Nature-based Solutions and Food Systems

Nature-based solutions can play a vital role in strengthening urban food systems. Initiatives like community gardens, urban forests, and rooftop farms can help increase local food production and reduce supply chain vulnerabilities while also restoring ecological functions like pollination, soil health, and water retention. By weaving nature into city planning, urban communities can build more resilient, equitable food networks that deliver co-benefits including biodiversity, climate adaptation, and community well-being.

In this Collaborator session, we will be showcasing the innovative ways that projects are helping to improve agricultural process and food systems in urban environments. We are excited to be joined by two experts who will present their work:

• Dr Anna Davies: CULTIVATE
• Sofia Silva: Upfarming

As always, we want the Collaboratory to be a space for shared learning and collaboration amongst the Naturescapes network(www.naturescapes-project.com). If you have any questions, please reach out to JJ Blackwatters at j.e.blackwatters@uu.nl.

---

What is NATURESCAPES?

The focus of the NATURESCAPES project is nature-based solutions from a landscape perspective. We are exploring how this is happening and adding up on the ground, and what it means for nature and society.

Can we work with multiple nature-based solutions to create outcomes that address long-standing socio-economic challenges, enhance biodiversity and respond to climate change? Or do we face trade-offs between different places, people and outcomes?

Working in a transdisciplinary consortium involving universities, consultants and NGOs, we hope to identify how new kinds of NATURESCAPES can generate transformative change for the future.