Building the Cocoon: a community garden milestone

🌿 Meet the connectors, cross-pollinators, storytellers, and builders behind our new garden structure

We are excited to share a massive milestone in our Community Garden at Nova SBE journey – the completion of the Cocoon structure! After 5 intensive days of building spread across 2 weeks, our dedicated student volunteers were able to celebrate within the structure itself.

These volunteers embody natural organisms which support thriving ecosystems:

🦉 Connectors (Owls) With their panoramic vision, our owls facilitated connections between community members, workshops, and collaborative opportunities

🐝 Pollinators (Bees) Essential cross-pollinators, our bees have created synergies between different collaborators, spreading ideas and fostering partnerships

🦋 Storytellers (Butterflies) Transforming the space through narrative and signage, our butterflies made the garden’s story accessible and inspiring to all

🐜 Builders (Ants) Enriching the space with new experiences, our ants were the hands-on team creating structures and tangible improvements

The Coccon in itself reflects the principles of co-creation and permaculture that have been guiding our practice from the start — it’s designed to support our guardians and volunteers, serve as a meeting point, and facilitate community workshops. As we navigate this new phase, we’re also reconnecting with the plants established in previous years, honouring the continuity of this living project and open the space for new activities and knowledge sharing.

This initiative reminds us that sustainable change happens when we design spaces and systems that mirror nature’s wisdom: where every role matters, everything is interconnected, and growth happens through collaboration.

A heartfelt thank you to the brilliant designers at Black Polar Bear in collaboration with ão.verde, founded by João Martins — our community garden consultant from the very beginning whose guidance has been invaluable. We’re also deeply grateful to our Nova SBE team members Rogério Marchante, Fábio Machado, and Miguel Alves Martins, who worked tirelessly through every challenge that emerged during the process – making this concept not just possible, but ready to thrive.

Here’s to nurturing both gardens and community!