Consultancy Projects
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Consultancy Projects
Consultancy Projects and Contracts
Aggregate Industries - Concrete Design
Collaborative project investigating how concrete can be designed as architectural installations - including using concrete mixes with recycled glass to maximize light as a design feature.
Client: Aggregate Industries Ltd
SRI Theme: Materials engineering
Biodiversity Hotspots - City University
Following on from the SRI's work with UEL Facilities to characterise and maximise the biodiversity value of UEL's Estate, the SRI was commissioned to carry out a scoping survey of the current and potential biodiversity interest of the City University London Northampton Square campus.
Using a combination of spatial analysis of aerial photos and ground-truthing surveys, the SRI mapped biodiversity across the City University campus, identified key areas currently supporting biodiversity 'hotspots', and made recommendations for biodiversity enhancements.
Client: City University
SRI Theme: Urban green infrastructure
Green Roof Industry Standards
SRI is working with the British Standards Institute (BSI) to develop green roofing industry standards, including facilitating partnership trade organisations such as the Green Roof Organisation to ensure industry needs are met within the standardisation process.
Client: British Standards Institute
SRI Theme: Urban green infrastructure
London Students Towards Sustainability
Part of UrbanBuzz, this project focused on meeting the skill gaps to deliver sustainable communities in London. SRI was engaged to motivate and support London's university students in contributing to sustainable development.
Client: London Sustainability Exchange
SRI Theme: Community engagement and assets
Museum of London Green Roof Monitoring
As part of the Greater London Authority's Drain London project, a series of green roofs were installed at the Museum of London. The SRI was contracted to monitor these roofs and assess their benefits in terms of storm-water attenuation compared to standard flat roof systems. An innovative prototype rainfall runoff gauge, capable of installation on a roof to monitor a range of flow rates, was developed and installed at the MoL by the SRI. The gauges logged rainfall volumes and rates. The results were analysed and fed back into the Drain London project.
Client: Museum of London
SRI Theme: Urban green infrastructure
Nature Improvement Areas - Nature Improvement Areas
As part of the Greater Thames Marshes Nature Improvement Area programmes, a master plan was developed for the landscape-scale conservation of Thames Terrace Invertebrates in the Greater Thames Marshes area. The project was a partnership between Essex County Council, Buglife, the University of East London and Essex Field Club. The project built on previous pioneering work, targeting eight sites and three flagship species. It outlined what was currently known and set the scene for future work, identifying gaps in knowledge and making recommendations for delivery on the ground.
Client: Natural England and DEFRA via Essex County Council
SRI Theme: Invertebrate conservation
Olympic Games Impact Study
SRI worked with a range of partners on an environmental study of the London 2012 Games for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The aim was to encourage responsible concern for the environment, promote sustainable development in sport and highlight the potential of a positive legacy for London 2012. The resulting report has been used by the IOC and UK government ministers to design and inform a portfolio of post-games regeneration projects.
Client: International Olympic Committee
SRI Theme: Community engagement and assets
Olympic Park Biosolar Roof Monitoring
The SRI worked with the Olympic Development Authority to prepare a guidance document for green roof monitoring in order to inform the legacy management of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Subsequently, SRI carried out biodiversity monitoring for the London Legacy Development Corporation on the MPC bio solar roof (green roof and photovoltaic roof combined) to assess how it was performing in relation to targets within the Olympic Park Biodiversity Action Plan.
Client: London Legacy Development Corporation
SRI Theme: Invertebrate conservation
Peatland Briefing Notes
The production of a series of Peatland Briefing Notes for the IUCN UKPP. These online Briefing Notes are designed to provide clear guidance to non-specialists about a range of peatland topics and have since been downloaded by researchers and practitioners based in a wide range of countries around the world.
Client: IUCN UK PP
SRI Theme: Peatland conservation
Peatland Conservation Cases - Natural England
SRI provided expert witness evidence on behalf of Natural England for two major peatland conservation cases in Walshaw Moor and Bolton Fell Moss. The evidence presented by the SRI has since formed the basis of a case being led by the RSPB and is now taken up by the European Commission through the European Court of Justice.
Client: Natural England
SRI Theme: Peatland conservation
Peatland Ecology - Training Workshops
The SRI has been involved in leading peatland ecology workshops for NGOs. These workshops allow landowners, land managers and conservation staff the chance to gain further education in the ecology and function of the peatlands under their management. These were led most recently by Shetland Amenity Trust who created a post for a dedicated 'Peatlands officer' following the course.
SRI Theme: Peatland conservation
Peatlands and Carbon
SRI undertook a major review of scientific literature concerned with peatlands and carbon which helped establish the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) UK Peatland Programme and the UKPP's Commission of Inquiry into peatlands. This underpinned the importance of peatlands now recognised by the devolved administrations - with some £16m allocated by the Scottish Government to peatland restoration.
Client: UKPP
SRI Theme: Peatland conservation
TW - Rainwater Attenuation
SRI established a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Thames Water Ltd to develop a prototype rainfall runoff gauge which could be installed at roof level (where no access to downpipes was available) and was capable of monitoring a range of flow rates, robust enough to cope with the kinds of debris that might be washed into gutter systems and equally suitable for installation in new gutter systems and retrofit scenarios. The gauge was laboratory-tested at UEL in the hydrology circulation tanks. It was then installed at the Museum of London green roof monitoring project and the TfL monitoring project.
Client: Thames Water Ltd
SRI Theme: Urban green infrastructure
The Royal Parks - green roof ecology surveys
The Royal Parks - green roof ecology surveys: ecologists from the SRI were commissioned to survey eight green roofs within the Royal Parks in London. The surveys were designed to generate baseline data on the vegetation, habitat structure and invertebrate communities of each green roof, to inform the Royal Parks on best practices for their ongoing management and maintenance to improve their nature conservation value and delivery of ecosystem services. We provided a technical report detailing the findings of the surveys, opportunities for increasing the ecological value and environmental resilience of each green roof, as well as guidance for the design of future living roofs for the parks.
Client: The Royal Parks
SRI Theme: Urban green infrastructure
Stepping Stones
A collaborative project between Buglife, Essex Field Club and the SRI. The project delivered landscape-scale invertebrate conservation for priority species in the nationally important region of South Essex. The SRI provided their spatial analytical GIS expertise in mapping and monitoring the spatial dynamics of conservation priority invertebrate populations in the region. The project aim was to inform habitat management proposals at a number of key sites within the region
Client: Buglife
SRI Theme: Invertebrate conservation
Stevenage Pocket Park-Sunken Roundabout
The East England Development Agency and Stevenage Borough Council identified a pocket park within a sunken roundabout in Stevenage as an asset which could be used more by the public through innovative landscape design. The SRI advised on the sustainability and environmental regeneration aspects of the development. The park was constructed using sustainable materials including the use of local recycled glass, sand and aggregate from the initial demolition site and provided an educational resource for emerging eco-technologies.
Client: Stevenage Borough Council
SRI Theme: Urban green infrastructure
Suds Guidance
The SRI developed planning policy guidance that would apply regionally contextualised 'ecomimicry' UGI design principles into SuDS component design. Key challenges were to ensure that SuDS design was suitable for high-density urban areas and that biodiversity and multifunctional ecosystem service provision were central to the design and selection of components. The Derbyshire St Pocket Park has since been developed in the borough through the GLA's Pocket Park initiative as a flagship project to showcase the principles of the SuDS guidance and how the components recommended can be implemented together in high-density urban areas.
Client: London Borough of Tower Hamlets
SRI Theme: Urban green infrastructure
TFL Green Roof Rainfall Runoff
As part of an initiative to resolve stormwater flooding issues at London Underground depots, Transport for London installed two green roofs on a London Underground depot at West Ruislip. One roof used industry-standard green roof construction materials, and the other used a novel experimental system.
The SRI was contracted to monitor the rainfall runoff from these green roofs and an adjacent control roof. Data from the monitoring was used to inform best practices for green roof design for water attenuation as supporting evidence for a broader incorporation of green infrastructure retrofit across Transport for London holdings.
Client: Transport for London
SRI Theme: Urban green infrastructure
Thames Estuary 2100
The SRI worked in partnership with the Environment Agency and Natural England as part of the Thames Estuary 2100 flood defence scoping programme. The SRI carried out ArcGIS spatial analysis and assemblage analysis of invertebrates on Thames Estuary coastal grazing marsh sites to assess assemblage diversity, rarity, typicalness and habitat features supporting the populations. The project was designed to support the decision-making process for TE2100 flood defence prioritisation.
Client: Environment Agency
SRI Theme: Invertebrate conservation
Thames Ward Project - empowering local communities
Thames Ward Project – empowering local communities: the SRI’s social scientists and ecologists developed and delivered a series of initiatives designed to engage marginalised members of the long-standing local community in activities that would empower them to access community infrastructure associated with the new housing development at Barking Riverside and promote social cohesion.
‘Shed Life’ is a community space for men and young volunteers to converse and create, to help reduce loneliness and isolation, by sharing skills and talents through a programme of activities led by local men. Facilitated by the SRI’s social science team, UEL’s architecture department collaborated on the project to design the shed, and architecture students helped prepare a planning application.
Image: UEL worked with the Thames Ward community to develop a design for the shed that would become the hub for the 'Shed Life' project
The Thames Ward green and blue-space training course comprised a series of modules that introduced participants from the local community to learn about the history and ecology of blue and green spaces in their Ward and to visit sites to help overcome barriers related to accessibility and to explore opportunities for resident activities at the sites.
Client: Barking Riverside Ltd
SRI Theme: Sustainable Communities
Wild West End - green infrastructure audit
Wild West End – green infrastructure audit: the Wild West End is a unique partnership of nine of central London’s largest property holders, to create a network of connected green spaces and nature-based solutions that will support local biodiversity and deliver environmental, social and economic benefits for local communities, businesses and visitors.
The SRI’s ecologists carried out a green infrastructure audit of public and private parks and gardens, green roofs and green walls in the West End to evaluate their ecological and environmental value and provide knowledge transfer to key stakeholders to enhance the biodiversity value and ecosystem services delivery of their sites. Bird and pollinator surveys were also undertaken at a sample of sites, to monitor their relative performance for supporting these key groups. Deliverables included a technical report for the project partners, summarising the results of surveys in their property portfolios, along with detailed recommendations for enhancement measures. Knowledge transfer activities included a presentation to the partnership and a representative from the Greater London Authority on the audit findings, and a chance to discuss opportunities for best practice for the project.
Image: Monitoring for the Wild West End project included assessing the ecological value of UGI such as this biodiverse green roof and modular green wall in the West End of London.
Client: Arup in partnership with London Wildlife Trust
SRI Theme: Urban green infrastructure