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Environment Secretary Hilary Benn to set out government’s climate change position at Landscape Institute Annual Conference

27th September 2007

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn MP will be the keynote speaker at the Landscape Institute’s annual conference as he details the government’s position on climate change in the context of landscapes, land use and the public realm.

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will speak on day one of the conference, entitled “Climate Change: The Challenge for Landscape Architecture,” which takes place on November 1 and 2 in Regent’s College, London. The conference will demonstrate the vital role played by landscape architects in tackling the climate change crisis.

Events such as the severe flooding that affected much of England this summer reinforced the clear relationship between landscape and climate.

A host of leading practitioners from the UK and overseas will demonstrate how policy and practice are being effectively developed in landscape architecture to deal with the major problem of climate change.

“Our conference will address how the work of landscape architects is changing to provide a clear lead in the UK’s efforts to deal with new challenges,” said Nigel Thorne, President of the Landscape Institute, the professional body for Britain’s landscape architects. “We believe that landscape architecture is the profession best able to meet the challenges of the 21st century and that the Government’s public policy objectives for climate change can only be achieved with a full understanding of the contribution to be made by our profession.”

The event aims to raise awareness of the opportunities and threats posed by climate change to the landscape and the profession’s current practices. It will also underline the need to incorporate robust climate change responses into the design, management and science of landscape, land use and the public realm.

Highlights of the programme include television producer David Barrie examining how more than a thousand people in Middlesbrough have pioneered a new edible landscape, growing fresh produce across the town. Eco-entrepreneur Andy Middleton will speak on his efforts to turn his home city of St David’s into the world’s first eco-city.

“The urgency of climate change and the need to respond dictates that landscape architects, who have been stewards of the land for so long, need to step from behind the shadows and to the fore,” said Middleton. “There is a talk at the conference, entitled “don’t panic”. We know the answers about what needs to be done, but if people don’t start acting on the knowledge, then it will be time to panic.”

Landscape architect Kim Wilkie will explore how basic stewardship of urban and rural land can make a significant difference, while climate change adaptation strategies in UK and Norway will be compared.

Landscape architects Annie Coombs and Francis Hesketh will highlight the importance of considering climate change when deciding green infrastructure strategy. In particular, recent work will illustrate the need to set aside land for ‘soft’ flood defences and flood management.
Talks on drought and flood management will also take place, along with numerous site visits and workshops.

Other speakers include Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy at City University and John Handley, Professor of Land Restoration and Management at Manchester University, who will explore the expected trajectory of climate change in the UK.

Landscape architects are at the forefront of developing projects that aim to prevent a repeat of this summer’s flooding. Boscastle, Cornwall, was decimated by flash flooding in 2004, but subsequent work by landscape architects prevented damage seen elsewhere across the country this year.

To book visit www.liconferences.org or call Sabina Mohideen on 020 7299 514.