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

Plans for a new digital solution to give early flood warnings  

Plans are underway to create a network of sensors across West Yorkshire to give people earlier warnings about the risk of surface water flooding. Board membersfromWest Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme have successfully bid for £97,000 from the Discovery Phase of round six of the Local Digital Fund to test whether using smart technology for such a … 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

West Yorkshire communities at risk of flooding gain £187k to become more resilient

Press Release More homes at risk of flooding throughout West Yorkshire will become more resilient thanks to a successful Local Levy bid for £187,000. Partners from five local authorities and the Environment Agency joined forces as part of the West Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme (WY FLIP) to secure the funds for their project focused on … 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

New Standards to address greenwashing in carbon farming

Urgently needed report could be pivotal in preventing greenwashing in farm soil carbon projects Environment Agency funded consortium lays out minimum requirements for UK soil carbon projects  Requirements should unlock investment for farmers and support a scalable, high-integrity market for farm soil carbon  The prospect of a scalable, high-integrity market for farm soil carbon took an important … 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

NEW RESEARCH WILL IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF UK RIVERS

Most UK rivers fail to meet good ecological status Scientists will: create new tools for monitoring freshwater pollution; study how river ecosystems are impacted by effluent, microplastics, chemicals and land management practices; support the development of new strategies to improve river water quality in the UK that will take account of climate change £8.4 million … 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

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