On a fact-finding mission to Bulgaria to exchange ideas about peatland restoration – by Dr Joshua Cohen, Research Fellow, at University of Leeds

I had the privilege of being one of the representatives from Yorkshire Integrated Catchment Solutions Programme (iCASP) and University of Leeds who took part in the first WaterLANDS General Assembly which in was held in Sofia last month. This also involved a field trip to the Dragoman Marsh – the biggest natural karst wetland in Bulgaria. Our … Read more

Modelling to reduce flood risk in the Upper Rother 

iCASP has been working with the Don Catchment Rivers Trust (DCRT) for the past two years to better understand which factors influence flooding in the Upper Rother. As our Upper Rother catchment project draws to a close, a series of technical and non technical reports have been produced for landowners and community groups available on … Read more

Monitoring sediment and water quality on the River Skell

iCASP and the SORBY fluid dynamics lab at the University of Leeds have been commissioned, as part of the Skell Valley Project, to monitor fine sediments and water quality on a stretch of the River Skell. We are working with the National Trust to understand where sediment is sourced from, and how natural flood management … Read more

Humble hedgerow have their part to play in mitigating climate change

A new hedgerow standard has been announced as part of Defra Secretary Therese Coffey’s upgraded Sustain­able Farming Incentive package for 2023. Professor Pippa Chapman, expert in soil and biogeo­chemistry, Dr Sofia Biffi, Dr Richard Grayson and Prof Guy Ziv, at the University of Leeds, have written a study –Soil carbon sequestration potential of planting hedgerows … Read more

New recruits help climate-proof University of Leeds

Two new climate change resilience officers – Juliet de Little and Julie Mair – have joined the iCASP team to undertake a crucial task for the University of Leeds. Their role for the next six months is to conduct a Climate Change Risk Assessment and Resilience Review to identify the climate risks posed to the … Read more

Tackling the challenges of surface water flooding

It was a perfect day on Thursday 17 November to be discussing how new surface water flood forecasts could help support resilient decision making.  The heavy rain was a timely reminder of the challenges surface water flooding brings and we had a fantastic turnout at the University of Leeds for our joint workshop with the … Read more

WY FLIP – Working together to get results

Tangible results are starting to be achieved by the West Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme (WY FLIP) just a year after it was first launched. Partners have joined together to bid for extra funds for their region to make it more resilient to flooding and climate change. An example to illustrate how their collaborative ways of … Read more

Don’t get caught out – flooding can happen to you

We are supporting National Flood Action Week, 7 – 11 November. On Friday we are running a free session about communicating flood risk during an incident for flood wardens, communicating groups or anyone who has a role in flood risk management to help increase resilience in our region. It is part of a week of … Read more

Innovative action to increase resilience to flooding and climate change in West Yorkshire

A new animation has been created to promote the benefits of West Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme (WY FLIP) since it began a year ago to increase resilience to flooding and climate change in the region. Ambassador for WY FLIP and Deputy Leader of Calderdale Council, Councillor Jane Scullion, launched the animation at Yorkshire Integrated Catchment … Read more

Opportunity for Artists to reflect restoration at Great North Bog, in the north of England

The Great North Bog, United Kingdom, is one of six Action Sites included in WaterLANDS – a five year European Union Green Deal funded project which aims to restore damaged wetlands across Europe and lay the foundations for protection across larger areas. We are looking for artists to engage with the site, the restoration team … Read more