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Active involvement with nature (such as gardening), doing something in the nature (such as strolling), and taking occasional looks to the nature by the windows are three different levels of engagement with nature. The horticultural therapy (HT) activity carried out in the Neurorehabilitation Therapeutic Garden in Venice, at the San Camillo Hospital Foundation, gave the opportunity for examining how different levels of involvement with nature are perceived to bring well-being, by different users. The aim was to explore the perceived restorative potential (PRP) of the garden by a) neurological patients b) relatives and caregivers and c) staff of the hospital. Among the 294 participants 1) 134 were usually engaged in HT, 2) 84 were regularly walking in the garden, 3) 76 was aware of the garden but they did not attend it. All of them were asked to complete the Italian version of the perceived restorativeness scale (PRS) on their experience in the garden. The results show that the garden is perceived as restorative, both in total and for the four restorative factors (being away, fascination, extent and compatibility) examined in the questionnaire, discriminating between the three different levels of engagement. The restorative potential was significantly higher in patients regularly engaged in HT in comparison to the other sub-groups. Relatives and caregivers had benefits from both working and strolling in the garden. These experimental evidences confirm that the green spaces in the hospitals are a fundamental health resource for the mind-body unit and that promoting outdoor physical activity in natural environments brings benefits to relatives and caregivers. The Perceived Restorative Potential could be both a useful index to address people to HT and to follow up the HT benefits.

The RESearch Centre on Urban Environment for Agriculture and Biodiversity (RESCUE-AB), within the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences of the University of Bologna, is committed to promote urban horticulture and biodiversity in Europe and in several countries of the Global South, bringing together skills and research expertise in the fields of horticulture, environmental sciences and entomology. Educational activities build upon a range of international projects, specifically devoted to create innovative training tools. These range from adult education for urban gardeners and school educators, to higher education curricula. Lifelong learning instruments addressing the social and environmental functions of urban horticulture have been developed within the framework of LLP-Grundtvig projects, such as the project “HORTIS” (Horticulture in Towns for Social Inclusion and Socialisation, www.hortis-europe.net). Successful application of the developed educational models are already being explored within social projects, such as the Urban Innovative Action “SALUS W SPACE” (Villa SALUS as a new Sustainable Accessible Livable Usable Social space for intercultural Wellbeing, Welfare and Welcoming in the Metropolitan City of Bologna), in which urban agriculture becomes a tool for social inclusion and capacity building among communities of political refugees and immigrants. Specific training on how to design and implement educational gardens in schools is then the main objective of the ongoing project “GARDENS TO GROW” (Urban Horticulture for Innovative and Inclusive Early Childhood Education), funded by Erasmus+. The same funding scheme promoted between 2014 and 2017 the project “URBAN GREEN TRAIN” (URBAN GReen Education for ENTteRprising Agricultural Innovation), with the aim of encouraging the creation of pioneering business initiatives in Urban Agriculture (UA), by reinforcing the so called knowledge triangle among Education, Research and Business. Within the project a partnership of public and private organizations from Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands, developed, tested and made available to different types of learners a pilot international, cross-sectoral, multi-targeted training path on Urban Agriculture Entrepreneurship. Similarly, the ongoing project Erasmus+ “BUGI” (Western Balkans Urban Agriculture Initiative) brings together the most innovative business models in urban agriculture in Europe and support their adaptation and diffusion in Eastern Europe and the Balkan context. Finally, the capacity-building of early-stage researchers was addressed in the project H2020 MSCA “SUSTURBANFOODS” (Integrated sustainability assessment of social and technological innovations towards urban food systems), where innovative research on comparative sustainability assessment of different urban horticulture models across Europe was set in place.

Indoor farming systems are claimed to improve plant resource use efficiency (including water) as compared to traditional growing systems. However, electricity costs associated with plant lighting are still limiting the growth of the sector. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) may provide elevate electricity use-efficiency, while also allowing for adjusting light spectral properties to the plant needs. The goal of this study is to identify the role played by red:blue (RB) ratio on the water and energy resource use efficiency of indoor basil cultivation, linking the light physiological response to changes in yield. Basil plants were cultivated in growth chamber under LED lights supplying 5 different RB ratio regimens (respectively, RB0.5, RB1, RB2, RB3, and RB4) and against fluorescent lamps as control (FL1). In all treatments light supplied provided a PPFD of 215 μmol m-2 s-1 and a photoperiod of 16 h of light per day. Greater biomass production was associated with LEDs lighting as compared with fluorescent lamp, with best performances observed using RB≥2. Adoption of RB2 and RB3 improved also the plant's capacity to transform resources, resulting in greatest energy use efficiency. Decreasing RB ratio increased leaf stomatal conductance, therefore leading to low water use efficiency under RB