The soils in the city are generally eroded and polluted, so when it comes to urban gardening, soil regeneration is one of the main challenges.

One of the main ideas behind our action here, is not to think of organic waste as waste, but rather as a precious resource. We started composting gardening debris from our spaces from the start of the project. But we dreamed on extending this vision to the whole Faculty. To achieve that, we started composting the debris coming from all green areas in campus. Before, the Faculty had to pay to discharge from these residues, which additionally had to be transported to the treatment station. Today, we have the important role of doing all of this locally. This process reduces carbon emissions and the ecological footprint of the campus, and it diminishes the costs of the whole operation. To make it happen, we designed a larger composter and made the dream come true! Simultaneously, we use worms to make vermicompost from the leftovers of some of the cafeterias and canteens of the campus.

More than plants, we grow soil in an urban environment, and we are progressing towards turning the organic food “waste” management of the Faculty into a circular process, a closed cycle, contributing significantly to the environmental sustainability of the campus.

Video by Earth Collectiv ● Vasco Pissarra