The first regional stakeholder meeting in Palencia, Spain, was held on November 14th, 2019 with an overall focus on urban agriculture and degraded land. Ms. Amalia Rodríguez, vice-rector of Palencia Campus (University of Valladolid), and Palencia City Major, Mr. Mario Simón welcomed participants, who represented a wide range of backgrounds. The same applied to the speakers from a variety of institutions, from local government to farmers, and gave great insights on urban agriculture and degraded lands.
All in all, five presentations by different experts in the area were given on the following topics:
- Green Infrastructures and urban farming spaces linked to cities (Pedro Mari Herrera, Fundacion Entretantos).
- Restoration of a gravel bed land for agriculture purposes (Victor Coloma, Farmer).
- Food Urban Strategies as an engine for social and economic activation (Veronica Garcia, Fundacion Entretantos).
- Urban Farming as a strategy of an intelligent city (Ana Bartolome, City of Palencia).
Furthermore, Jesús Díaz (Fundación Patrimonio Natural, Castile and León) and Beatriz Urbano (University of Valladolid) introduced the CityZen project with its objectives and plans. Throughout the session, discussions among and with the participants were encouraged in order to share everyone’s experiences in urban agriculture and identify key issues.
