Schedule 3 – Time to Make a Change
You can imagine our delight when the Government finally announced that it will be mandatory to include Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in virtually all new housing developments from 2024. The Flood and Water Management Act was brought into law in 2010 but the Government decided not to implement its Schedule 3 which would have made […]
Trees, Planning And Development In Scotland
Stirling is known as the city saved by wolves’ legend has it –but now also a place where a pivotal debate on trees, planning and development took place. The last week’s event was organised by the Trees and Design Action Group (TDAG) and was held on the beautiful grounds of the University of Stirling’s campus. […]
Partner Collaboration – Tree Planting Workshop
Barcham Trees, GreenBlue Urban and Treeconomics hosted a “Tree Planting Workshop Event” at the Exeter Science Park on 11th May, attended by a wide range of tree-related stakeholders. The choice of the event site was partly that it is where Treeconomics are based, but also a site where good and poor tree planting is displayed […]
What sustainability and resilience opportunities are we still missing?
How many of us have said “If only I could turn the clock back” at some point in our lives? Most of us, we guess, and this is often because, over time, we become aware of things that if we knew then, what we know now, would have done things differently. This is typical human […]
Creating climate resilient urban treescapes
What can we learn from our experiences of heat waves and what are the implications for creating and managing heat-resilient treescapes for the future? These were the questions posed at this week’s event organised by the Trees and Design Action Group (TDAG) which took place online and in person in Birmingham. It was jointly delivered […]
Perception v Collaboration – a Multi-Disciplinary Approach
While perception and collaboration are separate views, they can be related in certain contexts. For example, individuals with different perceptions may need to collaborate to achieve a common goal. In this case, successful green infrastructure, and collaboration can help to overcome differences in perception by adopting open communication and allowing all stakeholders to share their […]
Reasons to Choose the Only Fully Integrated Tree Pit Solution
Blue-green infrastructure has a critical role in making a change toward climate change adaptation. The multiple benefits in the form of ecosystem services that BGI provides are key to the climate change resilience of our UK towns and cities. GreenBlue Urban has been supporting Developers, Specifiers and Contractors for decades – helping to save time […]
Climate Change Adaption – The Need for Change
“Climate change is definitely with us and we need action and we need it urgently” and “we could say we have seen a lost decade on climate adaptation and action absolutely cannot be delayed further”. These are the words of a Chair of the Climate Committee which published its latest progress report to parliament on […]
GreenBlue – Made in Britain!
The current impacts of climate change are profusely clear, affecting millions of people worldwide, especially the vulnerable. As the crisis worsens governments need to plan and now is the time to adapt. The multi-functional benefits of blue-green infrastructure (BGI) within our communities, towns and cities include economic, social, cultural, and environmental. Therefore, should be renamed […]
How Will the New Active Travel Assessment Impact England?
Will this lead to tree-lined cycling and walking routes? Active Travel England, the recently formed government’s executive agency responsible for making walking, wheeling, and cycling the preferred choice for everyone to get around in England, has finally published local authority active travel capability ratings. It follows on from the government’s vision for cycling and walking […]
FutureBuild 2023 – We took a Stand!
Futurebuild 2023 opened its doors last week to all working within the built environment, striving for a sustainable future. Thousands of attendees visited the event at Excel London, experiencing ground-breaking innovations, inspiring sponsored theatres, and interactive zones. Welcoming thought leaders, innovators, and disruptors who are all seeking to reach a shared goal of net zero. […]
Will Levelling Up transform Britain?
Levelling Up is a flagship policy that the Conservative government introduced in 2019 which through two rounds of funding distributed £4.8 billion. On the 18th of January 2023, the UK government published a list of 111 successful bids in receipt of Levelling up Round 2 funding. This follows from the last year’s announcement of 105 […]
Guest Blog: The value of non-woodland trees
Kieron Doick – Head, Urban Forest Research Group, Forest Research Were you aware that around 20% of the trees in the UK are outside of woodland? That’s not a new statistic and maybe it’s slightly out by now (after all it is from 2017). But – personally – I’m somewhat glad that it is […]
Embedding Landscape into Engineered Environments
Our urban environments are a complicated mixture of hard and soft finishes: concrete and grass, bricks and shrubs, tarmac, and trees. All require certain skills in design, and certain levels of maintenance. But as our climate changes, we need to revise our traditional designs to create more resilient future-proofed spaces. But what defines the correct […]
The Regeneration Generation – It’s Time!
With a worldwide focus on becoming Net Zero by 2050 (reducing our emissions by 50% to reach a pre-industrial temperature rise of 1.5 C) the focus is very much
Creating the Best Mixed Use Developments
Many of our town and city centres appear ghostlike when the commuters have returned to their suburban homes. The hustle and bustle of shopping and commercial areas where, during the boom times, office space was at a premium, and the financial incentives were great to convert residential properties into commercial space. This is a relatively […]
How to Combat the Effects of Drought on Trees
Am I the only one noticing that trees are turning colour this year before the end of July? Isn’t it a bit early for autumn colours? Why is this happening this year? There are a number of influencing factors why and when leaves turn yellow and fall from the trees: generally, it is when the […]
Local Collaboration Continues!
From his landscape gardening days, Dean Bowie has been at the forefront of enabling the establishment of healthy living trees for us and future generations to enjoy.
Guest Blog:- 30 Year Celebrations!
GreenBlue Urban develops products that help create sustainable urban landscapes for future generations by providing green and blue infrastructure solutions. On Tuesday 19th July 22, they celebrated their 30th Birthday in Manchester…and I managed to bag an invite! As always there was a focus on protecting water as well as promoting SuDS and to […]
Lets Become the Collaboration Generation
Different disciplines working together from early planning is often a hot topic discussed within industry seminars and resources. However, as we all know actions speak louder than words. Two planning professional bodies that require a close working relationship from the outset are Drainage Engineers and Landscape Architects as design work and strategy co-exist in the […]
30 Years of Industry Collaboration
GreenBlue has always been proud to innovate, communicate and collaborate on many levels and those that know us would agree, being keen educators, we have had to adapt during these past 2 years to a new way of working, thankfully the digital age is a wondrous thing and we have grown alongside it. Our CPD offerings have developed to take a hybrid approach […]
The Story Behind GreenBlue Urban
It’s hard seeing something that you have planted die; many of us have experienced the disappointment of losing a house plant, but how much worse when the plant is a tree; a tree which has been carefully propagated, grafted, trained, formatively pruned and grown in a nursery? What about if we lose a number of […]
30 Years of Continued Innovation
The last 30 years have been an astonishing journey – from a small one-person business operating from a domestic garage to today’s highly organised efficient operation, centred near Hastings and distributing to over 30 different countries. This growth has been driven by a desire to improve the quality of life for urban users globally by […]
Resilience at its Best!
In previous blogs, we have discussed resilience, what it means, how it can be achieved and how it can be maintained. In this piece, we celebrate projects in which GreenBlue Urban has been privileged to be involved, where we believe that excellence in resilience has been designed and implemented. Creating an inspiring yet resilient space […]
The Value of Nature Based Solutions
Throughout 2022 we have been highlighting the need for change to accelerate the implementation of nature-based solutions into new developments, and to retrofit green and blue infrastructure alongside existing. The multifunctional benefits are abundantly clear we need to educate on the value of NBS from the very outset. Together let’s quash the myths of Too […]
