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Community gardenActiveSince 2014

Shanghai Community Garden Movement (SEEDING / Clover Nature School)

Shanghai, China · Operator: Shanghai Clover Nature School / Tongji University Community Garden & Community Creation Lab (Liu Yuelai)

CommunityFood educationCompostDIYOrganic cycleBiodiversity

Overview

A citywide movement begun in 2014 to spread resident-participatory community gardens across Shanghai. Led by the non-profit Clover Nature School, co-founded by Tongji University's Liu Yuelai, it turns neglected spaces into citizen-built edible green areas.

Citizen participation

Residents plan and self-build 'mini-gardens' in their own neighbourhoods and join composting, rainwater-harvesting and permaculture workshops. A 30-plus-person team runs trainings and design support nationwide, spreading a model in which residents act as 'owners'; during COVID, the at-home SEEDING (sowing) plan drew 200+ participants within a week.

Operating model

A non-profit model led by Clover Nature School and a Tongji University lab, working with government, enterprise and social organisations and funded through commissioned design/operation, workshops, and research/education. The SEEDING plan was featured in UN-Habitat's 'Shanghai Manual'.

Impact

Created 200+ community gardens and 900+ resident mini-gardens between 2014 and 2022, drawing national and international attention as a model of resident self-governance, neighbourhood regeneration, food education and biodiversity, with the goal of a citywide green network.

Land tenure

License / permit

Individual gardens use public green spaces or vacant lots in neighbourhoods under government/neighbourhood-committee permission; tenure varies case by case.

Crops

  • vegetables
  • herbs
  • fruit

Scale

Citywide movement: 200+ community gardens and 900+ resident-run mini-gardens built 2014–2022; team has assisted 260+ gardens and 1,200+ mini-gardens, aiming for 2,040 gardens covering ~70% of neighbourhoods

In the media（1）

Web articles and features that cover this case.

Sources（1）

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

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Shanghai Community Garden Movement (SEEDING / Clover Nature School) — Urban Farm DB