With the successful Seed Projects launched last year, the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus (LDE) Climate & Biodiversity program started a new round of Seed Funds for 2026. These four awarded Seed Projects, covering a wide range of interdisciplinary topics, came together for the first time on the 10th of March during the Kick-Off Workshop, an exciting afternoon full of brainstorming, futuring and new connections!
The location for this years’ kick-off was fitting: a circular breeding ground located right next to Leiden Centraal called The Field. Surrounded by willows, wadi’s and vegetable gardens, The Field created the perfect conditions for our ‘seeds’ to be planted. Program coordinator Suzanne van den Bosch introduced the LDE Climate & Biodiversity program, after which each project gave a short pitch about their plan for the upcoming year.
The first workshop round was all about envisioning the future when the ‘seed’ of the fund was fully grown. Using creative visualizations the teams explored how their project impacts biodiversity loss and climate change, and who would be the end-user. One project focused on developing a citizen science toolbox for the LDE community. Activities include the ‘expedition city nature’ where people record all species they can find in a small designated area. In the future, this toolbox was envisioned to be integrated in a broader (international) platform of citizen science, easily transferable to regions beyond the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus region.
For the second workshop, we looked more into the projects’ impact, including what and who are needed to enhance this. New this year is the use of the transformative change framework as a way to monitor and learn about the impact of the Seed Projects. The framework stems from the IPBES Thematic Assessment report and allows to look at small-scale initiatives role in shifting structures, views, and practices. Through this framework the Seed Projects will be monitored throughout the year, allowing to see their role in the broader system they aim to change.
With colourful post-its the participants explored this framework, linking short-term goals to long-term visions. For example, the project Reimagining Urban Nature Through Art aims to organize three creative workshops focusing on regenerating the connection of people with nature. Through artistic interventions, such as soundwalks and working with natural elements, people are invited to explore their relation to urban nature. In an ideal world, these diverse perspectives on nature would make multispecies urbanism the standard for urban design. The rationale of the project being that by shifting views and practices, structural change will follow.
Besides working on the projects, there was also space to discuss possible new contacts and discuss next steps. It was exciting to see so many connections evolve between participants, showing the strength of working together and creating a network of LDE researchers and societal partners. Bringing together the Seed Projects during this kick-off workshop also contributed to the growing network of the LDE Climate & Biodiversity program, with promising new partnerships for the future!
A new call for this Seed Fund, for projects starting in February 2027, will be announced in the next newsletter of the LDE Climate & Biodiversity program. If you want to stay updated, you can register for this newsletter by sending an email to program coordinator Suzanne van den Bosch: s.j.m.van.den.bosch@cml.leidenuniv.nl.