September 2022 – September 2023
Croatia
In collaboration with NGO Positive Changes, we successfully launched and completed two MaNaBu Green Movements - in Samobor and Slavonski Brod - bringing children together with educators, and urban gardening experts to transform neglected kindergarten corners into blooming, biodiverse spaces.
Children learned through hands-on experience how plants, soil, and pollinators like bees keep our ecosystems alive. They created nature-protection murals with artists and planted flower beds and mini-gardens that not only beautify their neighbourhoods, but also actively support local biodiversity and environmental resilience.
*Why this matters for children’s health*
A groundbreaking experiment in Finland demonstrated that when kindergartens replaced asphalt with forest soil, wild plants, moss, and gardens, children developed:
• stronger immune systems
• more beneficial microbes on their skin
• better resistance to disease-causing bacteria
• improved mental wellbeing and cognitive focus
After just one year, the children who played in biodiverse outdoor spaces were significantly healthier compared to children surrounded by concrete, plastic, and gravel.
This scientific evidence confirms that time in nature is not a luxury - it is essential for children’s wellbeing.
To inspire even more families, we are producing short videos from each movement so children across Croatia can replicate these actions by greening their own homes, balconies, schools, and playgrounds.
These first two movements mark the beginning of the MaNaBu Community Gardens vision and the development of MaNaBu Green Hubs - urban spaces where children and parents reconnect with nature, learn how to care for our planet, and strengthen both environmental awareness and mental health.
When children plant seeds, they are growing a healthier future, for themselves, for their communities, and for the Earth.
2024 onwardBansko, Bulgaria