Green City Conference

Ways to Bring More Plants into the City

The Green City Conference is one of the key industry events held during the Green is Life International Trade Fair, which for years has attracted professionals involved in urban greenery – landscape architects, municipal officials, designers, developers, and decision-makers responsible for planning and managing public spaces.

The theme of this year’s edition – Ways to Bring More Plants into the City – reflects the current needs and challenges related to designing and maintaining green areas in densely urbanised spaces. It is a call to action and a search for practical solutions that enable the introduction of greenery where it was previously lacking, better use of existing resources, and the design of cities that are more resilient to climate change.

The programme includes presentations of projects and strategies that demonstrate how to combine creativity with environmental responsibility, local conditions with global trends, and aesthetics with functionality. The event will culminate in a debate featuring experts and practitioners from various fields, tackling a topical and controversial issue: alien and invasive plant species in urban environments.

The Green City Conference is a space for exchanging knowledge, experience, and inspiration – but above all, a platform for collectively seeking real, proven, and innovative ways to introduce more greenery into our cities.

Programme 2025

10:00-10:20 Opening

10:20-10:50 “Avant-garde of wildness”-activities of the Zarząd Zieleni m.st. Warszawy on the example of the Citadel Park and Stoki Cytadeli, Tomasz Niewczas, Zarząd Zieleni m.st. Warszawy

10:50-11:20  Plants for the city. Local resources, global challenges, Anna Jurgielewicz-Wilkiel, Związek Szkółkarzy Polskich, Gospodarstwo Szkółkarskie Jurgielewicz-WILKIEL

11:20-12:00 From vision to action – local strategies based on the 3-30-300 concept, Jaroslava Šmerdová, ASITIS

12:00-12:20 De-constructing the market – New Market Square in Wroclaw, Angelika Kuśmierczyk-Jędrzak, Filip Jędrzak, a+f projektowanie przestrzeni

12:20-13:20 Public spaces, small architecture and urban furniture in urban strategies, dr Paweł Grobelny, Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Warszawie

13:20-13:40 The fourth dimension of greenery – design space and time with Gardenphilia applications, Stefan Daszewski, Gardenphilia

13:40-14:40 Debate: Alien and invasive plants in the city – manage, eliminate, integrate?, Piotr Banaszczak (Arboretum w Rogowie), Anna Ciepłucha-Kowalska (Polish Nurserymen Association, Gospodarstwo szkółkarskie Ciepłucha,), dr Piotr Reda (SAK), Mikołaj Siemaszko, Bronisław Jan Szmit (Polish Nurserymen Association, Szmit Nursery), dr hab. Ewa Zaraś (SGGW)

Event partner

Speakers

Dr Paweł Grobelny – designer and curator of exhibitions. Runs the Studio of Public Space Design at the Faculty of Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and is the head of the Master’s degree programme “Design and Research”. Scholarship holder of the French Government in Paris, Casa de Velazquez in Madrid and Residency Unlimited in New York. He studied at the Academies of Fine Arts in Poznań, Lyon and Paris. His realisations can be found in public spaces in cities such as Brussels, Budapest, Grimbergen, Paris, Strasbourg and Shanghai. Winner of numerous international awards – including the “Rado Star France – Prix du Public” awarded during Paris Design Week. Three-time winner of the national award ‘Polish Architecture XXL’ in the category ‘Polish Landscape’ (2022, 2019, 2018).

Jaroslava Šmerdová – is a journalism graduate who has been working in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and project management since 2018. During the last five years, she has focused on environmental issues and the impact of climate change on our environment. Her current work is dedicated to monitoring urban greenery according to European standards, such as the 3-30-300 rule, which helps municipalities improve the quality of public spaces and build resilience to climate extremes.

Miloslav Kaláb works on climate strategy development at ASITIS, focusing on urban greening and the 3-30-300 principle. He leads the creation of UpGreen, a tool to help cities plan for green infrastructure. His work supports biodiversity, resilience and healthier urban living through nature-based solutions.

Anna Jurgielewicz-Wilkiel – co-owner of Wilkiel – the plant nursery she runs with her husband Rafał in picturesque Warmia. They specialise in the production of perennials, ornamental grasses, roses and deciduous and coniferous shrubs for urban greenery and home gardens. The nursery’s motto is: ‘We speak human language about plants’. – because greenery should attract everyone, not just experts. For many years she has been a member of the Polish Nurserymen Association and is the originator of the Kreatywna Ogrodnicza Przestrzeń (Creative Garden Space) project, in which she shares her knowledge, passion and experience with great enthusiasm. Privately, she is an ultra-running enthusiast, a participant in 100 km competitions, for whom nature is not only work but also a lifestyle.

Tomasz Niewczas – I am a Żoliborz inhabitant, a civil servant – employee of the Zarząd Zieleni m.st. Warszawy, author of the ‘ZielonyŻoliborz’ profile on Facebook, landscape architect. I have been gardening the parks I take care of for years to show that they are not only places for people but also for nature.

Stefan Daszewski – founder and president of Gardenphilia.com, with over 30 years of experience in garden and commercial green space design. He is the creator of the Gardenphilia DESIGNER application, developed since 2001, which enables the design and visualisation of green areas. Thanks to his work, the programme has become an important 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 playground and pavement design for companies, high-quality 3D plant models – Gardenphilia DIGITAL MODELS – and universal libraries for manufacturers – product4.design. It is currently focusing on the implementation of solutions based on artificial intelligence to support the work of landscape architects in the design process.

Anna Ciepłucha-Kowalska – holder of an MA degree in plant phytopathology from the University of Łódź, co-owner of Gospodarstwo Szkółkarskie Ciepłucha, which specialises in the production of heather and fruit plants. The nursery’s offer includes over 180 azalea cultivars and several dozen rare species and first-order crosses of azaleas, over 30 cultivars of large-flowered azaleas and many Japanese azaleas and miniature azaleas. Since 2009, she has been involved with the Skierniewice Institute in interdisciplinary research in phytopathology. She is actively involved in breeding projects on rhododendrons, highbush blueberries and huckleberries. The fruits of her breeding work are numerous rhododendron series (Królewskie Rododendrony, seria Rhodo Kiss, Trzy Szlachcianki and others). She cooperates with numerous breeders internationally. She is also the organiser of the national horticultural fair Zielony Show Room.

Bronisław Jan Szmit – graduate of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences with a degree in Horticulture and Biotechnology. During his studies he dealt with systematics and molecular phylogenetics of plants. He has been working at Szmit Nursery since early childhood. He is currently responsible for production planning, investments and marketing. Together with his parents, Joanna and Bronisław, he has created one of the richest dendrological collections in Poland. He has participated in botanical expeditions, including to Japan, Ecuador and Peru. He is a member of the Polish Nurserymen Association, the Polish Dendrological Society, the International Dendrology Society and the Maple Society. He publishes in numerous horticultural magazines and appears on popular television programmes. He is co-author of the book ‘Deciduous Trees and Shrubs’. In addition to plants, he is interested in the history of horticulture and botany, ornithology and nature photography.

Ewa Zaraś, Ph.D. – landscape architect, since 1998 affiliated with the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW). Currently in the position of Dean of the Faculty of Horticulture, Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Protection and Dendrology, Faculty of Horticulture, Biotechnology and Landscape Architecture. He teaches the subjects: Dendrology, Tree Science, Ecology, Urban Ecology, Nature-inspired garden, as well as author’s subjects: Tree in cultural landscape, Recognition of trees in leafless state, Garden of the senses, Trees and shrubs in a home garden, Principles of plant cover composition in urban spaces. Promoter of more than 100 engineering and master’s theses, including many distinctions. Contributor to publications and editorial boards: Działkowiec, Przyroda Polska, Muza, Multico and others. Project cooperation with, among others, Dom Development, Echo Investment and others. Consultant to city councils of Łomianki, Maków Mazowiecki. Supervisor of NOT-SITO green areas.
After work, passionate about nature photography and horse riding.