KIC Garden (Chuangzhi Nongyuan / Knowledge & Innovation Community Garden)
Shanghai, China · Operator: Shanghai Clover Nature School (上海四叶草堂青少年自然体验服务中心)
Overview
Opened in July 2016 as Shanghai's first open-community urban farm. A narrow vacant lot, left unused because a major municipal tunnel runs beneath it, was transformed into a resident-participatory permaculture garden.
Citizen participation
Residents and children grow vegetables in plots and permaculture beds and join workshops, nature-experience programs and composting. As Shanghai's first open-community urban farm, it bridges an adjacent gated community and a new open neighbourhood as a shared public space.
Operating model
Run by the non-profit Clover Nature School. Built in 2016 with funding from the private KIC developer; activities are sustained through workshops, commissioned design and management work, and partnerships with government and enterprise.
Impact
As Clover Nature School's flagship site it became a hub of Shanghai's community-garden movement and a model for cooperation among government, enterprise, social organisations and the public, hosting numerous food-education and nature programs.
Land tenure
City-owned land that cannot be built on because a tunnel runs beneath it; licensed to Clover Nature School to operate as a community garden.
Crops
- vegetables
- herbs
- fruit
Scale
2,200 m² — About 2,200 m² narrow vacant strip beside a gated community and a new open neighbourhood in Yangpu District; six functional zones including vegetable gardening, permaculture beds and a public agriculture area
Sources（2）
This entry is compiled from the public sources, official sites and research below.
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