Green City Conference

Plants at the centre

How can we design cities where plants are not merely an afterthought, but the starting point? How can we select species resilient to climate change, protect trees in challenging urban environments and create spaces that will remain functional for decades? Answers to these questions will be provided by the Green City Conference, taking place on 4 September during the 33rd International GREEN IS LIFE Fair.

This year’s programme centres on plants as a key element of the modern city — not only in aesthetic terms, but above all in environmental, functional and social terms. This event is aimed at landscape architects, green space designers, urban area managers, contractors, nursery growers and all professionals responsible for shaping green infrastructure.

Programme

10:00 – 10:20   Opening

Module I: The plant as a starting point

10:20 – 10:50 Imperfection as part of nature – when is a plant ‘good enough’? How to interpret deviations from standards and make informed decisions on quality – Mateusz Korbik

10:50 – 11:20 Plant selection – a horticultural craft or an art form? From decision-making to responsibility – Anna Jurgielewicz-Wilkiel, Polish Nurserymen Association

11:20 – 11:40 Who will design our parks? The twilight of traditional landscape design – Stefan Daszewski, Gardenphilia Designer

11:40 – 12:40 Panel discussion (details to follow)

Module II: Trees in the city

12:40 – 13:00 List of 500 tree species for urban areas, recommended by the Polish Nurserymen Association
– Grzegorz Falkowski, Polish Nurserymen’s Association

13:00 – 13:30 Large trees in the city – a luxury, a risk or a conscious investment in time? Bartosz Byczkowski, Garte Polska sp. z o.o.

13:30 – 14:00 More than just the sub-base. How to design tree-friendly pavements? Marzena Suchocka PhD, SGGW

14:00 – 14:30 From vision to reality: practical steps towards greening the city of Alkmaar – Paul Weidema

Honorary patron:

Industry patron:

Event partner: 

Media patron:

Speakers

Mateusz Korbik

Dendrologist and arborist; member of the Deutsche Dendrologische Gesellschaft (DDG), the International Dendrology Society (IDS),  Polskie Towarzystwo Dendrologiczne (PTD) and the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA); and president of the International Poplar Society (IPS). For over half a decade, he has been associated with Zarząd Zieleni m.st. Warszawy, where, as chief dendrology specialist, he was responsible for tree management in the broadest sense and helped develop the standards and species selection guidelines currently being implemented. As part of his doctoral studies, he is conducting research into the growth of newly planted trees in challenging urban conditions. He is the author and co-author of numerous popular science and academic publications. A lover of Warsaw’s trees, he runs ‘Warszawski Dendrolog’ Facebook page on a daily basis. In addition to urban tree management, he is interested in the taxonomy and identification of woody plants — he has a particular fondness for poplars.

Anna Jurgielewicz-Wilkiel

Co-owner of Wilkiel Plant Nursery, specialising in the production of plant material for urban green spaces and private landscape projects. An expert and advocate for informed plant selection and the highest nursery standards. She works closely with landscape architects, contractors and local authorities, translating specialist nursery knowledge into durable, high-quality projects in public spaces.

As an advocate of clear and accessible language within the industry, she communicates about plants and their needs in a practical, approachable and easy-to-understand way. She believes that modern urban greenery should be built on working with nature rather than treating plants simply as products.

Outside her professional work, she is an ultrarunner and an enthusiast of manual therapies. These passions have taught her patience, mindfulness and respect for natural processes — values she consistently brings into her professional practice.

Bartosz Byczkowski

A graduate of Poznań University of Life Sciences, a nurseryman with 10 years’ experience, a keen gardener, and for the past 15 years a partner and managing director at Garte Polska sp. z o.o.

Marzena Suchocka, PhD

Professor at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), Department of Landscape Architecture, Institute of Environmental Engineering, SGGW in Warsaw. Member of, amongst others, the Task Force on the Protection of Trees and Shrubs appointed by the Minister for Climate and the Environment, the National Commission for Environmental Impact Assessments of the General Director for Environmental Protection, and the Expert Commission on Climate and Space established by the Ombudsman. An expert in tree conservation, including during the Supreme Audit Office (NIK) audit entitled ‘Tree conservation in urban development projects’. Her research interests include urban tree management, tree protection in development projects, resolving conflicts between trees and infrastructure, tree health assessment, risk assessment methods, replacement value estimation, assessment and valuation of ecosystem services provided by trees, and nature-based solutions (NBS). She is the author of patents, including the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW) Anti-Compression Stone-Soil Mixture – a sub-base for road surfaces that improves habitat conditions for tree growth and enables low water retention within the pavement, thereby supporting the adaptation of modern cities to climate change.

Stefan Daszewski

Founder and CEO of Gardenphilia.com, with over 30 years’ experience in designing gardens and commercial green spaces. He is the creator of the Gardenphilia DESIGNER application, which has been in development since 2001 and enables the design and visualisation of green spaces. Thanks to his work, the programme has become an essential tool for landscape architects, enabling them to create designs quickly. His company also develops other tools and solutions for architects and designers: applications dedicated to designing playgrounds and surfacing for businesses, high-quality 3D plant models – Gardenphilia DIGITAL MODELS – and universal manufacturer libraries – product4.design. He is currently focusing on implementing artificial intelligence-based solutions designed to support landscape architects in the design process.

Grzegorz Falkowski

A specialist in ornamental plant nursery management and plant breeding. A graduate of the Faculty of Horticulture at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), and a student at the Technological Educational Institute of Crete in Heraklion. He spent seven years conducting research at the Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice, now the Institute of Horticulture – National Research Institute. He has undertaken numerous professional and research placements, including at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London, and at a research unit of the US Department of Agriculture (the Horticultural Crops Research Laboratory in Corvallis, USA). For six years, he was a lecturer at the University of Economics and Humanities in Skierniewice. He has delivered lectures and led practical sessions on botany, ornamental plant cultivation, nursery management and modern technologies in landscape architecture, as well as workshops on plant identification and recognition. He is the author of academic publications and press articles popularising knowledge about plants, and the editor of the online plant encyclopaedia www.e-katalogroslin.pl. He creates and publishes material promoting knowledge about plants and their impact on human health and wellbeing in the magazines ‘Zieleń Miejska’, ‘Gardener’s World’ and ‘Lider Biznesu’. Editor-in-chief of *Biuletyn Szkółkarski*. He serves as secretary of the European Nurserystock Association. He is interested in nature conservation and climate change. Co-author of the new national curriculum for the vocational qualifications of agricultural horticulturist, agricultural horticulture technician and horticultural assistant. Member of the national team of industry consultants on occupations and qualifications relevant to higher education programmes, appointed in 2025 by the Minister of National Education. Employed at the office of the Polish Nurserymen Association since 2012.
In his spare time, he is interested in psychology.

Paul Weidema

Paul Weidema is Senior Project Manager at Stadswerk072, the public space organisation of the Municipality of Alkmaar in the Netherlands. Paul is also a certified Ambassador for Liveable Cities, reflecting his commitment to creating healthier, greener and more climate-resilient urban environments.
He specialises in urban greening, climate adaptation and the design of green public spaces. In addition to managing projects, Paul is the designer of several award-winning public space projects that have received both national and international recognition for their innovative approach to urban greening.
Paul regularly shares practical experiences and best practices at international conferences and has previously been invited to speak in Belgium, Serbia and Italy. In 2022, he represented the Netherlands as the international winner of the Green Cities Europe Award in Paris. In 2024, Alkmaar once again won the Dutch Green Cities Europe Award and represented the Netherlands internationally.

In 2026, Alkmaar was selected as a finalist in the prestigious AIPH World Green City Awards with Like Alkmaar, recognising the city’s integrated approach to urban greening, climate adaptation and community engagement. Paul was the initiator and project lead behind the award submission, continuing his efforts to position Alkmaar internationally as a leading example of practical urban greening and climate-resilient city development. At the time of the conference in Warsaw, Alkmaar will still be among the international finalists, with the winners scheduled to be announced during the AIPH World Green City Awards ceremony in Hong Kong in October 2026. As both project manager and designer of many of the projects he presents, Paul enjoys sharing not only the final results, but also the design decisions, implementation challenges, financing considerations and practical lessons learned throughout the process.