Day 3
The third day showed how even a small abandoned urban lot can be transformed into a green oasis that supports biodiversity and improves quality of life in a dense neighbourhood. The visit then continued at a food hub inside Athens' Central Market, where participants saw how education, tastings and workshops can connect producers, consumers and urban communities.
Pangrati pocket park
It is the largest pocket park in the city, with an area of 750 square metres, created to transform an abandoned urban lot, often used as a dumping ground, into an accessible green oasis, with the aim of improving the quality of life in a densely populated neighbourhood. It was built in 2021 through a collaboration between the Municipality of Athens, through the "Adopt your city" programme, the private sector and Organization Earth.
The park is planted with dense vegetation, including black locusts, birches and native aromatic herbs, chosen to support local biodiversity and provide shade. Its design also reflects an ecological approach: it was built with eco-friendly materials, including reused railway sleepers, and features a sustainable drainage system for water runoff and lighting powered by stand-alone photovoltaic panels.
Open Farm Agora
Open Farm Agora is a food hub and an educational space dedicated to agri-food sustainability, located inside the Central Market of Athens. The initiative was created with the aim of building a concrete link between agricultural producers, consumers and urban communities, bringing people closer to the origin of food and to local production realities.
The space combines education, networking, outreach and the promotion of local products, hosting workshops, seminars, tastings, events and experiential activities with producers and professionals from the agri-food sector. Particular attention is given to topics such as sustainable nutrition, seasonality and the local origin of products, food supply chains, biodiversity, soil health, resource management and waste reduction.
During the visit participants tasted an olive oil and made biscuits with carob flour.