Trinity will spearhead a €12m EU project, “Connecting Nature” which will develop man-made, nature-focused installations, such as the creation of urban woodlands and roof gardens, to make European cities greener urban spaces.

Funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, the project will use 11 European cities to implement the solutions the research produces and monitor their success.

Using engineering to produce nature-based solutions, the project addresses issues such as air pollution, unsustainable urban development, climate change and natural disasters.

The leader of the project, Dr Marcus Collier, an assistant professor in botany in the School of Natural Sciences, said in a press statement, that the project “will attempt to achieve what no other Horizon 2020 project has before”. Collier emphasised the scale and effect the research could have on cities in Europe: “It will co-create city-wide master plans to scale out nature-based solutions and generate funding for them. This is not just about building climate resilience.”

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