ReForest at the “Living-Labs for Mitigating Climate Change in Agriculture” Event

The “Living-Labs for Mitigating Climate Change in Agriculture” event, held on 24–25 April 2025 in Barcelona, marked an important milestone in the journey towards a more sustainable and climate-resilient agri-food system.
As a co-organiser, ReForest played a central role in shaping the event’s dynamic discussions, knowledge exchange, and collaborations.

Living Labs: A Key Driver for Change

Throughout the event, the Living Lab approach was highlighted as a powerful catalyst for developing, testing, and scaling climate solutions. Its true strength lies in enabling the sharing of experiences while producing solutions that are tailored to local contexts. Rather than simply transferring successful practices from one place to another, Living Labs focus on adapting innovations to fit the unique environmental, social, and economic conditions of each region. By doing so, they bridge the gap between science and practice, fostering collaboration between researchers, businesses, policymakers, and communities to turn ideas into real-world impact.

Participants engaged in small, interactive working groups, identifying barriers, analysing facilitators, and co-creating actionable strategies to accelerate the adoption of regenerative practices. Thanks to a strong methodological framework provided by the organising team, participants channelled their collective energy into shared agendas that will continue to drive impact long after the event.

“It’s time for collaboration — not just action”,

stated Ayman Moghnieh, Managing Director of Naked Innovations, in his opening speech — aptly capturing the spirit of the event, which they organised in an excellent way.

This principle guided two full days of rich exchanges and strategic co-creation activities.

ReForest’s active presence was visible across several dimensions of the event:

• EMEA, a key ReForest partner is coorganiser of the event.
• University of Copenhagen (UCPH) presented findings from the ReForest Living Lab in Denmark, through one oral presentation and two scientific posters, highlighting innovative approaches to regenerative agriculture and agroforestry.
• The ReForest stand became a vibrant hub for discussions on the ReForest platform, Living Lab methodologies, and future collaboration opportunities. Two specialised brochures — a general project overview and a platform-specific brochure — along with a project bookmark, were distributed to participants.
• Bhim Bahadur Ghaley (UCPH) and Tiago Fioravanti Zibecchi (EMEA) led subgroup discussions within Working Group 1 (Regenerative Agriculture & Climate-Resilient Landscapes) and Working Group 3 (Nature-Based Solutions & Ecosystem Restoration), reinforcing ReForest’s leadership during the event.
• The ReForest partners from Organic Research Centre, University of Marburg, Europroject, EMEA, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), Trakia University were actively involved in the discussions of all working groups.
• Networking discussions took place informally widening the ReForest impact and widening its collaboration with relative projects such as Eco Ready, Microcosmos, Transformed, and many others.

The Impact Is Only Beginning

While the event officially concluded after two days, its true legacy is just beginning.
New networks were formed, fresh ideas were seeded, and innovative collaborations are already taking root across Europe’s Living Labs.

ReForest remains committed to driving this forward continuing to foster cross-sector collaboration, strengthen Living Labs, and co-create solutions for a climate-resilient agricultural future.

We thank all participants, organisers, and partners for making this a truly transformative event!