Roof-top garden in the University

Creating with students a green rooftop miming the garrigue that would be open to everyone and would introduce people to local flora.

Our project consists in creating an open perennial roof-top garden inspired by the garrigue, the characteristic Mediterranean ecosystem. First, we would select 15 students based on their motivation and provide them with formations in gardening, permaculture, and local flora. Then, thanks to 15 students, professionals and ourselves, we would create the garden on the rooftop of the building n°35 in the Science Faculty of the Montpellier’s University. The space would be organized in woodboxes with local plants recreating this typical Mediterranean landscape. Every species would be identified in posters including a description of their ecology, family, conservation, symbiosis and linked fauna. Once the garden is ready, it would be opened to everyone with a limited number of people at the same time based on the building’s capacity. Our objectives are sharing and responsabilizing by creating a space hands-on with the students and for the students. We would be open to partnerships and other projects like a seed library. Learning and understanding by observing the characteristics of the local diversity, forming students to gardening and applying the theoretical knowledge we learn in class. Doing scientific popularization in a direct way through conferences, formations, workshops, and in an indirect way by doing posters of the species. Last, our other main objective is to work on the conservation of the diversity in the garrigue and isolate the building greenly. The expected results are the implementation of a green space in the university. A garden that can maintain itself during time and that represents an open local botanical book with all the information regarding the plants. A place where people can learn and exchange their knowledge. In addition, they can understand in a more practical way the ecosystems, how they work and how they are organized.

The project will involve the rooftop of the building 35 in the Department of Science.

Wood-boxes to create the space : 600€Plants (arbousier, génevier, athyliss...) : 100€Water recuperator and hose-pipe : 40€Material for entertaining (watering can for example) : 80€

We think COVID restrictions won’t affect our project a lot. First of all, the garden will be in open air, and in a University building, so people should wear a mask. There will be a limited number of people at the rooftop and hydrogel would be available in the entrance. Plus, toilets are available in each level of the building. During the formations, workshops and other activities, there will also be a limited number of students as well as the mandatory use of the mask.