The 8th Conference on Horticulture and Landscape Architecture was held in the city of Târgu Mureș, Romania, on 22 and 23 May 2025. The conference was organized by the Hungarian Sapientia University of Transylvania, while the conference partners were the Regional Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Cluj (KAB); the Transylvanian Museum Society (EME); the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Institute of Landscape Architecture, Urban Planning and Garden Art in Budapest; the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education, Department of Biology and Chemistry, Beregszász (Ukraine); and the Botanical Garden of the “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology in Târgu Mureș (Romania).
The theme of the conference was the environment (built and natural) and the social context in which settlements and the Transylvanian landscape are shaped, both undergoing rapid and abrupt changes.
Experts, researchers, farmers, students, and organizations working in the fields of horticulture, landscape architecture, urban planning, plant cultivation, plant protection, and related disciplines from around the world participated jointly in the conference with the aim of addressing issues related to environmental change. The objectives of the conference were to establish and maintain cooperation among participants; involve researchers in scientific activity; encourage research work; and present and disseminate scientific results.
An active role at the conference was also taken by Assoc. Prof. Iva Rechner Dika, PhD, a member of the project team Activation of Green Courtyards for Carbon Neutrality (ActGREEN). Assoc. Prof. Dika participated as a representative of the Faculty of Agriculture, one of the project partners. In her presentation, she introduced the green infrastructure of the City of Zagreb, the project’s objectives, past and future activities, and placed particular emphasis on citizen involvement and strengthening the local community throughout the project. This conference was an excellent opportunity to promote the project and increase the visibility of the City of Zagreb through the ActGREEN initiative.
