The Europe Challenge

The Local Challenge

Nave’s public library is located in a town of about 11,000 inhabitants, has well-stocked book shelves and regularly organises activities for its inhabitants. The library works with local groups arranging activities ranging from organising fun workshops to meeting up with authors. This challenge focuses on the following community groups: Associazione Amici della Antica Pieve della Mitria, which works with local youth and families; Amici di Villa Zanardelli, which has a background in woodland heritage; and the cooperative Futura, which works with people with disabilities. The goal is to preserve biodiversity. 

 The Initiative  

These groups are creating a free, circular seed library that anyone can join to share, plant, collect and re-share seeds. Planting seeds to harvest and return to the collective seed bank encourages awareness of greening spaces. The library hopes to broaden their existing audiences, holding seed workshops for schools, meetings with plant specialists, visits to renowned local gardens and exploring ideas for encouraging shared and social gardens. 

After The Europe Challenge

This initiative has encouraged the community to consider biodiversity in a new way: to become more self-sufficient. For example, by starting a garden; thinking about how they can help to preserve the local ecosystems with insect pollination; and are encouraging sustained growth of native plants and sustainable agricultural practices. They have started activities such as a seed library, bee keeping, involving differently abled people and other groups with making green spaces, and have co-operation from the local authorities to continue. They are now looking to expand their work in other local libraries in their region. 

Contact theeuropechallenge@culturalfoundation.eu if you have any questions or want to be connected with the team behind the project.