Ljubljana to Get 25 More Green Bus Shelters

The City of Ljubljana, the University Botanic Gardens Ljubljana and Europlakat are continuing to green bus shelter roofs during Mobility Week. So far, 75 shelters across Ljubljana, extending to the city’s outskirts, have been planted, creating a veritable “green internet” connecting nature with the city and back again. Another 25 will join the existing green shelters.

Since we planted the first roofs in 2020, there have been several dry years. However, none has brought conditions as extreme as this year’s, when prolonged drought was accompanied by extended heatwaves with exceptionally high temperatures. Nevertheless, the shelter roofs retained greenery even during the hottest part of the summer. The vegetation did not dry out completely, and some green plants could always be seen. The roofs are planted with native Karst and sub-Mediterranean species that tolerate drought and are also attractive to local pollinators. These include a drought-tolerant endemic plant, žički grobeljnik. There are now more plants of this species growing on the shelter roofs than in the wild.

This unique approach also enabled us to explore the story of our green bus shelters in the scientific article “Small-Scale Green Roofs with Native Plant Species Installed on Bus Stop Shelters” (Ravnjak et al., 2026), published this year, as the number of green shelters is set to reach 100.

It is encouraging and commendable that others have also joined the project: the University of Ljubljana, which financed the planting of five shelter roofs last year; district communities, which have funded planting from their own resources; and, before them, various companies. Similar support will continue this year.

Ljubljana’s “green internet” is thus growing stronger every year. The green roofs are self-sustaining and have no irrigation system. They are planted in a way that mimics natural conditions, with the plants left to nature, just as they are on rocky ledges in the Karst. They increase the city’s biodiversity year after year as we continue to add new species.

Blanka Ravnjak, Jože Bavcon