The city of the future should be greener, offering a higher quality of life for a growing population. Additionally, it should be designed in a way that is resilient to extreme weather and attractive to the animals and plants that often struggle to find space in many areas.
Green transformation is a top priority on the political agenda, as well as among the countless individuals who work daily with the framework and content of the modern city: gardeners, landscapers, educators, researchers, technicians, engineers, urban planners, and facilitators of all kinds.
Climate change, declining biodiversity, and urbanization impose significant demands on the future of green Denmark.
In brief, we need:
New technical solutions
Improved and more practically applicable education
More and better qualified employees
Increased collaboration between business, education, research, communication, and authorities
However, green transformation also intensifies many of the issues we’ve struggled with for decades.
These include:
Shortage of skilled workforce in the green sector
Ongoing decline in enrollment for vocational education
Challenges in fostering interdisciplinary collaboration
Lack of documented knowledge about the effects of climate efforts in urban spaces
EPLUG Denmark aims to address these challenges!
CoVE Denmark is a Center of Vocational Excellence (CoVE), one of the country’s first, bringing together major and minor green businesses, startups, green vocational schools, higher education institutions, research, consulting, and local authorities. The initial establishment of COVE Denmark stemmed from a close collaboration among three partners: Green Academy, a vocational education and training school; OK Nygaard, the largest landscaping company in Denmark; and Aarhus Municipality.
Together, we strive for green solutions in the modern city—solutions that target climate adaptation, biodiversity, and livable urban spaces. Our collaborations include education, course development, applied research, internationalization, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
CoVE Denmark is a part of the European Platform for Urban Greening (EPLUG) 2021-2024, connecting 6 green networks in as many countries (Denmark, Finland, Romania, Spain, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands) for a powerful effort toward green transformation!
Find us at https://platformurbangreening.eu/ and on social media using the same project name. In the initial phase, EPLUG Denmark is funded by ERASMUS+, the European education program.
Karolina Sikala
Green Academy Aarhus, Denmark
