The 6th Local Stakeholder Workshop in Merano: an autumn celebration

In mid October 2025, residents of Merano gathered for the city's 6th Local Stakeholder Workshop, which took place together with an autumn celebration in the Garden for All on Via Winkel. The event marked the conclusion of the series of stakeholder workshops organised as part of JUSTNature, which have been bringing together citizens, experts, and the municipal administration to co-design this new public green space reflecting local needs and aspirations.

Over the course of the JUSTNature project, a small, previously underused area on Via Winkel has been transformed into a vibrant, multi-functional park with the active involvement of residents. Their ideas and proposals have shaped what has now become a true oasis in the city: a place that offers shelter from the summer heat, calmer traffic, public vegetable gardens, and a renewed connection with nature. Featuring nesting sites for pollinators, a wildflower meadow, and native shrubs, our pilot site protects and boosts biodiversity. It also provides a welcoming meeting place for all generations with its wooden sculptures, benches, improved footpaths and tables.

During the autumn celebration marking the end of our workshops cycle, children and parents took part in planting winter vegetables and enjoying local autumn produce. The event offered an opportunity to reflect on the value of community collaboration and the tangible benefits that nature-based solutions bring to urban life: cooler, greener, and more liveable spaces for everyone.

As one resident noted, “It’s a lovely natural spot—far enough from the traffic and very close to the nursery. As parents, we’re very happy with what’s been achieved.” The Garden for All now stands as a lasting example of what can be accomplished when citizens, experts, and institutions work hand in hand to make the city more sustainable and inclusive!

After the outdoors activities, participants were invited to the workshop room, where the JUSTNature local team gave a presentation revisiting the participatory process from the past years, which led to the design and creation of the Garden for All. It was stimulating to share these insights with many of the new users of the park, some of whom were not aware of the co-creation process behind the green intervention. An interactive session followed, during which attendees shared their feedback and ideas for the future development of green spaces in the city. Other initiatives part of the JUSTNature project in Merano were also presented: the survey for a tree inventory, which led to obtaining the city's tree canopy cover index on one hand, and on the other hand, the monitoring of temperature through a network of sensors. Last but not least, JUSTNature's guidelines for the ecological management of private green spaces, developed by Merano's local team, were presented.