Designing Climate Resilience Through Nature and Creativity

The seminar introduced participants to the concept of nature-based solutions (NbS) and explored how communities can play an active role in addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, urban heat, and water management. Through examples from cities across Europe—including Copenhagen, Berlin, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Barcelona, and Vienna—the session demonstrated how even small-scale interventions can create lasting environmental and social benefits.

Rather than beginning with conventional presentations alone, participants were encouraged to reflect on a simple question: "When was the last time nature surprised you in a city?" This opening exercise set the tone for an afternoon focused on curiosity, observation, and seeing urban environments from new perspectives.
Following the inspiration session, participants took part in a hands-on co-creation workshop, translating ideas into three-dimensional conceptual models using simple recycled materials, paper, tape, and miniature figures. The resulting installations explored themes such as green shade, pocket parks, biodiversity corridors, water, recycling, accessibility, and human connections through nature, demonstrating how creative methods can help visualize future nature-rich neighbourhoods. The workshop encouraged participants to think beyond individual interventions and instead imagine relationships between people, nature, and the urban environment.

Throughout the session, participants evaluated their ideas using the Co-ADAPT Nature-Based Solutions Evaluation Framework, which considers ecological impact, climate adaptation, social benefits, feasibility, multiple benefits, ecological connectivity, and community stewardship. These seven guiding principles helped transform creative concepts into realistic, community-led solutions that could be implemented in neighbourhoods across Europe.

On 25 June 2026, the Co-ADAPT Nature-Based Solutions Exploration Seminar officially began in Vienna with an interactive workshop at WEST – Fassfabrik, a creative hub dedicated to sustainability, experimentation, and community innovation. The opening session invited participants to discover how nature-based solutions can emerge not only from scientific knowledge but also through observation, imagination, artistic expression, and collaborative design.