In December 2024 my project (BioDiversiTeam) won the II #goCalp Urbanistas por la Sostenibilidad competition, run by Global Omnium and the Ajuntament de Calp.
The contest asked students over 14 to propose solutions to climate problems in their communities. The first prize was 5,000€, and the second 3,000€.
My proposal was a network of pop-up micro-parks (planters of native flora with living space for fauna too) that formed horizontal green corridors designed to link peri-urban vegetation to city centres.
The design principle was microbiological, bringing high diversity within each planter and randomised composition between them, so pollinators and birds could carry microbiota from outside the city.
Planters were designed to be 45×45×80cm and produced from marine-recovered plastic, at 290€ per unit. They were spaced a maximum of 50m apart (based on pollinator dispersal ranges) and required no irrigation.
My proof-of-concept proposed 34 planters running from the Peñón de Ifac into central Calpe. The cost totalled 9,860€ in units, 3,000€ in substrate, and 50€ in seed and mycorrhiza (12,910€ total), with no maintenance required beyond litter collection. This meant that, in the long run, it could be cheaper than the usual decorative planters cities implement.
Each micro-park would also carry a QR code linking to a page showing its flora and fauna as well as letting others sponsor a unit and receive updates from it.
While the organizers said that no first prize had been planned for that edition, they ended up reinstating it after seeing the top two entries.
At the award ceremony, Global Omnium's sustainability director also informed attendees that they were merging the 1st and 2nd prize projects into a pilot under development, to be implemented in Calpe and other Spanish cities.
