Vipava Valley Aquascaping Gallery — Local Pilot of Micro-Blue Room in Slovenia
Aquascaping can bring an inclusive future that is beautiful for our eyes, minds, and souls
Imagine a small, elegant room where living water moves quietly through planted aquariums; light catches leaves, fish drift in slow choreography, and seating invites you to pause with a tea. It feels like a boutique gallery and a pocket of nature at once—free to enter, designed for all bodies and ages, and curated as living art you can return to whenever you need calm or curiosity.
The goal is to open Slovenia’s first free-entry aquascaping gallery: a calm, public “micro-blue” space where art, ecology, and everyday wellbeing meet. This pilot is designed to learn, inspire, and be replicated by partners across Europe. It operates as a non-commercial public good, with core costs supported through partnerships and donations.
Here is how you can support us
Aquascape Today is built as a public-good initiative: free-entry spaces, non-commercial by design, and meant to serve everyone. You don’t need to donate to make a difference—simply pledging your support shows partners, cities, and funders that this vision matters. Every signature helps us prove that people want more calm, more care, and more connection to nature in their daily lives. Join us in shaping this movement.
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Tell others about our cause Are you aquascaper? Spread the word of our initiative and join Aquascape Today community. Share our goals on social media.
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Donate equipment Are you manufacturer, distributor or own aquarium shop? Check out what equipment we need to start up our pilot program.
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Partner with us You can connect with us through European projects, become a sponsor, or simply show your support by filling out our pledge.
What partners gain
Our micro–blue rooms offer a unique, visible public good by introducing a calming, nature-connected experience into urban environments. They are simple to replicate, allowing partners to bring this beneficial experience to their own communities.
The concept is designed to be affordable to implement while delivering a significant, tangible benefit to the community. You’re investing in a model that enhances quality of life in a visible, meaningful way.
This isn’t a one-off project. We are developing and piloting a framework that can be adapted and replicated by multiple cities and communities, building a broader network of publicly accessible aquascaping spaces.
This initiative aligns seamlessly with European policy goals for social inclusion, urban wellbeing, and cultural enrichment. By supporting this model, you are contributing to a shared European vision of more livable, connected, and nature-infused urban spaces.
Equipment needs
To keep our pilot gallery free and inclusive, we welcome partnerships with manufacturers and suppliers of aquascaping equipment. By donating lighting, filtration, CO₂ systems, or other core tools, you not only showcase your technology in a public-good setting but also help create a space where thousands can discover aquascaping as art, wellbeing, and education. It’s a chance to align your brand with innovation, care, and community impact.
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Rimless opt-white aquariums
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LED lightning
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Aquatic plants
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External filters & lily pipes
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Aquascaping soil & substrate
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Hardscape
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Equipment & accessories
EU policy alignment
New European Bauhaus (NEB)
Aquascape Today puts beautiful, sustainable, together into practice: small, elegant rooms of living water designed for free public access, inclusion by default, and careful stewardship.
Cohesion Policy / ERDF (2021–2027)
Place-based, people-centred investment: our micro-blue rooms are lightweight civic infrastructure that upgrade daily quality of life without paywalls.
European Urban Initiative (EUI)
We prototype innovative urban solutions that turn blue-green evidence into everyday experience. The project couples a testable design standard with light-touch evaluation and city-to-city knowledge sharing.
EU Mission: Climate-Neutral & Smart Cities
Micro-blue rooms complement climate-neutral agendas by delivering liveability and wellbeing outcomes in underused interiors.
EU4Health
A non-clinical wellbeing option: free rooms that reduce everyday stress, invite short restorative breaks, and host gentle learning—developed with health partners and evaluated responsibly.
EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 / Green & Blue Infrastructure
Indoor micro-blue spaces complement urban greening by building eco-literacy and daily care for nature.
A clear, shared plan for impact
From Pilot to Everywhere
Seed the First Room
Launch a free-entry micro-blue room—a small, elegant aquascaping gallery that blends art, ecology, and everyday calm. We’ll set up the space, run quiet public hours, and host light-touch introductions for nearby schools and community groups. In parallel we’ll document everything (design, care routines, inclusion practices, costs) so the pilot becomes a living reference for partners and municipalities.
Seed the First Room - 2025-27
Stage 1
Prove and Package the Model
Turn pilot lessons into a clear, reusable playbook: layouts, accessibility, animal-welfare standards, sustainability measures, and operating checklists. We’ll start a research program (pre-registered, privacy-respecting) on short, everyday effects of viewing/doing aquascaping and publish annual Evidence Briefs. At the same time we’ll expand our partner network across culture, education, health promotion, and city programs—so others can adopt the model with confidence.
Prove and Package the Model - 2027-30
Stage 2
Scale and Deepen
Support cities and venues to open similar micro-blue spaces using our playbook—permanent rooms or pop-ups that fit local context. We’ll refine shareable public programs for specific audiences: older adults, young people, intergenerational (večgeneracijsko povezovanje) groups, and people with special needs—always free to enter and inclusive by design. We’ll train local caretakers and volunteers, offer maker kits, and strengthen routes for non-clinical referrals (social prescribing/community referrals) where appropriate.
Scale and Deepen - 2030-40
Stage 3
Global Imact
By 2040, our aim is a recognised global commons: an open playbook, a mature evidence base, and a distributed network of micro-blue rooms that any city can stand up with modest resources. We’ll maintain an open repository of designs, programs, and data; run exchanges for practitioners; and help cities embed indoor blue spaces alongside parks, libraries, and museums. The outcome we work toward: more calm, more care, and more connection to nature in ordinary days—delivered through free, inclusive, non-commercial rooms that communities can return to whenever they need them.
Global Impact - 2040
Stage 4
Aquascape Today Pledge
Sign the pledge to show support for our cause
I believe everyone should have free, welcoming access to calm, nature-connected spaces in everyday life. I support Aquascape Today and it's vision.