Durham Autumn Conference
The Autumn Topsoil conference was hosted by the Wear Rivers Trust, Durham University and Northumbrian Water, supported by the Environment Agency and the Heritage Coast Partnership.
The Topsoil partners were extensively welcomed to Durham by Cllr John Lethbridge.
The first day was devoted to a discussion of updates on the pilots and the end of the project (see below) and also included a presentation on stakeholder involvement by professor Louise Bracken of Durham University. Next up was Martin Colling who presented Story Maps.
The day was rounded with a guided tour of the famous Durham Cathedral and dinner at the Cathedral Undercroft.
The second day of the meeting started off with presentations by the Topsoil partners (see below) and by Groundwater Technical Specialists of the Environment Agency.
They were followed by academics Rebecca and Victoria Smith, who provided further details on their research.
In the afternoon, the Topsoil partners visited the Dawdon mine water treatment scheme and the spectacular Ryhope Museum. This was followed by a Durham City walk.
On November 2, two workshops were organised:
- Working with farmers and regulators to minimise nutrient loss to water
- Fieldwork, Modelling and Publications
The next partner meeting will be organised by VMM and take place in Brussels from 22 to 22 March 2018.
The presentations given at the meeting will soon be uploaded.
Pictures: Leo de Vree