Hongxu Habitat Garden
Shanghai, China · Operator: The Nature Conservancy (TNC) China & Shanghai Clover Nature School, with Hongxu community residents
Overview
Completed November 2019, a ~450 m² community 'habitat garden' reclaimed from a rubble dump, with native plants, a pond and vegetable beds that provide habitat for urban wildlife while connecting residents to nature. It is the first of Shanghai's habitat-garden network (24 gardens by 2023).
Citizen participation
Residents take part through volunteer training, citizen-science lectures, 'one-metre garden' planting, ecological composting and nature observation. On World Environment Day they build 'bug hotels' to attract pollinators, and retired elderly residents join daily upkeep, forming new social ties.
Operating model
A non-profit biodiversity-restoration project co-created by The Nature Conservancy and Clover Nature School; resident volunteers run it day-to-day, funded through NGO and government support.
Impact
Grew into a 24-garden network by 2023 providing food, water and shelter for 90+ wildlife species, boosting elderly social participation and residents' interest in biodiversity, and becoming a practical model for urban biodiversity conservation.
Land tenure
Public green space (a former rubble store) within the residential compound, developed and managed as a habitat garden by NGOs and residents with the neighbourhood committee's consent.
Crops
- vegetables
- herbs
Scale
450 m² — About 450 m²; former rubble/waste storage area now with native plants, a pond, vegetable beds, children's play area and a pavilion; 70+ plant species. First of a 24-garden Shanghai habitat-garden network supporting 90+ wildlife species by 2023
Sources（2）
This entry is compiled from the public sources, official sites and research below.
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