[Vickie Stavropoulou]

Organization Earth is an award-winning Greek NGO founded in 2010, operating the “Center of the Earth”, an urban Living Lab and environmental education hub in Athens. We bridge civil society, local governance, and grassroots communities to foster urban resilience, green education, and social inclusion, having reached over 120,000 beneficiaries to date (70,000+ children, 50,000+ adults).

Our activities integrate hands-on Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), “learning-by-doing” capacity building, multi-actor alliances, public engagement and Mediterranean outreach. We develop inclusive green education frameworks, design and manage community-led urban interventions and facilitate participatory processes that empower citizens as agents of change.

Building on significant experience in EU-funded project management, Organization Earth supports “Green living areas” consortia by:
• leading and supporting Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) pilots (pocket parks, urban forests, community gardens, green roofs) in dense urban areas
• designing and facilitating multi-actor engagement and co-creation processes connecting municipalities, academia, schools and local communities
• driving inclusive capacity building and green skill-building for vulnerable groups (refugees, elderly, long-term unemployed, people with disabilities)
• delivering awareness campaigns and educational programs on agri-food systems, composting and circular economy,
• scaling and transferring NBS methodologies across the Mediterranean region through our network lead role via IFOAM Agribiomediterraneum (ABM)

Please contact Vickie Stavropoulou, vickie@organizationearth.org, https://www.organizationearth.org

[Development Agency of Gradiska RAGA]

Dear Vickie,

We came across your expression of interest in the Interreg Euro-MED 8th Call – Green Living Areas and believe that your experience in Nature-Based Solutions, urban Living Labs and community engagement aligns very well with our project proposal.

The City of Gradiška (Bosnia and Herzegovina), in cooperation with our technology partner Dunavnet, is currently developing a project entitled **“Smart Green Health Cities – Digital and Nature-Based Solutions for Healthier Urban Spaces, under the topic Wellbeing and Health in Living Areas.

The project aims to improve environmental quality, public health and climate resilience by combining nature-based solutions, environmental monitoring, GIS and digital technologies. Through transnational pilot activities, participating cities will identify urban areas exposed to extreme heat and other environmental risks, implement targeted green interventions, and evaluate their impact on environmental conditions and citizens’ well-being.

We believe your expertise in Nature-Based Solutions, urban Living Labs, participatory planning, community-led green interventions and engagement of vulnerable groups could make a valuable contribution to our project, particularly in the implementation of pilot activities and the development of transferable solutions.

We are currently expanding our consortium and would be very interested in exploring the possibility of including Organization Earth as a project partner from Greece.

We would also be interested to know whether your organisation could implement a pilot intervention through your existing urban Living Lab in Athens or in cooperation with a local municipality.

We would be happy to share our project concept and explore possible areas of cooperation.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Jelena Bačić

[Vanya Hristova]

Dear Jelena Bačić,

In the context of the Interreg Euro-MED 8th Call (and Interreg Danube), Haskovo Municipality, is highly motivated to act as a reliable local authority partner for testing and validating new solutions. Our specific added value includes:
• Providing real-life urban and administrative environments for testing green, digital, and socially inclusive pilot actions.
• Regeneration of an existing pocket park in poor condition, restoration and improvement of greenery, shaded areas and seating, biodiversity enhancement, new trees and climate-resilient planting, improved accessibility and small-scale recreational community facilities.
• Regeneration of suitable municipal land beside the river with potential for small-scale greenhouse development and urban agriculture demonstration, on land historically used for vegetable production.
• Exploring the relationship between urban agriculture, efficient water use, environmental protection and resilient green infrastructure.
• Interest in testing digital tools and monitoring approaches to evaluate environmental and social impacts of green-space interventions.
• Aligning tested methodologies with our current SECAP and Climate Strategies to ensure long-term scalability and sustainability.
• Engaging local stakeholders, citizens, and vulnerable groups in the co-design, testing and evaluation phases of the pilot actions.
• Sharing established best practices in energy efficiency and contributing to cross-border knowledge transfer within the Euro-MED and Danube macro-regions.

Haskovo has accumulated extensive experience in implementing pilot actions and projects related to energy efficiency, urban development, and climate adaptation. Key reference projects include:

• CARE-GET Project: Funded under the European Urban Initiative (EUI-IA 2nd Call).
• 100 Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC): Active participation in the EU initiative guiding cities towards green and digital transformation.
• Transition to Climate-Resilient Communities: Funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism (Climate Programme, Contract No. BGENVIRONMENT 4.004 0013).
• National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP): Implementation of extensive energy efficiency measures and sustainable urban infrastructure upgrades.

If you are interested in collaborating with Haskovo Municipality, please contact us at:

Vanya Hristova, Director ENPPE Directorate, Haskovo Municipality
projects_hv@haskovo.bg
http://www.haskovo.bg

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