A Blue Community Garden in the Port of Gothenburg - Future Food from the Ocean

Vision: With people and food as a starting point, we want to spark curiosity about sustainable seafood and contribute to increased ocean literacy.Goal: Create an urban blue community garden, where visitors can discover, taste, and create a conversation around future foods from the ocean.Why: Today´s unsustainable production and consumption of food exposes ecosystems on land and sea to great stress and risks.With people and food as a starting point, we get an introduction to the biology, chemistry, and diversity of the ocean; our impact on the ocean; our way of life; and how we can change to a sustainable society.A blue community garden can be compared to an allotment on land, but algae, mussels, and sea squirts are grown instead of potatoes.

The marine species grow without addition of fresh water or nutrients, they create environmental benefits, and are also tasty and nutritious.The primary target group is pupils aged 13-15, but we also invite chefs, decision makers, associations, and the public.

Visitors can use scientific methods to study the species and how they interact with the environment, learn about current research about marine environmental threats, and hear about what is being done to solve the problems. They also get to smell, touch and taste the food, and together with a chef develop recipes for a cookbook.

The activities are supervised by researchers and teachers at the University of Gothenburg, as well as invited food creators and collaboration partners.