Greenworks’ goal is to help urban spaces become more healthy and friendly. Through a unique selection of plants we aim to improve indoor and outdoor environments. Plants have a positive impact on people and increase well-being in entire communities. Greenery also has a positive impact on buildings and cities as ecosystem services are at the core of green implementation. Plants affect the climate with milder temperatures and increased humidity. Plants, plant beds and plant walls have stormwater delaying properties and also act as climate compensation as they bind CO2 and release oxygen.
Plants benefit not only cities and people, but also pollinators. They create a place in the urban space for insects to thrive. Cities have otherwise been sterile and the material used for construction has made it difficult for plants to thrive and thus also insects. Plant walls create green corridors for insects to roam in and smaller ecosystems with high diversity.
Of all the pollinators, we at Greenworks are passionate about bees. But bees have had a tough time in the last decade and a collapse among bee communities has occurred all over the world. This has been due to an overuse of pesticides in agriculture. For bees to survive and create healthy bee communities, we must act!
#WorldBeeDay #Savethebees
May 20th is the international World Bee Day. It is created to highlight how important it is for us as individuals, companies and communities to get involved in the fight to create more pleasant environments for bees. During the day, we are all encouraged to plant plants, ensure meadows survival, not mow the grass and instal insect’s hotels to benefit bees and biodiversity!
Bee Engaged ➡ World Bee Day 2021
Bees are fundamental to human survival as they provide us with food in the form of fruit, allow flowers to bloom and therefore create healthy ecosystems that benefit diversity and our own food production.
When it comes to vertical gardens, plant selection is extremely important for bees.
We at Greenworks take this very seriously and will therefore always choose plants in our projects that we know that bees and other insects like!
Greenworks have invested in researching which plants thrive in cities, in specific climates, and are appreciated by bees. Our walls contain species such as nepetor, ivy, lavender, violet and types and flowering thyme. The species are also recurring and therefore ensure habitat for bees for a long time to come.
An encouraging initiative:
The members of the tenant-owner association on Storgatan 1, in the center of Stockholm, are considering installing bee boxes in the extension of the existing vertical garden, planned for the near future. The project includes planting more insect- and pollinator-friendly meadow plants near the boxes.
Bees also like the linden trees at Hedvig Elenora church, so this means that their habitat can hopefully be further strengthened. By creating more green lanes and corridors in urban environments, we can contribute and help biodiversity on the run. We also hope that this can inspire not only other tenant-owner associations, but also the municipality and other property owners.
In 2018, Greenworks together with Plantthatplant participated in a design competition at Sollidens Slott. The competition was about creating a concept for a cozy balcony. Our focus was to not only make it pleasant for residents but also favorable for insect life. Therefore, it was named the butterfly and insect balcony. The goal was to create a balcony with a high number of plants which was made possible by vertical planting and to use specific plant species for the promotion of insects. The balcony not only became beautiful but also acted as its own small ecosystem. The green corridor in the city was made possible and the concept won the whole competition!
Greenworks is constantly looking for partners and collaborations to keep on learning on the subject, and construct facades with even more diversity over the seasons.