A three-step Scientific Café method to involve stakeholders and citizens in urban forest planning

Communicating complex scientific content in an accessible way is essential to support informed decision-making in civil society. This study developed a participatory approach to involve collective stakeholders and citizens in the co-design and planning of a peri-urban forest in north-eastern Italy. A three-step Scientific Café method was applied in the Carpaneda forest (Vicenza). The first workshop involved twenty collective stakeholders (e.g., associations, organizations) who prioritized ecosystem services, conducted a S.W.O.T. analysis, and defined long-term management strategies. A second workshop with fifteen residents focused on identifying short-term management actions consistent with the stakeholder-defined strategies. The outputs from both steps were integrated into a shared management masterplan, which was then presented to participants for feedback. Collective stakeholders highlighted the importance of cultural services such as recreation and environmental education, as well as regulatory services including climate and microclimate mitigation and water regulation. Citizens similarly valued recreation, environmental education, and biodiversity conservation. The three-step Scientific Café proved to be an effective, adaptable, and low-cost method for integrating diverse knowledge and levels of expertise, fostering dialogue, inclusiveness, and co-production of knowledge in urban forest planning and governance.