The vertical garden at the Campolide Campus completed on October 15 its first harvest, yielding around 80 kilograms of fresh produce. Green and purple lettuces, spinach, arugula, parsley and cilantro grew without soil, in fifteen growing towers. They now go to the academic community and to the Santo António de Campolide Social and Parish Center, according to a statement.
According to the same source, the harvest brought the community together in a moment of celebration and marked the first visible result of NOVA Bela Flor. It is a project that is transforming Campolide spaces into places of urban agriculture, learning, and collaboration, and it stems from a simple conviction: a university does not have to end at the campus gate.
Developed in partnership with Upfarming, the garden rests on aeroponic technology. The roots receive directly the water and nutrients they need, without the need for soil. The result is a compact system that uses water efficiently, demonstrating how food production can gain space in the most densely built urban environments.
More than the technology, it is the people who give life to the project. Volunteers from the academic community monitor the growth of the plants, take care of the towers, and participate in the harvests. The garden thus asserts itself as a space for practical learning and participation. It is also a meeting place for people who share the same territory, but do not always find an opportunity to build something together.
“We are in Campolide and we want to be part of Campolide’s life. A university should not relate to the neighborhood where it is located only through its buildings and the people who attend them. With NOVA Bela Flor, we want to create opportunities for collaboration between our academic community and our neighbors, in areas as diverse as food, sustainability, or digital skills. This garden is one of those opportunities,” says Miguel de Castro Neto, Director of NOVA IMS.
A university closer to the city
With NOVA Bela Flor, NOVA IMS assumes an active role in the community it is part of. For a school dedicated to data science, artificial intelligence, and information management, the project opens the opportunity to contribute to urban and social challenges that go far beyond its areas of specialization.
The vertical garden is one of the NOVA Bela Flor initiatives, approved under the Lisbon City Hall’s BIP/ZIP Lisboa 2025 program. The project is promoted by Upfarming and brings together as partners NOVA IMS, which is also co-financier, NOVA Medical School, the Food Bank Against Hunger, the Bela Flor Agroforestry, and the NOVA IMS Students Association.
The first harvest is merely the starting point. It opens a production cycle that is intended to be regular and, above all, a lasting collaborative relationship between the university and the neighborhood.
