On 19 March 2026, a creative workshop and expert focus group discussion titled “Workshop with experts: Nature-based solutions in Birštonas” took place at Birštonas Municipality as part of the international GreenInCities project. The event was organized by researchers from the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU FCEA) and the KTU Smart Cities and Infrastructure Centre, in collaboration with Birštonas Municipality.
The workshop participants were welcomed by the Mayor of Birštonas, Nijolė Dirginčienė, and participated the representatives from Birštonas Municipal Administration, Nemunas Loops Regional Park, the Dzūkija–Suvalkija Directorate of Protected Areas, the Environmental Protection Department under the Ministry of Environment, Birštonas Tourism Information Centre, the Birštonas Urban Management Service, and local businesses representing the river navigation and real estate development sectors.
At the beginning of the meeting, the goals, partners, and ongoing activities of the GreenInCities project were presented. The project progress and the digital twin of the Nemunas riverside in Birštonas, developed at the KTU Smart Cities and Infrastructure Centre, were introduced by Darius Pupeikis and Vytautas Bocullo.
In the first part of the workshop, participants analyzed the biodiversity of the Nemunas coastal area in Birštonas, reviewed the results of previous workshops held with schoolchildren and students, discussed conceptual proposals, and evaluated the most suitable solutions. The workshop sessions were led by KTU FCEA lecturers and GreenInCities researchers Indrė Gražulevičiūtė-Vileniškė, Laura Jankauskaitė-Jurevičienė and Jurga Vitkuvienė. The activities followed a co-creation methodology, including co-analysis and co-design stages. A key outcome of the workshop was the selection of a protected bird species inhabiting the Nemunas banks – the Merganser (Dančiasnapis) – which will serve as the focal point for the further development of nature-based solutions along the Nemunas coast during the GreenInCities project.
The second part of the workshop featured an experiential walk along the Nemunas riverside, where participants tested a mobile application developed by project partners from Linköping University. The application enables public space users to record their subjective perceptions of outdoor temperature and air quality. The functionality and use of the application were presented by KTU FCEA researcher Lina Morkūnaitė. The collected data can be integrated into the Birštonas digital twin, helping to better understand how public spaces are used and how environmental conditions influence visitors’ experiences.
The creative workshop provided valuable insights for the next steps of the GreenIn Cities project: reviewing the results achieved so far, identifying potential locations for implementing solutions along the Nemunas riverside, selecting a guiding species for the development of nature-based solutions, and testing innovative data-collection methods using a mobile application.
We thank all experts and partners for their active participation and collaboration in co-creating more sustainable and nature-friendly urban spaces in Birštonas.
