Can you have urban gardening that is not only good for the environment, but is also in keeping with Cradle to Cradle® principles? That’s precisely what our colleagues at the Drees & Sommer regional office in Shanghai wanted to try out in collaboration with the local German School.
As the name suggests, urban gardening involves the cultivation of space in towns and cities. One of the many positive aspects is that it sensitizes people to sustainable urban development and healthy lifestyles. The team at the Drees & Sommer Shanghai regional office wanted to convey this awareness to the students at the local German school – and even take the whole thing a step further.
The project is designed in keeping with Cradle to Cradle® (C2C) principles, which aim to minimize negative impacts, and use regenerative products to leave a positive footprint.
The urban gardening project consisted of two aspects: theory and practical. For the theoretical part, we delivered a lecture explaining the C2C concept and brought different flower pots. We asked the kids to decide which pots were more environmentally friendly and better designed according to the C2C principle. During the practical part, we brought all the kids to a playground and let the kids choose their favorite flowers to plant in their pots.
The planting activity was successfully carried out under the guidance of teachers and Dreso colleagues. The pots were then displayed near the playground which added much color – making the atmosphere vibrant.
Through this planting activity, we conveyed the message on climate change and environmental problems. We also addressed the environmental challenges that we face in our daily lives. These often jump out of the box and we need to rethink an easier way to solve them. Just like the C2C principle: we should not only think about reducing the negative footprint but also think about increasing our positive footprint. This is where the students of the German School Shanghai took their first step with their planting activity!
