GREENER RECOVERY

By Evan White

Evan White is a writer and editor with a particular interest in landscape and the natural environment.

Greener Recovery Festival 2021

In March, the Landscape Institute held its Greener Recovery Festival – a CPD week demonstrating how landscape practice can combat the climate emergency, increase biodiversity, and restore the natural environment. View the event on LI Campus.

We should not just be asking how we can help nature “recover”, but how we can make nature “better”

The Greener Recovery Festival was a great opportunity for LI members, professionals and practitioners to hear from inspiring speakers, share their ideas, and keep up to speed with the latest developments in green infrastructure and climate change strategies, both nationally and internationally. Viewers could attend a variety of panels and presentations on a range of subjects – including biodiversity net gain, natural capital, climate equity, and net-zero carbon targets – as well as interactive site visits and networking sessions.

The week began with a message from the eminent Virginijus Sinkevicius, Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries at the European Commission, who kicked off proceedings by extolling the benefits of improving and developing green infrastructure. He implored landscape practitioners to avoid “squeezing nature into a corner”, and instead develop spaces where it can thrive, increasing biodiversity and “mending our broken link with nature.” With the UK pulling away from the EU, Sinkeviˇcius underlined the need for us to continue working with our European neighbours, by sharing information and taking inspiration from one another, as we collectively take steps to reconcile our built environment with the planet’s ecosystems. He reminded us that those working in the landscape sector have a large part to play in biodiversity gains, and urged us to lead and teach others in this arena.

Virginijus Sinkevicius, Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries at the European Commission.

Rebecca Wrigley (Rewilding Britain), and LI President Jane Findlay

Alastair Mant, Head of Business Transformation at UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) and LI Vice President Carolin Gohler

Dr Tony Juniper CBE, Chair of Natural England

We were also fortunate enough to be joined by Dr Tony Juniper CBE, Chair of Natural England, who warned of the dangers of continuing current levels of carbon emissions. Juniper argued that green infrastructure is not a cost but an investment, and that destroying nature will destroy economies – nature makes an enormous economic contribution, and doesn’t need to be sacrificed to facilitate growth. He stressed that we should not just be asking how we can help nature “recover”, but how we can make nature “better”. Much like the EU Commissioner, Juniper believes that taking inspiration from international approaches to the climate emergency is crucial in developing resilient infrastructure going forward.

Indeed, the Festival did just that, by turning to perspectives from across the pond with presentations from American urban designers Mark Johnson (Civitas Inc.) and Alice Shay (Buro Happold), who showcased the benefits of renewing, redeveloping, retrofitting and repurposing brownfield sites in favour of building on greenfield sites. The projects discussed included the renovation of the New York State Canal System. As Johnson put it, better to “heal” damaged areas than to build on undeveloped spaces.

As COP26 draws near, efforts to meet net-zero goals are gathering strength, but it is vital that we ensure that we are on track to meet these goals, and that we continue to take responsibility for the welfare of nature and the environment. This was a key theme of the talk given by Alastair Mant, Head of Business Transformation at UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), who felt strongly that we need to set net-zero carbon targets – and stick to them.

Attendees were given the opportunity to see some of the work being done in this area. Carolin Göhler FLI hosted a panel which showcased frameworks and strategies from across the UK, with Brian Evans’ Implementation Plan for Glasgow City Council’s Climate Adaptation Strategy, Richard McLernon’s Belfast Resilience Strategy, and Jonny Sadler discussing Manchester’s Green Recovery. These speakers stressed that good communication between professionals, policy makers and communities is needed at all stages of planning and implementation to reduce carbon production, and that this is something we need to be acting on now. Sadler reminded us that the effects of climate change are visible already, and we must acknowledge that it is a “real, present issue”.

But the focus was not solely on the climate crisis; further measures are still needed to tackle the ever-more concerning global fall in biodiversity as well. On this particular point, Helen Oakman (DEFRA), Dr Julia Baker (Balfour Beatty) and Sally Hayns (CIEEM) discussed the social benefits of nature for wellbeing, and agreed that Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) must be a central part of sustainable development. Following on from this discussion, Bob Edmonds and Bill Butcher, directors of UKHab Ltd, explained the functions and applications of the Biodiversity Metric – a method of measuring and assessing biodiversity losses and gains resulting from development or land management changes – and presented case studies which demonstrated how BNG can deliver quantifiable benefits to society.

An increasingly effective method of improving biodiversity is rewilding, explored in a panel with Rebecca Wrigley (Rewilding Britain), Ian Houlston (LDA Design) and Peter Shepherd (BSG Ecology Ltd.), who showed that rewilding strategies can work both economically and ecologically, through a combination of locally-led action and government policy. Shepherd praised the increasingly wider and deeper appreciation of the value of environmental infrastructure, but warned that work is still needed to meet current targets. The panel agreed that we need to “ease off” on management and ensure that we don’t over-curate spaces, giving nature the opportunity to exert itself. As Wrigley said, we must “take care of nature so that it can take care of us.” This is no different for designed spaces, which need to support us and the natural world concurrently. We must “prioritise nature-based solutions” and create “a built environment that enables people and nature to thrive.”, said Alastair Mant.

Another keynote speaker, Rebecca Pow MP, similarly stressed the importance of well-designed green infrastructure that benefits both people and nature. She detailed DEFRA’s plans to invest in green recovery and their commitment to a natural capital approach. It was encouraging to see that the Government recognises the importance of the issues of climate and biodiversity. Questions were raised by audience members and other speakers, however, as to whether proposed levels of funding and the emissions targets that have been set will be sufficient to combat the increasing effects of climate change. That being said, speakers also noted that we can choose to surpass these goals rather than limit ourselves to them, and that professionals can and should go the extra mile in ensuring their projects contribute to a more sustainable future.

Consistently throughout the week, presenters agreed that collaboration across professions, authorities and organisations is key. Alexandra Steed URBAN’s work on the South Essex Estuary Park demonstrated the necessity and success of taking a collaborative, holistic strategy. The place-specific and co-ordinated approach of Steed’s project sets a good example for others working across the UK. Dr Julia Baker corroborated the effectiveness of such an approach, suggesting that strategies and planning to increase BNG must be locally and culturally specific, a sentiment that many speakers shared. Bill Blackledge CMLI pointed out that “local people are experts in their local area”. A combination of expertise – technical and local – is needed to create and reinvigorate public green spaces and infrastructure. To achieve this, practitioners must ensure that they are fully engaging with communities local to their projects, to establish both the needs of the site and of those using and living around and within it.

Rebecca Pow MP

Alexandra Steed URBAN

Left to right: Dr Anastasia Nikologianni, IFLA and Judy Ling Wong CBE, Honorary President of the Black Environment Network

Clockwise: Dr Mya-Rose Craig (Back2Nature), Asad Rehman (War on Want), Tatiana Garavito (Wretched of the Earth) and Ahlyah Ali (LI Member Services Officer).

Practitioners must also be careful that they are considering, consulting and including people from all backgrounds in our communities within these processes. Keynote speaker Judy Ling Wong CBE gave an inspiring talk on the importance of engaging with diverse communities to ensure climate equity. Ling Wong, the Honorary President of the Black Environment Network (BEN), argued for a “people-centred approach” to increasing green infrastructure, calling for consideration of the needs of all groups and backgrounds in both design and policy, and stating that people required “genuine equal partnership” and “genuine empowerment”. The link between landscape and social justice was explored further in a QuestionTime-style session with Dr MyaRose Craig (Back2Nature), Tatiana Garavito (Wretched of the Earth) and Asad Rehman (War on Want), who discussed systemic racism in relation to the environmental and landscape sectors, and how organisations must challenge diversity issues and increase inclusivity, ensuring that residents see themselves reflected in the delivery of new projects and policies.

As well as the need to encourage diversity, Ling Wong placed real emphasis on the involvement of young people and children in design, and on their participation and education, so that they may take a role in shaping, transforming and maintaining public spaces in the future. Similarly, Michael Hoenigmann, Managing Director of Jupiter Play, explained how essential it is that nature is accessible to children, and the need to include nature in the design of play spaces. Nature isn’t something that’s “nice to have”, but rather something that people, particularly children, “need to have.” Sites need to work for the communities in which they are based.

The importance of community engagement and involvement was echoed by many speakers throughout the week: Dr Helen Hoyle (UWE Bristol), showcasing her work with schools and the local community in Luton, agreed that we need to ensure that young people of all backgrounds have access to nature; Ian Houlston suggested green recovery strategies were an opportunity to address inequalities directly; and Brian Evans asked that we make sites meaningful not only to their quality of place, but also to users and residents’ quality of life.

Ultimately, the Festival’s core message stressed the value of “community” in all its forms: professional, local, international, and natural. Each plays a key part in our green recovery, from the COVID pandemic, and from the biodiversity and climate crises. We must continue to share strategies, involve local people and residents, collaborate with fellow practitioners, and support nature, in order to create a more environmentally responsible future.

I caught up with Jane Findlay, the President of the LI, after the event. She praised the Festival’s accessibility, because its national and global reach allowed the LI to spread the word about these issues and solutions to other professions. Although the more personal aspects of an in-person event were missed, the success of the Festival may prompt a combination of physical and virtual events going forward. The LI has received “fantastic feedback” for what was a very informative and well-run event.

The Festival’s themes were reflected in its use of the online hosting platform, Hopin, which facilitated discussion amongst attendees, and provided an excellent substitute for an in-person event. Interestingly, the use of Hopin was, of course, a low-carbon endeavour, with the need to use polluting forms of transport nullified – a small step on the path to a net-zero future. The platform brought people together from far and wide, allowing speakers and attendees from across the globe to present, share ideas, and network with another. As Virginijus Sinkeviˇcius reminded us, nature does not recognise national boundaries – the climate crisis is a global problem that we must tackle together.

If you weren’t able to attend the Festival, or if you’d like to revisit any of the pertinent and valuable advice from the week, you can access the recorded sessions and speaker materials on the LI Campus. [https:// campus.landscapeinstitute.org/]