With the greening plan, we have transferred the unique example of a sustainable approach in the urban space to our work environment, and it is already showing visible results. It stimulates our curiosity, interest, brings fresh ideas to life, and motivates the work atmosphere. Different species of birds enjoy flying over the inviting green area next to our office buildings, where they feel very much at home.
Coexisting with nature even during work
In the new social and economic conditions which we have witnessed in the last year and a half due to the coronavirus pandemic, some things remain constant and are exempt from numerous measures, adaptations and lifestyle changes. Nature and natural processes continue going their own way, and like never before, this experience has shown that humans need nature much more than nature needs them.
Initiatives on the symbiosis of the human living and working environment are more than welcome in the modern world, which was proven especially important in the last few months when we spent most of our time at home or in offices. We had very little contact with nature, and real, live sounds and birds flying cannot be replaced by even the best audiovisual equipment or computer programs and apps.
Sustainable solutions
Prof. Davorin Gazvoda, PhD, who designed the new green surfaces around the Medis premises, said that today’s sustainable solutions are, so to speak, the basic paradigm in spatial planning. Not only in the concrete design of open spaces but also urban planning and design:
If in landscape architecture we used to talk about the planning of green urban systems, today we are talking about the planning of green urban infrastructure, which includes different levels of open space management. Many of the solutions are distinctly sustainable. In the case of Medis, the size of the plot and its location, as well as the existing trees on the edge of the plot which give the arrangement a more mature look, were certainly an advantage.
The first initiative came from Medis
The area of Ljubljana – Črnuče is very interesting in itself. The specialty of this corner in Ljubljana is also cherished by conservation ornithologist Tilen Basle, BSc ecologist conservationist, from the DOPPS-Birdlife Slovenia. He has been collaborating with the organization from a young age, and already has a lot of experience with the installation of nesting boxes in appropriate locations of buildings in urban areas across Slovenia.
Tilen Basle was pleased that the initiative came from Medis, which is unique, as a similar case has not been encountered in Slovenia to date. He emphasized the importance of such initiatives, as cities often lack suitable bird nesting sites:
The increased number of nesting birds contributes to the reduction of the number of insects, which has a positive effect on the well-being of people, as well as on the yield in our garden or orchard.
We stopped mowing the lawns
For me, one of the best things is that we stopped mowing the lawns. So many flowers, different grasses and other plants immediately started growing! Green, flat, but basically dead grass - it could even be a carpet - now became alive, beautiful and colourful for everyone to marvel at, rest their eyes and recharge their batteries.
The kestrel takes care of the mice and the voles, the bats feed on the insects, the great tits in the trees or bushes exterminate the aphids, while the bees pollinate the flowers that later become fruit and even honey for our neighbours. We save the mowing, the poison for the rodents and the use of pesticides. We are preserving nature,
Tone Strnad, founder of Medis, shared his excitment with the greening plan at Medis.
