Over summer, the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development (ICCSD) at the University of Malta teamed up with the University of Malta’s Kids on Campus to hold a series of co-production workshops. The aim was for the children to re-imagine a more sustainable University of Malta Campus.
These workshops, which brought together over a 100 children aged between 4 and 12 years old, are part of the Nature-based Solutions for Urban Resilience Project, led by the ICCSD and funded by the HSBC Malta Foundation.
Through walking sessions around the Msida Campus outdoor areas, the children explored existing green spaces and barren areas. Each walk was followed by in-class sessions where they shared their ideas on how to enhance these spaces for the benefit of both human well-being and biodiversity. Depending on the age of the children the walks ranged from playful engagement with nature to more visioning exercises. Whilst the in-class sessions ranged from art-based methods for the younger children to group activities for the older ones.
The age-specific co-production processes undertaken during these workshops will contribute to the development of a toolkit for co-producing Nature-based Solutions in urban environments, which will be valuable for future initiatives aimed at creating resilient and sustainable urban spaces. Moreover the insights gathered during these workshops will contribute in shaping sustainability measures at the University of Malta.
The ICCSD is working closely with the Estates, Facilities, and Capital Development Directorate to ensure that these green visions become a reality on campus, particularly for future students.
For more updates on this project and other initiatives by the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development, visit their website.
