Seville library’s book collection is also being reorganised around climate topics, with input from the community.

What’s Next?

The project partners have plans to expand the climate garden initiative to other libraries, using outreach materials to make it transferable. Inspired by Epicurus’s garden philosophy, they see libraries as spaces for reading, debate and community. Their goal is to turn libraries into climate laboratories, strengthening community engagement and environmental awareness. Funds are supporting the growth of the programme, recycling water processes, maintaining the shelters and translating materials into English. 

This is an ongoing Europe Challenge project that will be completed in autumn 2024. Stay tuned for more updates and contact theeuropechallenge@culturalfoundation.eu if you have any questions or want to be connected with the team behind the project.