Hyphen 55 News from the Office Office International du Coin de Terre et des Jardins Familiaux association sans but lucratif | spring 2014 Hyphen 55 | 2015 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of contents: Leading article Specialist gardening advice today and tomorrow is the topic of the Office International’s work during the period 2014–2016 3 In memoriam 3 good friends left us forever 5 Activity report Activity report 2014 6 Decision protocol Decision protocol of the general statutory assembly held in Luxembourg on 27th and 28th February, 2015 9 Diplomas The allotment garden site “Nieuwe Levenskracht” has received the diploma for an ecological gardening 11 The association “Tuinenpark ons Buiten” from Utrecht has received the diploma for an ecological gardening 13 The allotment garden site “Park Groenewoud” in Utrecht, member of the allotment association “De Hoge Weide” has received the diploma for innovative projects. 15 The Allotment site Vallila in Helsinki has received the diploma for innovative projects 17 Actuality theme Brief overview on development and changing popularity trends of allotment gardens in Latvian cities. 19 The allotment garden movement in South Korea: The federation of allotment gardeners in Baden-Württemberg supports this development 23 The social engagement of the allotment gardeners Square-shaped allotment gardens of the Fontaine d‘Ouche district in Dijon 25 Encounters between allotment gardeners in NADESHDA and North Rhine-Westphalia Learning together to preserve the creation 27 Informations from the federations Switzerland: Allotment gardens – Bio gardens: Measures to promote making urban spaces greener 30 Netherlands: Self-managed garden brightens Amsterdam’s warehouse district 33 France: From allotment gardens to community gardens 36 News from the federations 41 Addresses 43 Impressum 44 Hyphen 55 | 2015 2 LEADING ARTICLE Specialist gardening advice today and tomorrow is the topic of the Office International’s work during the period 2014–2016 Peter Paschke, president of Bundesverband Deutscher Gartenfreunde e.V. (Central federation of allotment gardens In German allotment garden federa- To implement this mission, all allot- tions and associations, specialist ad- ment garden associations must have vice is and remains one of our main volunteers (experts) with the required missions, allowing us to comply with technical training. That is why the the public utility aspect of the allot- Bundesverband Deutscher Garten- ment garden movement. freunde e.V. (Central federation of al- lotment gardens) aimed at training un- The topic of “gardening advice” is al- til 2015 a total of 5,000 new experts. ready discussed at length in our legal Training specialists is a big task, and framework, i.e. the Bundeskleingar- the regional federations will play a tengesetz (German federal law on al- major part. lotment gardens). Article 2 § 1 of the federal law states that: In fact, the regional federations or- ganise intensive training programmes “An allotment garden association is in order to train experts, particularly recognised as a public utility organi- around the following topics: sation by the region’s competent au- • Environmentally friendly gardens. thorities if it is subscribed to the regis- • Mulching instead of intensive ter of associations, undergoes regular ploughing. management control and if its statutes • Appropriate nutrition for plants. stipulate that: • Using humus in the garden. • Correct composting. 1. The association’s sole or principal • Gardening by rotating plants. aim is to stimulate the allotment • Growing vegetables that are suita- garden movement and to provide ble for the location. technical help to its members; • Growing fruits that are suitable for 2. Revenue is specifically used for the location. activities tied to the allotment • Careful selection of ornamental gardens and plants and shrubs that are suitable 3. If the association is dissolved, its for the location in order to guaran- assets are used for activities relat- tee a garden respecting nature. ing to allotment gardens.” • Using water in a way that is adapted to the needs of the garden. The legal stipulation of providing gar- • Supporting auxiliary organisms dening advice to members means through the lay-out of the gardens that the allotment garden associations and growing a variety of plants. and federations must create condi- • Getting to know what causes dam- tions that allow them to meet this re- age. quirement. • Plant protection in the garden. Hyphen 55 | 2015 3 LEADING ARTICLE • The association’s bulletin board: each month gardening advice is here available for member garden- ers. • Information containing the latest news, e.g. about the latest caus- es of damage and ways to fight against parasites. • Factsheets presenting specific themes in a brief and clear way (e.g. factsheets from the central al- lotment garden federation (BDG)). • Information boards, e.g. in educa- tional and specialist gardens, pro- viding recommendations for select- ing species suitable for allotment gardens. • Series of slides, videos and Power- Point presentations as visual sup- port to communicate around speci- fic topics. • Managing educational and thematic gardens in the associations, e.g. • Orchards with fruit and berry trees • Aromatic gardens Conveying these topics comprehen- • Potato gardens sively requires a high number of train- • Gardens designed for giving spe- ing days. These can be organised in cialist gardening advice etc. different ways in the regional federa- • Competitions: competitions are not tions, and it is worth noting that one only a way of providing advice on of these ways can sometimes be by gardening, but they can also have a collaborating with the local garden- very positive effect on sparking ac- ing academies. In Saxony, the Saxe tivities related to allotment gardens, gardening academy (Sächsische e.g. a competition on the best allot- Gartenakademie) in Dresden-Pillnitz ment in the association. provides 150 hours of training, culmi- nating in a final certificate. The region- With regards to “gardening advice”, al federations in Brême, Westphalie it is important to give our experts up and Lippe also have their own training to date advice and information. This centres with the necessary education- means using factsheets from the cen- al gardens to train experts. tral allotment garden federation, fact- sheets from the regional federation on How is this vital knowledge environmentally-friendly gardening, then passed onto our member and different specialist information gardeners in the allotment provided by the academy for leisure garden associations? gardens. For example the Saxe gar- Our specialist experts then use a vari- dening academy has 120 information ety of ways on site, for example: and factsheets available for experts. • Conferences on very different topics. Summary: • Making use of their visits to the gar- The success of our joint activity re- dens by offering specialist advice sides in the ability of all member gar- on site. deners in the associations to do gar- • Taking advantage of informal dis- dening in a natural way. cussions. Hyphen 55 | 2015 4 IN MEMORIAM 3 good friends left us forever On 8th October 2014 we received the and his readiness to help. 1973 until 1991. Together with presi- sad news that John FARMER passed dent Metty LOOS he represented the away on 5th October 2014. On 23rd October followed the news Luxembourgish federation in all the that Jan HERREMAN passed away general assemblies and congresses John FARMER was a very fervent de- on 19th October 2014. of the International Office. fendant of the International Office and strongly believed in the necessity of Jan HERREMAN was president of Theo PEFFER answered over many a strong international movement. He the Belgian respectively Flemish fed- years the plant and gardening ques- was convinced that the English allot- eration. tions of the RTL listeners. His horticul- ment federation, as founding member tural knowledge was indescribable. of the International Office, had to play During his presidency he represented an important role in our movement. his federation during our general as- He was a great defendant of the na- semblies and took part with important tional and international allotment When the English federation left the national delegations in our interna- movement. We will not forget his International Office for a while John tional congresses. commitment and his never ending FARMER remained member of the support. International Office with the region he He continuously defended the inter- presided until the English federation ests of the Belgian allotment garden- rejoined our movement. ers. John FARMER was president of the We will not forget his commitment for International Office from 2000 until the allotment garden movement. 2002 and organised with his team the very interesting international con- gress in York. On 19th December 2014 we also got We owe him many thanks for his tire- the sad news that on 16th December less commitment for the national and Theo PEFFER passed away shortly European allotment gardeners. before his 85th birthday. We will not forget John FARMER, his Theo PEFFER was secretary general commitment, his joviality, his jokes of the Luxembourgish federation from Hyphen 55 | 2015 5 ACTIVITY REPORT Activity report 2014 The executive board has the pleas- take similar activities in the future. quest of the delegates is unfortunately ure to submit the activity report for This activity was highly appreciated not being taken advantage