This week the Cambridge Canopy Project launches an innovative urban forestry study inviting households to help assess the vital roles played by trees, including tackling climate change, improving air quality, and preventing flooding. Cambridge City Council, Treeconomics, Forest Research, and Anglia Ruskin University will deliver the i-Tree Eco study. The study describes and quantifies the benefits delivered by Cambridge’s 300,000 trees to residents, visitors, and wildlife. The study will inform management and investment decisions about Cambridge’s urban forest, maximising its benefits for current and future generations. Randomly selected households will be invited to participate. If willing, they will be issued a project pack guiding them through the survey. Participants will contribute valuable data about trees from the safety of their homes. Councillor Katie Thornburrow, Executive Councillor for Planning Policy & Open Spaces: "I am pleased that residents and students have the opportunity to participate in this project, helping to protect this wonderful green asset for the whole community”.

Today elderman Liesbeth van Tongeren, responsible for Sustainability, Environment and Energy Transition in The Hague, gave the official green light for the construction of the Urban Water Buffer in the Cromvlietpark 

Van Tongeren: “2020 has already been one of the driest years ever. That is why we have to use water smartly. In the Cromvliet Park we will soon store water when it rains, and in dry periods it will be used again to keep the park green and cool. 

In 2015, The Hague was one of the first municipalities in the Netherlands to start a climate stress test. This showed that parts of the center and district of Laak, where the Cromvliet Park is located, are very sensitive to extreme rain. Because the park was also due for renovation, the municipality has previously invested in redesigning and greening the park. Thanks to a European investment from the INTERREG Nature Smart Cities, water storage can now also be constructed. 

A water buffer in the middle of a residential area is unique. They have been used in the agricultural sector in the Netherlands before, but only once in a city. The Cromvliet Park is therefore a pilot and the results will be shared with other cities. 

The municipality is working on the project with local partners such as Hoogheemraadschap Delfland, Dunea water company, Metropoolregio Den Haag and TU Delft's Green Village. 

‘The Nature Smart Cities interview report is close to going live’, says its author, Phil Back of Imperial College, London.  It’s been circulating as a draft for feedback and comments, and once those are addressed – hopefully in a week or so - the report will be released into the public domain. It provides insights into how project partners turn Green Infrastructure (GI) ideas into approved, funded projects. The report draws several interesting conclusions for the future of GI in smaller municipalities. 

Phil already has two presentations booked, both of which will of course have to take place online.  One is to the project partnership itself, but he will also be hosting a meeting at Imperial’s Centre for Environmental Policy, discussing his findings with academics working on other environmental research. 

A link to the final report will be in the next newsletter, together with information on seeing Phil’s presentation (or booking him to speak). 

As of June, 24 all work will be completed on the demonstration site in Kontich. Kontich is one of the 7 municipalities in the Zuidrand region with whom province of Antwerp and Streekvereniging Zuidrand perform a pilot investment project.

In Kontich, an abandoned former rail road embankment was transformed into a public park. ;Nearly 5.000 indigenous shrubs were planted with the assistance of local residents. In the park there now is room for water: several pools were added, a pond and brook were enlarged. Instead of being led into the sewer, the rainwater from the& streets and rooftops of the surrounding neighbourhood is now diverted to the new pond and pools, where it can infiltrate into the ground. This reduces the risk of flooded streets during heavy rainfall.

Cyclists and pedestrians can enjoy the green and blue surroundings by following a brand new semipermeable path. This path is a nice alternative for the busy road in the centre of the town.