For the first time ever, a Gardeniser Pro training course took place in Austria, in the spring from May 16th - 20th, 2022. Hosted by the Verein Gartenpolylog, the training’s home base was installed in the Viennese Dogenhof, an amazing old building modeled after the Venetian Palazzo Ca d’Oro.
Day after day, 12 eager students pushed the palazzo’s door open to attend the classes given by Rachael Hemmings and Sophie Antonelli from Social Farms & Gardens. The trainers got splendid support by aspiring Gardeniser trainers and recent graduates from the Train the Trainer course, coming from the UK and France.
The participants came all the way from the Czech Republic and Italy, but most of them from all parts of Austria. With every single one of them being actively involved in - partly huge national or local – community garden projects, exchange on shared issues and discussions on various topics have been intense and profound. Besides the lessons delivered, the discussions became an essential part of the training course.
In the afternoons, a total of 8 different community garden projects in and around Vienna have been visited - from social therapeutic projects to urban gardening fields and small neighborhood composting projects.
In the end, everyone left filled with new information, inspiration and input – along with the strong desire to keep in touch in order to continue exchange and strengthen networks. This is for sure what's always worth most, and it is what Gardeniser is all about: connecting urban community garden enthusiasts and professionals to grow together and improve our common living environment.
