Notes from Meetup #22: Is It Easy Being Green?
It was lovely to be back at Arup for our twenty-second edition and doubly lovely to see such a good turnout, especially on one of the warmest evenings so far this year.
It was also really lovely to be able to look out of the panoramic windows from the 9th floor of the 3 St Paul’s Place building and see (or almost see) where two of our speakers have been working to make Sheffield a greener, healthier and more bio-diverse place!
“GreenTech” was the theme of this edition - the use of both digital technologies and nature-inspired solutions to improve our urban and peri-urban environments (and with the Peak District being of such importance to the city of Sheffield, those rural areas as well).
Peter Holt explained how a combination of tech and nature are transforming Mansfield, improving the built environment and reducing flood risks at the same time.
James Jefferies talked about the efforts of Rewilding Britain, and how he, as the charity’s only “techie”, is harnessing data from over a thousands projects across the U.K. to tell stories about the gradual rehabilitation of our island nation’s biodiversity.
Roz Davies showed us how a community focus on nature is transforming one of the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the city.
Ceri Batchelder and Denislav Ivanov introduced the “Give It A Go: GreenTech” startup hackathon that took place over the weekend before, and Dr Lenka Mudrich presented “Bloom” - the startup concept that came second in the closing competition. We hope it develops into a successful company!
Finally, I wrapped things up with the usual quick-fire SmartSheffield News roundup, and then let everyone get to the food, beverages and chat.
All of these talks are embedded below, and also available in a handy YouTube playlist.
Thanks once again to all of our speakers, to everyone who came, and to all our sponsors at Arup, SHU, TUoS, and Sheffield Digital.
We look forward to seeing you at the next event - please join the mailing list to get notified when the date is announced!
Chris Dymond
Unfolding & Sheffield Digital
Peter Holt
"Sponge Cities: City-wide digital to answer a fluid problem"
Peter Holt, Associate at Arup, explains how nature-based approaches to flood management can create places that are cleaner, healthier and more liveable, by using recent development in Mansfield as a case study.
James Jefferies
"Stoatally useful data, weasily collected"
James Jefferies, Data Engineer at Rewilding Britain & Creative Technologist at ShedCode, explains how he is helping to gather data on the myriad of rewilding projects currently underway across the UK and how Rewilding Britain will use this data to track both progress and impact of these efforts.
Roz Davies
"Growing Engaging, Adaptive and Resilient Urban Places"
Roz Davies, CEO of The Green Estate CIC and Co-Chair of the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission Adaptation and Resilience Panel, explains the history and work of The Green Estate, a Community Interest Company based at The Manor which has long been one of the most marginalised and disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Sheffield, and shows the incredible impact that empowering communities to revitalise their own green spaces can have.
Ceri Batchelder, Denislav Ivanov & Dr Lenka Mudrich
"Give it a Go GreenTech: Building GreenTech startups in South Yorkshire, in a weekend and beyond"
Ceri Batchelder, Superconnector at Team SY, and Denislav Ivanov, Marketing & Community Lead at Transform SY, provide an update from the "Give it a Go GreenTech" hackathon that was held over the previous weekend, and we hear from the brand new startup that placed second: Dr Lenka Mudrich pitches Bloom - a two-way market that solves the long waiting lists for allotments by connecting growers with owners of neglected gardens.
Chris Dymond
SmartSheffield News for May 2023
A typically big bag of local smart cities news this edition, from new renewal and development schemes to citizen engagement initiatives, community-led speed enforcement and even space funerals!
See you at the next one!
