Growing a Resilient Research Base for Urban Trees, 4 November 2025

Keynote Speaker: Prof. Cecil Konijnendijk, Director, Nature Based Solutions Institute and author of the 3-30-300 principle for urban trees Keynote Title: The importance of urban tree research and its benefits to practice: 3-30-300 and other stories 1) Isabella Bhoan, WW+P Architects Learning the Land Digitally – LIM 2) Will Leaning, University of Sheffield, Predicting the impacts of climate change on urban tree populations and urban community forestry strategies 3) Elle Smith, University of Leeds The role of private garden trees and woodland cover for 3-30-300 success in seven English cities 4) Mahtab Shiravi, University of Florence Multi-risk analysis of wind and rain for urban trees 5) Madeleine Tate, Newcastle University, Water Infrastructure Resilience Centre for Doctoral Training (WIRe) and Newcastle City Council Peri-urban strategies for sustainable surface water management 6) Jack Hamilton, McGill University The benefits of emotionally engaged care for trees After we have heard from each of the six speakers, the audience will be invited to make the final choice to determine the winner and runners up for the TDAG/Mersey Forest Ideas Lab early career research prize! The prize has been sponsored by The Mersey Forest Ideas Lab. The Mersey Forest is Cheshire and Merseyside's Community Forest - one of 15 Community Forests in England. Since the early 1990s it has established over 10 million trees, working with trees for the benefit of people, nature, & climate. This work is underpinned by evidence and informed by research. The Ideas Lab is a new centre of excellence for environmental research and innovation, established with academic partners to make use of The Mersey Forest as a living laboratory, maximising research impact and improving ongoing delivery and practice. Partners: Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management, Institute of Highway Engineers, Landscape Institute, Town and Country Planning Association, and Urban Design Group