Unlocking Policy for Nature Based Solutions (NBS): Looking at our initial findings

Led by Sam Ramsden, iCASP Impact Translation Fellow Workshop participants discussing initial findings and NBS policy challenges. 🚧 Section 1: What are the challenges? 1. Regulatory and Policy Fragmentation 2. Funding Constraints 3. Evidence and Impact Measurement 4. Skills, Capacity and Communication 5. Cultural and Organisational Barriers 6. Landowner Engagement and Permissions 7. Project Delivery … Read more

Co-ordinated Working to Address Climate Resilience Challenges in the Yorkshire and Humber Region

Led by Jonathan Moxon, Executive Manager, Flood and Climate Resilience at Leeds City Council and Programme Manager, West Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme (WYFLIP) and Dr Steph Bond, iCASP Impact Translation Fellow Cllr. Katie Kimber reflects on WYFLIP’s journey and outlines the vision for future climate resilience. 🔎 Section 1: What are the key challenges a … Read more

How can we provide the Skills needed to support the Water Sector across the Region?

Led by Prof Joe Holden, Director of iCASP Prof Joe Holden opening feedback on cross-cutting skill needs across the Yorkshire water sector 🧰 Section 1: What Are the Current Skills Gaps? Participants identified a wide range of skill gaps in the region’s water sector across professional, educational, entrepreneurial and other domains. These include technical expertise … Read more

Citizen Science as a Driver for Water Quality Improvement in Yorkshire

Led by Dr Gabriela Lopez Gonzalez, Head of water@leeds Workshop participants discussing how community engagement can enhance water quality monitoring in Yorkshire. 🔎 Section 1: What is Citizen Science? Citizen science is the active involvement of everyday people – especially non-academics and local communities – in scientific research. It goes beyond basic data collection, encouraging people … Read more

What are the Priorities for Integrated Water Innovation in our Region?

Led by Prof Dave Hodgson, Deputy Director of iCASP Participants brainstorming integrated water strategies during the iCASP workshop. Summary The group explored integrated water innovation through multiple interconnected lenses, highlighting the need to manage trade-offs, create shared policies, secure green finance and treat water as a fundamental right. There was a strong emphasis on addressing … Read more

April 2025 – Kirkby Malham Parish Hall – NFM COP Monitoring Skill Share

Kirkby Malham Parish Hall, Skipton Friday 11th April 2025 The Natural Flood Management (NFM) Community of Practice (CoP) gathered for a vibrant and collaborative event hosted by Ousewem. With over 40 attendees spanning practitioners, academics, regulators, consultants, and landowners, this event was designed to share insights, tackle common monitoring challenges and get hands-on with field … Read more

Biosecurity course goes live – reducing the spread of Invasive Non Native Species

Pictured: Himalayan Balsam Invasive Non Native Species (INNS) are any non native animal or plants and they can cause significant damage to our environment. They affect the quality of freshwater, including water in our rivers, can clog up water systems and increase flood risk. Rather than focusing on treating INNS – prevention needs to be … Read more

Could Meanwood Valley Farm be an ideal site to capture our imagination for what’s possible with Sustainable Drainage Systems? (SuDS)

Pictured: Participants take a tour of the Meanwood Valley Farm Members of West Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme (WYFLIP) are currently exploring using Meanwood Valley Farm as a potential case study to demonstrate the many benefits of blue green infrastructure. Board member Vanessa Allen, principal engineer at Leeds City Council and Dr Sam Ramsden, impact translation … Read more

Anyone for a slice of Blanket Bog cake?

Antony (pictured) with his blanket bog cake More than a million tonnes of carbon are stored in Marsden Moor, in West Yorkshire – and the peatlands can  hold the equivalent annual emissions released by one million cars. These were findings of a four year study by Dr Antony Blundell, Senior Researcher and Martin Gilpin, Senior … Read more

Filming peatlands in the Great North Bog

Pictured: Andrew Walker from Yorkshire Water being filmed by Dan Waters from Adarak at Peat Moss A group of peatland enthusiasts took time out from their working day to join us making a video about vital restoration work which has transformed Fleet Moss and Nethergill. We were lucky as it was a beautiful sunny day … Read more