Blogs

A network of digital sensors would be an ‘absolute dream’ for emergency planners during a flood incident – Mick Devine and Amy Boyd at Wakefield Council explain why.

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Pictured: Flooding incident at Barnsdale Road Around 6,600 homes in the Wakefield district are permanently at risk of flooding from sudden storms. It’s actually surface water flooding that poses a bigger threat to the area than rising river levels as parts of the district’s drainage system could easily be overwhelmed by heavy rain. This is … Read more

Tenderbog – caring for our peatlands

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Pictured: – Visit to Fleet Moss, photo by Laura Harrington Laura Harrington and Feral Practice (Fiona MacDonald), the UK Artists in Residence for WaterLANDS, have been busy during their first year exploring the Great North Bog – the UK Action Site which is a network of peatlands in Northern England – and getting to know … Read more

How art and science can progress urgent peatland conversations – reflections by WaterLANDSUK engagement lead Josh Cohen

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Pictured: Listening event – photo by Laura Harrington Last weekend (Saturday 17 February) Laura Harrington took part in a peat coring and ‘listening walk’ event with Durham Wildlife Trust, site lead Rebecca Clarke, sound artist Tim Shaw, Dr Antony Blundell from University of Leeds and Josh Cohen at St Cuthbert’s Moor Nature Reserve in Durham. … Read more

Help us to address gaps in wetlands research

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We are looking for wetland experts who can help us to address research gaps identified as part of WaterLANDS – an EU Horizon 2020 project aiming to restore wetland sites across Europe. To assess drivers of change in wetland functioning we conducted an extensive literature synthesis that investigated the physical and chemical drivers impacting wetland … Read more

Digital sensor workshops to discuss plans for early warning of flooding

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Pictured: Paul Maddison, flood manager of Wakefield Council, presents at the workshop Plans to develop a network of digital sensors to give early warning of surface water flooding which is a real issue for West Yorkshire was the topic of a workshop held at University of Leeds. People who have had their homes flooded, flood wardens … Read more

WaterLANDS UK team visit Northumberland nature reserve

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Pictured: Prof Julia Martin-Ortego (left) with team visiting Whitelee Moor A team from University of Leeds, who are working on the ambitious WaterLANDS European wetlands restoration programme hosted a workshop with Northumberland Peat Partnership as part of WaterLANDS support for the Great North Bog. The morning was spent visiting Whitelee Moor – one of Britain’s most important upland nature … Read more

A week in a life of an international peatland restoration volunteer 

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Picture caption: Holyhead port at 1am. Photo credit: Joshua Cohen Day 1, Sunday 3 September As part of the WaterLANDS EU wetland restoration programme, iCASP’s UK Action Site at the Great North Bog has been twinned with the Abbeyleix Bog Knowledge Site in Ireland. During our volunteer week, I visited  Abbeyleix with Action Site Co-ordinator Dr Richard Grayson … Read more

Improving access to evidence about nature-based activities for health

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 Researchers in an iCASP funded project have summarised evidence from 12 recent systematic reviews of nature-based interventions.  This interactive summary and accompanying report shows what we know, what we don’t know and why it matters. An interactive, online tool is now available on our website to help organisations provide evidence of how the natural environment can benefit your health and wellbeing. … Read more

A cash boost to improve skills & capacity to reduce flood risk

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Photo by ALTERED SNAPS Leaders of the West Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme (WY FLIP) have successfully secured almost £300,000 to help make the region more resilient by boosting the skills and capacity of those who manage flood risk. They have been awarded £286,293 in levy funding from  Yorkshire Regional Flood and Coastal Committee  (YRFCC)  to … Read more