On day that the temperature rose above 40 degrees for the first time in Flevoland, the Greater Manchester partners came to visit Flevoland. Both partners used the visit to get additional information and insights to support the development of their regional action plans (RAP).
The morning started with two short presentations about business support approaches for food SME`s. The Business Growth Hub of the Greater Manchester region shared their Recipe4Succes program and the Flevoland business development agency Horizon their broader strategy for business support. The attendees (stakeholders and participating partners) discussed the different approaches, especially the different stages each was at and how experience and learning can be shared and facilitated, which led to interesting information to be included in the RAP and a potential area to explore and revisit.
The morning continued with an excursion to the Floriade area, where in 2022 the world horticulture expo will be hosted. The start-up Urban Greeners gave a tour around the Utopia island with the food forest and their way to engage with other start-ups. After a vegan lunch, the tour continued to the rest of the Floriade area and ended with a presentation about the making of the Floriade, the expo and the legacy.
The expo site of the Floriade will be developed as a Green City Arboretum by landscape developer Niek Roozen. The arboretum is serving as a model for green structure development in cities, and will consist of a variety of trees, shrubs, perennials, creepers, hydrophytes and flower bulbs. These plants will all contribute to a green, healthy and sustainable city. Around 3000 species have been selected which contribute to the ideal green city in terms of biodiversity, air purification, food production and city climate management.
Northern Roots presented their area development project in Oldham. The visit highlighted the importance of place making and involving local people and businesses in developing and activating the project such as the ‘curator for a day’ scheme. As well as supporting the creation of short food chains using different and innovative techniques and technology.
The afternoon carried forward with an exchange with the municipality of Almere about their Growing Green Cities program, the Sustainable Food Cities network, the 5 years Environment Plan of Greater Manchester and the FlevoFood Association and their role in the RAP. This included the comparison of different approaches such as greening the city and the impact of interaction and partnerships between different organisations, as well as the role of food identity focused on the place.
Altogether, this day delivered valuable insights and information for both regions which improved the development of RAP.
Details:
- https://www.businessgrowthhub.com/recipe4success
- https://www.horizonflevoland.com/
- http://urbangreeners.com/
- https://floriade.com/expo-plan/
- http://sustainablefoodcities.org/
- https://floriade.almere.nl/growing-green-cities/
- https://www.flevofood.com/
