EU project INTERLACE
The INTERLACE project aims to valorise derelict land through nature-based solutions. The aim is to create new habitats and improve the quality of life for the local population. The aim is to counteract overheating on hot summer days with more vegetation and water features.
These activities are accompanied by a participatory process to strengthen environmental education.
INTERLACE goes hand in hand with the work on Chemnitz's masterplan for urban nature. By participating in this project, Chemnitz aims to become more liveable, adaptable and resilient.
The project is funded by the European Union. In addition to Chemnitz, five other cities from Europe and South America are involved.
The first stakeholder round took place on 18 March 2021. Representatives from local nature conservation initiatives, environmental education institutions, universities and the city administration took part. From now on, such meetings will take place every six months to provide information and concretise projects.
Nature-based solutions for Chemnitz - an impulse from the INTERLACE project
Cities are currently facing various challenges: the effects of climate change, the health and well-being of residents, securing economic development and prosperity, protecting the environment and biodiversity. One possible approach to meeting these challenges is nature-based solutions (NbS). These are solutions that utilise nature or natural processes and are inspired and supported by nature.
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Climate Rally Chemnitz starts
What measures can reduce the heat on the station forecourt, provide more shade on Düsseldorfer Platz and make Chemnitz more resilient?
You can find out this and much more at the Climate Rally for Chemnitz. The rally comprises six stations where players learn more about the consequences of climate change and possible adaptation measures - through quiz questions, explanations and small tasks.
The climate rally is intended as an introduction to the topic of nature-based solutions (NbS) in sustainable urban planning. It can serve as a door opener for various topics, such as heat and heavy rainfall, climate change and health or green and blue infrastructures. Of course, the rally should also be fun and there should be plenty of exercise in the fresh air!
International conference on urban nature held in Chemnitz
Cities Talk Nature Conference of the INTERLACE project on 11 and 12 May 2023
The city of Chemnitz hosted a specialist conference with international participation. The INTERLACE project's Cities Talk Nature conference took place in Chemnitz on 11 and 12 May 2023 under the title "Unlocking land potential for urban nature". The aim of the INTERLACE project is to support European, Latin American and Caribbean cities in effectively (re)creating urban ecosystems in order to create more liveable, resilient and inclusive cities.
The conference was attended by 120 people. In addition to representatives from the five project cities involved alongside Chemnitz - Granollers (Spain), Metropolia Krakowska (Poland), Envigado (Colombia), CBIMA (Costa Rica) and Portoviejo (Ecuador) - around 80 stakeholders from non-governmental organisations, associations, federations and scientific institutes registered. These include Nabu, Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz, TU Chemnitz, Leibniz Institute of Ecological and Regional Development Dresden and the Centre for Climate Adaptation.
The river, the city and me
Photo and painting competition 2022
The cities of Chemnitz (Germany), Portoviejo (Ecuador), Envigado (Colombia) and the metropolitan region of San José (Costa Rica) jointly organised a photo and drawing competition for children and young people between the ages of 7 and 17 from August 2022. In this competition, entitled "The river, the city and me", young people were invited to submit their own pictures and drawings depicting their connection to the river and the surroundings of their city. The best entries were honoured by an international jury consisting of nature experts and a photographer.
With the "The river, the city and me" photo and drawing competition for children and young people, the INTERLACE project aims to take a closer look at rivers and nature in cities. How and where does the river have a benefit in the city? How and where is it a threat to people? Or how do people threaten the river? What effects can be observed from human activities and rivers in cities? Creativity is required! The children and young people should come up with a suitable story: What is the name of the artwork? What story does it tell? What story does the river tell?
Each of the participating cities awarded its own prizes to the winners of the individual age categories.
- Take a photo or create a drawing that tells a story about the river, the city and yourself. Use your creativity to capture the message in your photo or drawing.
- Write a short text (maximum 150 words) to accompany your photo or drawing. Here you can explain your photo from your point of view and answer the following questions, for example: What adventures has the river had? What role does the city play? Where do I stand in this context? What does the future of the river look like? What changes do you see?
- Simply upload your photo or drawing and description together with your parents (or other guardians) on our upload form. That's it! The winners will be selected by a jury.
Our competition is aimed directly at young people, so you must be between 7 and 17 years old to take part. There will be three age categories:
- 7-10 years,
- 11-13 years, and
- 14-17 years.
Both individuals and entire school classes can take part in the competition.
As the participants are minors, we require a declaration of consent from parents or legal guardians for your participation. Please print this out and have it signed by a parent or legal guardian. The declaration must then be submitted as a photo or PDF file in the upload form.
The competition is aimed at young people from the INTERLACE cities (Chemnitz, Portoviejo, Envigado and the San José metropolitan region).
You are at the centre of the competition as an individual. However, group work is also permitted.
There are no further criteria for the format of the photo or drawing.
Any participant may submit a photo or drawing using the upload form.
The photos and drawings submitted for the competition must be originals and must not infringe any intellectual property rights of third parties, such as copyrights, neighbouring rights, trademark rights, data protection rights and image rights. Do not use images of other people without their consent.
By uploading your photo or drawing, you give permission for your name, photo and short description to be published on the websites and social media channels of the INTERLACE project, Ecologic Institute, Oppla and the participating municipalities. By doing so, you transfer the rights of use for the photo or drawing to us. The photo or drawing will of course be published with your copyright (i.e. your name).
You also agree that we may store your data for the purpose of organising the competition. The data will not be passed on to third parties.
Entries will be judged by a jury on the basis of the following criteria:
- Quality of the photo: aesthetics, exposure, ratio of colours, resolution. Or quality of the drawing: aesthetics, colour ratio, materials used.
- Creativity and originality: Be creative and innovative in your choice of subject and type of photo or drawing (e.g. choice of frame, colours, perspective).
- Motif: It is important that the chosen motif relates to the theme of the competition: The river, the city and me. The photo or drawing should convey a message!
- Descriptive text: The descriptive text should make the connection between the photo and the theme clear. Your creativity is also required here.
- The jury will also take into account the age of the participants, as younger participants have different requirements than older participants, both in terms of the photograph or drawing and the descriptive text.
The jury consists of a professional photographer and members of the INTERLACE advisory board. The jury selects the best 72 photos or drawings. All 72 photos or drawings will be exhibited online. The public will then choose the audience award from the 72 photos or drawings from all four cities.
The prizes are vouchers from the Chemnitz climbing forest! Action, adventure and fun await you there! You can train your courage, endurance and dexterity or simply have a good time with friends.
1st prize: Voucher worth 100 euros
2nd prize: voucher worth 75 euros
3rd prize: voucher worth 50 euros
Each participant will also receive a certificate of participation.
Special prize
An audience prize will be awarded from all 72 selected entries in all cities. The public can vote online. The winning entry will be printed as a postcard and distributed in the cities.
The EU INTERLACE project aims to support European and CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) cities to effectively (re)build urban ecosystems in order to create more liveable, resilient and inclusive cities. The urban ecosystems are to be restored and rehabilitated with the help of nature-based solutions (NbS).
In Chemnitz, the focus is on the renaturalisation of brownfield sites and environmental education. This restores urban ecosystems and supports environmental education to make cities more liveable, resilient and inclusive.
At the same time, the applied nature-based solutions provide health, economic and social benefits for the people of Chemnitz.
Nature - Places - People
Nature:
- supports nature and biodiversity through the creation of new green spaces and the restoration of degraded ecosystems
Places:
- Promotes the shared use of places to support exchanges between urban and rural populations and with the administration
People:
- Strengthens the connectedness of urban people to each other as well as to the natural environment
The INTERLACE project goes hand in hand with the work on Chemnitz's masterplan for urban nature. By participating in the project, Chemnitz aims to achieve the goal of being a liveable, resilient and inclusive city.
INTERLACE will be a collaborative partnership that brings together city authorities, residents, organisations and businesses to create a better future for all.
A total of six cities in Europe and Latin America are taking part in INTERLACE: Granollers (Spain), Envigado (Colombia), Portoviejo (Ecuador), Chemnitz (Germany), Metropolia Krakowska (Poland) and Corredor Biológico Interurbano Río María Aguilar-San José (Costa Rica). A total of 5 million euros will be invested in the six cities, which will all work together to share their experiences, strategies, tools and solutions.
INTERLACE is a project to restore nature in European and Latin American cities. The project uses nature-based solutions (NbS) to solve the current and future challenges of cities in terms of climate change, health, human well-being, economic development, wildlife conservation and many more. It provides an opportunity for city governments, residents, organisations and businesses to work together in new and creative ways for a better future for all.
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 887396.
Nature-based solutions (NbS) utilise nature to solve some of society's most difficult challenges.
They are solutions that are inspired and supported by nature, are cost-effective, provide environmental, social and economic benefits, and help build resilience.
Nature-based solutions bring more and diverse nature and processes to cities, landscapes and seascapes through locally adapted, resource-efficient and systemic interventions. Nature-based solutions contribute to biodiversity and the provision of a range of ecosystem services. Nature-based solutions create opportunities for city governments, residents, organisations and businesses to come together and collaborate in new and creative ways for a better future for all.
- Take a photo or create a drawing that tells a story about the river, the city and yourself. Use your creativity to capture the message in your photo or drawing.
- Write a short text (maximum 150 words) to accompany your photo or drawing. Here you can explain your photo from your point of view and answer the following questions, for example: What adventures has the river had? What role does the city play? Where do I stand in this context? What does the future of the river look like? What changes do you see?
- Simply upload your photo or drawing and description together with your parents (or other guardians) on our upload form. That's it! The winners will be selected by a jury.
Our competition is aimed directly at young people, so you must be between 7 and 17 years old to take part. There will be three age categories:
- 7-10 years,
- 11-13 years, and
- 14-17 years.
Both individuals and entire school classes can take part in the competition.
As the participants are minors, we require a declaration of consent from parents or legal guardians for your participation. Please print this out and have it signed by a parent or legal guardian. The declaration must then be submitted as a photo or PDF file in the upload form.
The competition is aimed at young people from the INTERLACE cities (Chemnitz, Portoviejo, Envigado and the San José metropolitan region).
You are at the centre of the competition as an individual. However, group work is also permitted.
There are no further criteria for the format of the photo or drawing.
Any participant can submit a photo or drawing using the upload form.
The photos and drawings submitted for the competition must be originals and must not infringe any intellectual property rights of third parties, such as copyrights, neighbouring rights, trademark rights, data protection rights and image rights. Do not use images of other people without their consent.
By uploading your photo or drawing, you give permission for your name, photo and short description to be published on the websites and social media channels of the INTERLACE project, Ecologic Institute, Oppla and the participating municipalities. By doing so, you transfer the rights of use for the photo or drawing to us. The photo or drawing will of course be published with your copyright (i.e. your name).
You also agree that we may store your data for the purpose of organising the competition. The data will not be passed on to third parties.
Entries will be judged by a jury on the basis of the following criteria:
- Quality of the photo: aesthetics, exposure, ratio of colours, resolution. Or quality of the drawing: aesthetics, colour ratio, materials used.
- Creativity and originality: Be creative and innovative in your choice of subject and type of photo or drawing (e.g. choice of frame, colours, perspective).
- Motif: It is important that the chosen motif relates to the theme of the competition: The river, the city and me. The photo or drawing should convey a message!
- Descriptive text: The descriptive text should make the connection between the photo and the theme clear. Your creativity is also required here.
- The jury will also take into account the age of the participants, as younger participants have different requirements than older participants, both in terms of the photograph or drawing and the descriptive text.
The jury consists of a professional photographer and members of the INTERLACE advisory board. The jury selects the best 72 photos or drawings. All 72 photos or drawings will be exhibited online. The public will then choose the audience award from the 72 photos or drawings from all four cities.
The prizes are vouchers from the Chemnitz climbing forest! Action, adventure and fun await you there! You can train your courage, endurance and dexterity or simply have a good time with friends.
1st prize: Voucher worth 100 euros
2nd prize: voucher worth 75 euros
3rd prize: voucher worth 50 euros
Each participant will also receive a certificate of participation.
Special prize
An audience prize will be awarded from all 72 selected entries in all cities. The public can vote online. The winning entry will be printed as a postcard and distributed in the cities.