Presentation by ERSAF at the event "Urban forests between challenges and opportunities" held on the 15.02.2023 at the Politecnico di Milano and online.

1. From grey to green.
Can cities be transformed?
Uforest Alliance to promote innovation capacity
among universities, cities and businesses to
deliver a new interdisciplinary approach to UF in
Europe
ERSAF - ETIFOR | Valuing Nature
15 February 2023 Politecnico - Milan

2. Urbanisation trends and climate change are
two of the most difficult challenges our societies
have ever faced.
In Europe, the trends tell us that by 2050 84%
of the population will live in urban areas.
Air pollution and climate change will
continue to harm the health of European
citizens, with young and elderly people facing
even high risks.

3. BENEFITS OF URBAN FORESTS
social
climatic
psycho-physical
ecological
economic

4. However, cities often
struggle to implement
such tools.
Why?

5. CHALLENGE 1
Many cities across the globe are setting challenging urban reforestation targets,
but they are struggling with:
• high related costs
• the need for long-term citizen engagement
• capacity of existing institutions to implement Urban Forestry (UF) solutions.
CHALLENGE 2
Today, the demand for UF practitioners able to innovate urban areas is increasing,
but there is a lack of interdisciplinary training and support for innovative
public-private UF initiatives.

6. Uforest aims at supporting students
and practitioners in the implementation
of innovative Urban Forestry projects
and help them maximise the economic,
environmental, and social benefits of
nature-based solutions.
How?

7. Uforest is a Knowledge Alliance
project co-funded by the Erasmus+
Programme of the European Union.
Bringing together universities,
businesses, and public institutions,
the Alliance has developed a 3-steps
approach to foster innovation in the
Urban Forestry sector.

8. In partnership with 4 universities
6 research and networking organisations
and companies
Uforest is a project promoted by ERSAF and Etifor

9. 3-STEP APPROACH:
JOIN • LEARN • GREEN YOUR CITY

10. JOIN
Urban Forestry is an interdisciplinary
field and requires networking,
consulting, and engaging with different
stakeholders.
That is why Uforest created the
Uforest Alliance where researchers,
practitioners, and professionals can
connect and exchange knowledge
and best practices.

11. JOIN
Global network on Urban Forestry
CONTACT SHARE

13. LEARN
Starting from research, best
practices, and needs
analyses, the Uforest team
has developed high-quality
learning materials and
tailored urban forestry
training.

14. LEARN
Specifically, Uforest delivered the following learning resources:
● 1 Detailed Stakeholders’ Analysis and Training Needs’ Assessment (TNA)
● 1 EU Urban Forestry Blueprint: Analyzing innovative trends and
challenges within Urban Forestry
● 1 EU Strategy and policy document on Urban Forestry
● 20 Case studies on innovative Urban Forestry initiatives across Europe
www.uforest.eu/learn/

15. uforest.eu/case-studies
LEARN – 20 EU CASE STUDIES

17. .
EU WIDE E-LEARNING
COURSE
BASIC MOOC
CAPSTONE COURSE
● Introductory concepts
and knowledge
● Start: 21 November 2022
● Tot workload: 50 hours
2 ECTS - Accessible to
everyone
● In deep concepts,
Project-based learning
approach
● Project Work
● Start: February 2023 (TBD)
● Tot workload: 100 hours
November 2022 - May 2023
4 ECTS - Accessible by 150
students (minimum of 25 students
from each partner university)
LEARN

18. GREEN YOUR CITY
Uforesters on the ground!
1 specialisation
programme
Urban Forestry
workshops for
professionist in local
languages

19. GREEN YOUR CITY
Finally, the project will organise the European simultaneous planting
campaign in 4 different cities.
MILAN (Italy) Autumn 2023
BRASOV (Romania) Spring and Autumn 2023
DUBLIN (Ireland) Autumn 2023
BARCELLONA (Spain) Autumn 2023

20. Each campaign will
implement an innovative
Urban Forestry solution
tailored to the needs of
that specific urban context.

21. www.uforest.eu
Build greener and more liveable cities:
participate, learn & get involved!
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erica.alghisi@ersaf.lombardia.it
ilaria.doimo@etifor.it

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