Monday 18 February 2019
UKELA London Meeting
Cities and Nature: Bringing Biodiversity into the Urban Landscape
Please join us for this early evening session where the subject will be on the restoration of biodiversity in the urban landscape
Venue:
Herbert Smith Freehills
Exchange House, Primrose St, London EC2A 2HS
Timings:
6pm to 7.30pm (registration from 5.30pm)
followed by drinks and networking
Book here
We are delighted to welcome the following expert speakers:
John Little
John is one of the UK’s leading green roof builders, starting with his own home in Essex. The green roof on John’s new house consisted of the standard green roof structure, onto which he literally dumped soil from the foundations. That was 17 years ago and the roof is still growing strong. A few years ago a colony of Bee Orchids appeared from nowhere!!
He has since designed and built small green roofs buildings throughout South Essex and London over the last 20 years, often combining the living roofs with habitat walls made designed to support solitary bees.
John’s company the Grass Roof Company does landscape contracting and green roof construction in Essex and London. John also part owns Green Roof Shelters, a company that produces modular design bike, bin and freight container green roofs.
In 2007 John’s company was awarded Silver Gilt at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for a garden based on the work they pioneered for the green spaces within social housing.
Dusty Gedge
Dusty is a green infrastructure consultant working in London, UK and Europe. He is the current President of the European Federation of Green Roof Associations (EFB) and founder of Livingroofs.org,
Though he has a particular interest in biodiversity and urban nature, his work in the built environment is focused on climate resilience and the promotion of greener cities through multi-functional green infrastructure.
He has recently been an external advisor to the Greening Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2030 project.
A recognised designer, technical and policy advisor on green roofs and urban green infrastructure., has worked on GI Projects in the UK for the last 20 years. Some of these are recognised as seminal projects, especially in London through his consultancy firm Green Infrastructure Consultancy [GIC]. In 2018 he was an expert advisor to the Greening Riyadh 2030 project.
He also co-wrote the online small-scale green roof guide, with John Little www.greenrooftraining.com
He has also a published author and has been instrumental in writing strategic reports on green roofs and green infrastructure. He has also been a TV presenter, and a recognised speaker at conferences and events around the world.
Wendy Allen
Wendy is an RHS gold medal winning garden designer who specialises in designing and building eye-catching rain gardens. Featuring drought and water tolerant plants, rain gardens are shallow depressions which allow rainwater to infiltrate the soil slowly, helping to remove pollutants and reduce the risk of flash flooding. Rain gardens are achievable on a small scale and are suitable for retro-fitting in urban areas. They are particularly effective used in combination with green roofs. Wendy’s rain gardens feature in the UK Rain Gardens Guide, and in Small Green Roofs by Nigel Dunnett, Dusty Gedge, John Little and Ed Snodgrass.
Currently Wendy works in partnership with UK Rivers Trust ‘Action for the River Kennet’, involving communities to create rain gardens which have a positive benefit for people, rivers and biodiversity. These rain gardens have recently achieved a Britain in Bloom award and featured in the Wiltshire Life awards for conservation.
The Meeting will be chaired by Simon Boyle, of UKELA and Landmark Information Group
Book here
UKELA is very grateful to HSF for hosting this event