With the participatory budgeting project for students, a new nature-friendly area for hanging out is added on Ainonaukio, next to Väre. As the winner of the vote in the project, the garden benches were installed on campus in mid-May, and a planting workshop was held at the same time. In the planting workshop, it was possible to get acquainted with urban cultivation by planting useful and ornamental plants in connection with the benches.
'The green areas of the campus are now under change, and we have precise plans for the development of the outdoor areas. Key themes include biodiversity and the addition of various plants to the area. We hope that the campus nature will be perceived as relaxing and refreshing. We also want to support social responsibility and promote community through various workshops and cross-border cooperation. What could be more comfortable for both body and mind than pushing your hands into the soil and seeing the concrete result quite quickly through new plantings,' says project manager Aapo Pihkala from Aalto University Campus & Real Estate (ACRE).
Parkly Oy supplied the garden benches, and the protective treatment on the surfaces of the benches was applied with the environmentally friendly LignoSphere treatment developed at Aalto University. The benches are modular and can be moved to another location on campus if needed. Species favorable to pollinators and promoting biodiversity were selected for planting. There's a plan to plant herbs in the same place later in the summer, so that every passer-by can pick up and use the herbs in their kitchen.
A new project on participatory budgeting will be implemented this autumn as well.
In spring 2021, we asked students how they would like to spend 12 000 euros of the university budget. The community discussion was based on the “One euro for every student” participatory budgeting pilot project launched in May.
