AhlmanEdu and VRJ Group represented both the international network of the European Platform for Urban Greening and the local Centre of Vocational Excellence at the Landscape and Technology Expo in Finland. The expo gathered nearly 3,000 green professionals in Jyväskylä on 14-15th of February 2024.
The Landscape and Technology Expo, which has been held in Finland since 1980, gathered nearly 3,000 green professionals in Jyväskylä on 14-15 February this year. The event offered inspiring seminar presentations, interesting discussions and meetings with colleagues from Finland and abroad. AhlmanEdu and VRJ Group represented both the international network of the European Platform for Urban Greening and the local Centre of Vocational Excellence, its new trainings and cooperation models.
We shared information on green education and training
Our department’s overarching theme at the event was the light of knowledge. We informed visitors about current training, events and cooperation opportunities we have to offer to professionals and students in Finland and in the partner countries of the network. We also introduced visitors to new learning solutions and the virtual learning environment. We informed visitors about the themes, objectives and activities of the European Platform for Urban Greening project, and there was much discussion and interest in the diverse results of the project.
We had many interesting discussions about training and training needs in the sector. We collected wishes for future training and skills needs. We received ideas on issues such as species selection and vegetation for green walls and roofs, and dynamic planting. Visitors expressed their wish to see some of the past training sessions repeated. Among the upcoming training courses, the Soil Food Web and the Edible Forest Garden courses attracted a lot of interest.
Lectures on soil and increasing the attractiveness of the green sector
In the seminar programme, we explored the aspects of green reciprocity through different themes. Experts from the European Platform for Urban Greening gave important presentations. Our Soil Food Web expert Dora Tkalec focused her presentation on the world of the soil food web and its impact on the whole ecosystem. Henrik Bos from VRJ Group and Laura Roebroeck from Worlds of Green, our project partner, spoke about the attractiveness of the green sector and how to attract new players to the sector. In his own lecture, Jere Nieminen from Wild Zone NGO, spoke about participatory maintenance of green areas.
Developing new cooperation in the green sector
To sum up, this year’s expo gave us more than we could have imagined. We forged new collaborations and listened to requests for new training needs. During these two days, we took the message of urban green forward and strengthened the foundation from which future actors will be trained.
See you at the Landscape and Technology Expo again in 2025!
Read more about the Landscape and Technology Expo here.
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