The aim of Gardeniser Academy was to set up an online platform that provides an innovative solution, through e-learning training courses, to support the development of shared gardens in Europe by offering learning pathways for three specific profiles: staff and volunteers wishing to set up educational gardens, intercultural gardens and community gardens in the heart of neighbourhoods. This involved organising local workshops and mobility opportunities for learners involved from the outset of the project, who selected useful best practices identified from the perspective of volunteers and community garden stakeholders.
We applied for this project to meet a clear need: to support the new generation of community garden managers, who are often highly motivated but lack experience and appropriate tools. While our past projects have laid the foundations for the role of facilitator, it is now essential to complement this approach with technical resources that can be transferred to the specific context of each garden (school, refugee centre, neighbourhood, etc.). The rise of community gardens in Europe has generated a wealth of experience that must now be capitalised on, structured and passed on. Gardeniser Academy aims to consolidate skills through a digital training platform, European mobility programmes and the collection of best practices. The aim is to ensure the sustainability of existing projects and support their adaptation to a constantly changing political and social context. This project therefore responds to a growing demand for concrete, adapted and shareable tools for a rapidly changing European community of gardeners.