The project entitled. ‘Green steps next to the bar at the Rector’s Office and the retrofitting of the “pocket park” at Neophilology’ carried out as part of the Green University of Gdansk has been put into operation! Pots and plantings: shrubs and ornamental grasses have been installed next to the bar at the UG Rectorate and in the pocket park at Neophilology. Both spaces will become an even more attractive place for students and employees of the University of Gdansk to spend time. “We want it to be even more pleasant for the whole academic community to use,” says Aleksandra Hołomej, the project applicant, in an interview.
Szymon Gronowski: What inspired you to create the Green Steps project next to the bar at the Rector’s Office and to retrofit the ‘pocket’ at the neophilology department?
Aleksandra Holomej: The square between the Neophilology building and the Rectorate, where the fountains and steps are located, is predominantly concrete. There is a trend in Poland and Europe away from concreting public spaces. We want our project to fit in with this trend, creating a more environmentally friendly space. It all started with the Academic Civic Budget, where I wanted to see what interest there would be in changes to the area around the Neo-Filology building. As part of the project carried out in the first edition of Academic Citizens’ Budget, I realised a pocket park on the patio area. We decided, together with student Dawid Dacko, to take part in the Green UG Competition to raise funds to further revitalise our space. We want to make these spaces even more enjoyable as we see students and staff using them. During the spring and summer season, the revitalised patio area is often used as a break and networking space during conferences held at our Faculty.
The first idea was to install concrete planters to match the overall patio arrangement and two gabion planters in front of the entrance to the Neophilology building. The space consists of two zones. One is closer to the entrance to the Rector’s Office from the bar, where there are concrete steps. The other part belongs to the Faculty of Philology – benches have already been installed and trees are growing in this area. It is here, in front of the main entrance with the sliding doors, that we installed two gabions to visually blend into the space.
Unfortunately, between the preparation of the quote and the realisation of the project, we found that the prices of concrete pots had increased. After consultation with the working team, we decided to buy slightly different pots, no longer concrete. On the other hand, they will continue the ecological trend as they are made of epoxy resin, partly recycled, so they are also much lighter and cheaper. The distributor has ensured that they are also more durable. Because the cost of the pots was lower, we were able to buy some more of them. We also placed additional pots against the concrete wall in the patio to make the place greener too. We chose plants that are hardy and do not require constant care, but at the same time look beautiful, which is why we mainly chose grasses and dwarf pines.
Who will mainly benefit from the project?
After the first part of the project, we noticed a lot of student interest in our new space. In addition, all the conferences that take place in the lower hall have extra space during the spring and summer season. Lunch breaks and networking are then often held here. This space is already much more pleasant than before. The implementation of the project has made it possible to additionally equip this space so that it can be used even more pleasantly by the entire university community.
The Green University of Gdansk competition is implemented as part of the SEA-EU 2.0 project funded by the Erasmus+ programme.