Abstract:

The "INFRAVERDE-2022/23" project is an update to the needs proposed by the "Projects Office of the General Coordination of the Mayor's Office of the Madrid City Council", in relation to the previous project of 2020-21: "ApS-INFRAVERDE". This experience has served to implement new Service-Learning (SL) actions with students of the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) in the premises that the City Council considers a priority. The Technical Department of the Madrid City Council proposed the continuation of these activities through nature-based solutions and design of urban eco-gardens in social centres, which could improve their environment. The integration of elements such as green roofs or facades in which homeless themselves can participate in the process of assembly and subsequent maintenance. These workshops and socio-educational activities can be an improvement to the psychosocial care they receive, generating opportunities for intervention and change.

The two selected centres are part of the Madrid City Council's network of care for homeless people. The "Beatriz Galindo" centre is a specialised centre for women who are in a situation of serious exclusion or homelessness, who may have problems of addiction, serious and/or long-lasting mental illness, prostitution or gender-based violence. The "San Isidro" public shelter offers 268 beds and is managed by the Social Policies, Family and Equality Area of the Madrid City Council.

The specific objectives of the project were:
1) To develop master's degree thesis carried out by UPM students that respond to the needs posed by the Madrid City Council in relation to the environmental and social improvement of municipal centres, facilities and equipment.
2) To increase the civic and environmental awareness of 150 primary and secondary school students, and
3) To collaborate with the technical staff of the Madrid City Council and the teaching staff of the schools to provide them with educational proposals and environmental solutions that will benefit the users and students of the municipal facilities proposed by the Madrid City Council.

The purpose of this project is to integrate a group of UPM professors and service-learning students (SLS) from different topics, to develop examples of green infrastructure, to show the potential of these improvements in the quality of life and the environment of these City Council shelters for victims of gender violence, homelessness and drug addiction, that provides the opportunity for SLS students and other volunteers and professionals from companies in the gardening sector to participate in tasks related to their curricular activities. The general educational competencies to be developed through these service-learning activities are the development of group actions that commit actively with the reality of disadvantaged groups,as well as, the use of SL in university education for the training of future professionals to take on the challenge of citizen engagement by " learning to transform".

Companies in the sector have collaborated in providing solutions with the donation of irrigation controllers and providing an example of private sector participation to raise citizen engagement through service learning. This project also shares synergies with the Erasmus+ project "Young Innovators fostering citizen Engagement for sustainable and fair Transformation and Innovation" (YETI) and the EIT Climate-Kic project "Dive & Breath" of the EU Horizon 2020 Call.

Keywords:

Volunteering, citizen engagement, community service, gardening, urban trees, educational competencies, victims of gender violence, drug dependence.