Background
This was the first of three annual conferences delivered by the Arun and Rother Connections (ARC) project in partnership with the University of Brighton, kindly supported by our funders the Heritage Lottery Fund and Southern Water. The conference was held at the University of Brighton Moulsecoomb Campus on 24th June 2014.
Aim of conference
The conference aimed to advance understanding of Green Infrastructure and the wider services that ecosystems provide, and to ensure that participants are better equipped for decision making that maximises ecosystem benefits while delivering organisational priorities.
Keynote Speech by Caroline Lucas
Presentations
Session One: Communities harnessing Ecosystem Services
- Changing social housing greenspace for the people that live there; Rethinking grounds maintenance - John Little, Grass Roof Company
- Aldingbourne Neighbourhood Plan: A community led approach to improving biodiversity and tackling flood risk - Louise Beaton, Action in Rural Sussex / Aldingbourne parish
- Interpreting ecosystem services to engage local people - Dr Colin Tingle, Lewes & Ouse Valley eco-nomics (L&OVe), Chalking up the Benefits South Downs NIA project officer
Session Two: Ecosystem Services and resilience
- Using computer visualisations to engage with communities in the lower river Ouse valley to prepare for long-term climate change and sea level rises - John Gower, Environment Agency. Coastal Communities 2150 INTERREG project. Link to sea level rise visualisation: http://www.fusiongfx.com/EA/.
- Water Sensitive Urban Design and Rain Gardens - Gary Grant, Director of Green Roof Consultancy and Fellow of Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management
- Resilience and transition in response to water stress scenarios: Responses from water stakeholders at a catchment level - Dr Mary Gearey, Brighton University
- Green Roofs within a Green Infrastructure and Ecosystem Services Agenda - Dusty Gedge, President of the European Federation of Green Roof Associations
Session Three: Policy developments / planning / economics
- Understanding an ecoystems approach - Jonathan Porter, Technical Director, Countryscape
- How the planning system can engage with the ecosystem approach - Professor Alister Scott, Environment and Spatial Planning, Birmingham City University
- New market based approaches for delivering Ecosystem Services - Paul Morling Head of Economics, RSPB
- The ecosystem approach: from concept to reality - Dr Ruth Waters, Head of Profession for the Ecosystem Approach, Natural England
Session Four: Ecosystem services at the catchment scale
- Ecosystem Services in water resources planning - Jonny Burke, Southern Water
- Actions to improve groundwater quality in the Brighton chalk aquifer of the South Downs - Dr Chris Manning, South Downs National Park Authority / Rich Howorth, Biosphere Project
- Mapping ecosystems and services – the Sussex Ecoserv project - Henri Brocklebank, Strategy Lead – Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre, Sussex Wildlife Trust
- Slowing the flow at Pickering - Using woodland to reduce flood risk - Dr Tom Nisbet, Forest Research