Grădina Urbană community garden, Ungheni, Moldova

An urban garden being laid out in the centre of Ungheni, Moldova, by the cross-border project GARDEN ("Cultivating Clean Air in Urban Environments"). The city has set aside 0.8 hectares and allocates plots to schools and resident groups. It is designed as a practical answer to air pollution, a shortage of green space, urban heat islands and declining biodiversity, and will produce a replication kit and policy recommendations so other towns can copy it.

Plots are allocated to local schools and resident groups who grow together. Three educational workshops with at least 50 participants each are planned, and a cross-border steering committee of 12 experts sets the plan. Secondary-school students took part in drawing up design concepts for the garden.

Grant-funded through the EU's Interreg NEXT Romania–Republic of Moldova programme. Of a total budget of EUR 303,802.50, the EU contributes EUR 273,422.25 (a 90% co-financing rate). The project runs from June 2025 to December 2026.

The launch event held in Ungheni on 22 August 2025 drew 72 participants. The project plans three educational workshops (at least 50 people each), a strategy on women and climate action, and a multiplication event in Iași, Romania. No figures for the garden's own yields or user numbers have been published yet.

Ungheni city hall and the local council set aside 0.8 hectares of municipal land for the project.

This entry is compiled from the public sources, official sites and research below.

• OfficialLansarea unui nou proiect transfrontalier … prin crearea și pilotarea unui model inovator de grădină urbană（ウンゲニ市役所） ↗ungheni.md
• OfficialCultivating Clean Air in Urban Environments (GARDEN) — Interreg NEXT Romania–Rep. Moldova, keep.eu ↗keep.eu
• OfficialGrădina Urbană（事業公式サイト） ↗gradinaurbana.md