In preparation for our upcoming events in Leuven, Belgium, on June 9-11, we have been looking for local gardening initiatives and travelling to visit them. Some of the visits took place last year in June, as part of research under The Open Garden, The Open Kitchen, and Intercropping Revisited.

The city is home to the oldest botanical and herb garden in Belgium, established in 1738 as a practical educational garden for students. At the same time, community gardens run by local neighbourhoods and cultural institutions are present in the city, offering not only fresh crops but also spaces for cultivating community.

The garden adjacent to Hal5, a temporary repurposing of an industrial railway hall behind Leuven train station, is one of the locations that attracted our attention. Known as Leerpluktuin, the garden provides space for the local neighbourhood to learn about gardening and harvest some fresh fruits and vegetables. The garden attracted our attention especially through its organisational structure: it is not parcelled into smaller beds, in order to divide the crops between the volunteers and staff members. The whole garden is one big garden bed, and the ownership belongs to everyone. This April we, heard that several smaller, designated garden beds were made for students, especially for educational purposes.

The philosophy behind this garden inspired us greatly – we will take this inspiration further during our events in June.