NATUREMED Project, finalised on December 2022, had the objective of contributing to increasing urban resilience of the cities of Bethlehem, Saida and Jerash through the promotion of the naturalisation of urban spaces. To do so, each city identified its current green assets and spaces and determined a set of strategic actions to increase its green infrastructure.

The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), together with the work with civil society organisations, has been at the core of the diagnosis and identification of potential green infrastructure in the three cities. Given that this tool has multiple applications and that cities can apply it in their daily urban management in relation to a wide range of applications, both the cities of Saida and Jerash implemented a GIS training program for their employees and for members of the Civil Society Organisations.

In addition, Bethlehem municipal employees have learned about daily planning and maintenance of green infrastructure in the town, while Jerash public employees focused their training activities on learning about the potential uses of Nature-Based Solutions in relation to water management.

Increasing the presence of nature in cities has multiple benefits for its citizens, who at the same time play a key role in keeping these elements tidy and alive. For this reason, it is crucial that citizens are aware of such benefits and have a sense of ownership of the city’s green elements. This is why Saida, Bethlehem and Jerash celebrated a set of awareness-raising activities involving different sectors of society.

Saida’s citizens celebrated environmental awareness day, which included open-air activities such as yoga or an upcycling workshop for kids. In Jerash, the women from Jerash Women Association received training on how to produce compost from organic waste and use it in home gardens. In order to increase the lifespan of the city’s natural elements and the efficiency of resource use, the workers of Bethlehem municipality learned about trees and green elements maintenance needs.

In addition, both Jerash and Bethlehem celebrated “Environment day” in two schools from the city. During that day, girls and boys learned about how nature in cities can improve their daily lives. The kids will experience on first hand these benefits since in both cases the activities ended up with a plantation of the school’s garden. In addition to this activity, both Jerash and Bethlehem celebrated “Plantation day” together with their citizens. A total of 20 trees were planted in Jerash and 60 in Bethlehem.