PALIMPSEST takes inspiration from the original meaning of the Greek word παλίμψηστος (palimpsestos, ‘again’ + ‘scrape’), which describes the process of the writing practices over papyrus: existing text was scraped and washed off, the surface re-smoothed, and the new literary material written on the saved material. PALIMPSEST adopts this re-writing perspective and grounds it on a living heritage approach. PALIMPSEST envisages regenerating the lost “sustainability wisdom” underlying the production of heritage landscapes through the activation of co-creation processes involving creative actors, technical stakeholders and civic society. Here architecture, design and art practices will dialogue with place-specific needs and broad systemic challenges to imagine new scenarios and experiment with innovative practices connecting human actions, landscape heritage and sustainability objectives. Such experiments will envision novel Landscape Scenarios aiming at producing dedicated Landscape Services, inspired by the generation of beneficial outcomes on ecosystem functions, which the creative contribution of CCIs will empower. Human practices will arise as relevant agents of a new sustainable palimpsest process. PALIMPSEST will integrate the aforementioned Landscape Services in environmental-sensitive solutions with sustainable finance infrastructures to support the sharing and circulating of positive externalities at different levels among the landscape service actors and communities. PALIMPSEST revolves around three pilots with strong cultural identities and relevant environmental problems: Lodz (PL), a UNESCO city of films fighting the highest air pollution levels in Europe; Milan fringes (IT), traditional agricultural landscapes struggling with unsustainable water use; Jerez de la Frontera (ES), an Andalusian wine landscape and vernacular site challenged by renewable energy production facilities.

Agriculture soils are being heavily affected by climate change and are highly vulnerable to degradation and desertification, particularly in the Mediterranean and southern regions of the EU. If climate change is not mitigated, yields of crops like wheat, maize and sugar beet could decrease in southern EU by up to 50 % by 2050. Although agriculture has been signalled as a significant contributor to GHG emissions (13% of EU total emissions), it is also one of the sectors with the biggest potential to adapt to and mitigate climate change. In this sense, Carbon Farming appears as a promising solution for soils’ health and for the sustainability of EU agriculture. LILAS4SOILS will put in place 5 Living Labs (LLs) in 6 countries to co-create the adoption of Carbon Farming solutions within farmers, agri-food businesses, researchers and local authorities, and implement Carbon Farming Practices -CFPs- (peatland management, agroforestry, livestock and manure management, and nutrient management, maintaining soil organic carbon) in 85-100 demo-sites. CFPs impact on soil carbon sequestration and environmental co-benefits will be assessed through the adoption of homogeneous Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) technologies. The 5-year project involves 24 expert partners, +25 stakeholders will part of each LL for interdisciplinary knowledge exchange (20 co-creation workshops to be held) and +71 farmers will be engaged in CFPs implementation, ensuring the multi-actor approach. 10 training workshops (supported by 21 materials), 10 policy workshops (supported by 2 sets of recommendations per LL), 8 cross-fertilisation and synergies workshops and 2 replication workshops within other regions in EU are envisaged as part of the project's focus on knowledge transfer. Through directed Open Calls, LILAS4SOILS will encourage the participation of 35-50 additional farmers and support the testing of 15 MRV innovative technologies that overcome the limitations of the conventional ones.

TEAPOTS aims to give agri-food players an innovative integrated, modular, and flexible solution to meet local and seasonal energy demand through the valorisation of lignocellulosic and difficult to be treated agricultural waste while producing biochar. The first valorisation process will employ pyrolysis to extract heat from waste. Heat will be employed by an Organic Rankine Cycle to produce electric energy, which will be employed by a Dry Cooler & Oil-free AWC to cool down cold rooms for storing agri-food products. The second process will extract heat using a Compost Heat Recovery System to harness hot water from the oxidation of biomass while producing compost. Heat will be used to provide sanitary hot water. These technologies will be integrated in the TEAPOTS Integrated Solution, TIS, to demonstrate the feasibility of the entire process using all the modules to provide refrigeration. Biochar and compost will be used as plant biostimulants to increase yields and store carbon in soil improving the environmental footprint of the end-user. Feedstocks to be used in the TIS will be mixed to improve energy production and products’ quality. Field and satellite data will be gathered to evaluate biomass growth, while the TIS operational data will be used to evaluate the environmental impact, through LCA analysis, and the overall functionality of the solution. Data will be integrated in a database which will allow the prediction of waste biomass production. This will be used by a Data Driven Decision Support System (DSS) to improve field and waste logistics, which will provide the means to keep the TIS up and running. The prediction system and the DSS will be integrated in the TEAPOTS Digital Platform, which will have an easy-to-use user interface to help end-users in the management of the entire solution. A Multy-Actor Approach will be employed to create a network of biomass producers interested in using agricultural waste to improve their environmental impact

The megatrends are clear: by 2050, 84% of the European population will live in urban areas, while air pollution and climate change will continue to harm the health of European citizens. Despite minor improvements, pollution levels, that regularly exceed the European Union (EU) limits, and heatwaves, endanger the lives of young and elderly people. Urban forests are effective Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) that help mitigate the effects of climate change while improving air quality, urban temperature and lifestyle of modern cities. Main global cities are setting challenging urban reforestation targets while struggling to face related costs and citizens engagement to meet current changing and future needs. On the other hand, urban planning and forestry sciences have failed to provide interdisciplinary training to engage with innovative public-private urban forestry (UF) initiatives and trends. The UFOREST Alliance aims at promoting Europe’s innovation capacity among universities, cities and businesses to deliver a new approach to UF. It will do so by:• facilitating the exchange, flow and co-creation of knowledge among universities, local authorities, and business coming from 4 key interdisciplinary approaches that often are not cooperating: urban landscape planning, forest ecology, socio-economics and, information and communication technologies;• promoting a new, innovative and multidisciplinary global blended training course on UF for both students and professionals;• stimulating entrepreneurial attitude of students, researchers and professionals to provide public and private sectors with innovative and cost-effective UF solutions. The project will focus on Italy, Spain, Romania, Ireland, Netherlands and Canada. Results will have a strong EU-global dimension and transferability potential, capitalizing on existing national and international networks and through the partnership with the European Forestry Institute, a leading European networking and research instituti

Nemesis strategically establishes five autonomous yet interconnected user-oriented, sustainable Living Labs (LLs) in Cyprus, France, Italy, North Africa (Tunisia/Algeria), and Spain, to combat desertification and improve soil health across the Mediterranean. These LLs will evolve into a multi-disciplinary virtual LL, with primary goal to incorporate all relevant soil health descriptors across a spectrum of heterogeneous real-life environments. The Nemesis community envisions itself as a potent hub of innovative solutions addressing adverse soil degradation issues in the region and beyond, and supporting the Soil Monitoring Law at multiple levels. Nemesis seeks to promote effective, sustainable land management practices and tackle the various societal challenges associated with soil health deterioration in the region. A comprehensive set of tools and frameworks will be established. These are designed to secure the long-term viability and optimal functionality of the LLs, with the aim to advance LLs’ pilot sites (60 already identified at the proposal stage) into Lighthouses where they can showcase solutions and exemplary achievements. A core principle guiding Nemesis is its commitment to co-creation and co-development. Nemesis will also emphasize the active engagement of local communities and citizens, with a special focus on representing future generations to build a foundation of environmentally conscious citizens. Nemesis facilitates the exchange of knowledge and fosters the development of novel and adaptable tools that are essential for informed decision-making and policy shaping. The project recognizes the importance of policy creation in addressing the complex challenges it seeks to tackle. This ensures that the innovative solutions generated within the Nemesis LL network will influence broader policy frameworks, fostering a more comprehensive and coordinated approach to combating desertification, among other objectives.