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Green Minds

Green Minds will develop, test and demonstrate a transferable and sustainable system for planning and managing land in an urban environment. Image of children investigating the ground

The project combines approaches to urban development that are new or in their infancy: 

  • Creating Green Mindsets (attitude/behaviour change) to welcome nature, not fight it
  • Rewilding of daily urban life through new natural infrastructure and nature-friendly land management practices
  • Applying complexity management principles, it views nature as a stakeholder to develop integrated sustainable land use policies and processes.

The project will:

  1. Experiment with different delivery and management approaches, taking a co-stewardship approach with communities, landowners and social enterprises
  2. Communicate what we learn in innovative and creative ways
  3. Use science and creative digital tools to make nature visible and exciting
  4. Inspire people and organisations to change their behaviour and attitude to nature through inclusive engagement and visible rewilding projects
  5. Capture social value through a new model to demonstrate social return on investment 
Image of child in a tree

Green Minds is funded by the ERDF Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) programme.  This is an EU initiative that provides urban areas with resources to test innovative solutions to address urban challenges, see how these work in practice and respond to the complexity of real life.  UIA expects the project to draw lessons, capture the knowledge and share it with other urban policy-makers and practitioners across Europe.

It is led by Plymouth City Council’s Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Department together with Public Health, in partnership with:

  • Plymouth University
  • Real Ideas Organisation
  • Plymouth College of Art
  • Devon Wildlife Trust
  • The Data Place
  • National Trust

The new Green Minds website launched in October 2020. Keep up to date with all the projects, events and activities and sign up to our mailing list. 

Find out more about the Plymouth Project using the UIA website.

Company logos for: Green Minds, Plymouth City Council, Real Ideas, National Trust, Arts University Plymouth, Devon Wildlife Trust, The Data Place, University of Plymouth, European Union, UIA