Greater Manchester Natural Capital Group Annual Conference 2021

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“Delivering Nature Based Solutions at a City Region Scale”

Thursday 17 to Friday 18 June 2021 – Virtual Event

Living LabPlease join us on 17th and 18th June for the Natural Capital Group Conference 2021. The Greater Manchester Natural Capital Group, the Natural Course and IGNITION projects and the University of Salford are bringing together leading natural environment practitioners to discuss the challenge of increasing nature-based solutions in Greater Manchester.

Sign up to the Natural Capital Group Conference via Eventbrite.

About the event

The one-and-a-half-day conference is split into three parts with a flexible timetable so you can pick and choose the elements you want to attend:

17th June 10:00am – 12:00pm Natural Capital Group Conference including key note speakers and live panel discussion. .

17th June 12.40pm – 14.30pm IGNITION NBS Living Lab Launch at the University of Salford followed by a regional and international perspective on urban nature-based solutions, including a panel discussion with Mayors from UK, Germany, France, Australia and Canada. 18th June 10:00am –

18th June 12:00pm Natural Course Greater Manchester’s Water Forum bringing together organisations and partnerships from all parts of the Greater Manchester water cycle to share knowledge and experience and to build understanding of the roles and responsibilities of other organisations active in this area. (Including presentations, facilitated break out groups and discussion held on MS Teams.)

Confirmed speakers

  • Andy Burnham – Mayor of Greater Manchester
  • Emma Howard Boyd – Chair of the Environment Agency
  • Marian Spain – Chief Executive of Natural England
  • Anne Selby – Chair, Greater Manchester Natural Capital Group
  • Chris Matthews – Head of Sustainability, United Utilities
  • Prof Hisham Elkadi – Living Lab PI
  • Professor Karl Dayson – Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, University of Salford
  • Frank Mentrup, Lord Mayor of Karlsruhe, German
  • Olivier Bianchi, Mayor of Clermont-Ferrand, Franc
  • Stephanie Asher, Mayor of Geelong, Australia
  • Cllr Paul Dennett, Mayor of Salford, UK
  • David Mitchell, Mayor of Bridgewater, Canada

How to book

Sign up for the conference via Eventbrite, where you will be given flexible options to sign up for your preferred sessions. We look forward to seeing you on 17th and 18th June.

Sign up the to the Natural Capital Group Conference

Take action…

To make a big change, we must all take small actions. Becoming greener and making an impact is easier than you might think. We have put together a range of blogs, articles, toolkits and checklists to help you make a start.

Explore resources

Although we set out with a simple mission to reduce plastic waste, we’ve quickly realised that it’s just one piece in the sustainability puzzle. One of the biggest, but most easily attainable actions we can achieve is to look at where our goods come from and reduce the carbon footprint needed to get a product from manufacturer to consumer. Many of the products we stock are made by local, independent manufactures, who provide us with a wide range of things from reusable face wipes, wax food wraps, face coverings, soap bars, plant pots, kitchen cloths/sponges and butty bags.

Carl from Lentils and Lather

Our aim is to start changing the habits of families in Greater Manchester by getting them to ‘borrow’ rather than ‘buy’ brand new toys. We’re making sure that toys can be reused again and again by children who need and want them – and they are not just sitting in a cupboard or under someone’s bed.

Kim from That Toy Thing

The best part of upcycling is that old furniture is often better made than the equivalent flat-packed furniture we get today and with a little bit of time, love and care, you can create a completely unique piece of furniture for your home that no one else will have. I also love that these pieces of furniture have a history of their own and through transforming and updating them we can breathe a new lease of life into them.

Hannah from Tread Softly

The Green Recovery Challenge Fund is providing a further boost to the ambitions of the Great Manchester Wetlands Partnership to create a thriving, inspirational and connected landscape. It supports the recovery of wildlife through habitat creation and improvement as well as community recovery through providing opportunities for local people to develop skills, knowledge and beneficial connections to their local natural environment.

Jo Kennedy, Coordinator of the Great Manchester Wetlands Partnership

The reason I signed up to the Green Homes Grant scheme was two-fold, selfishly the measures will add value to the properties and make them more valuable in the future. But more importantly it benefits the tenants, keeping them warmer and prevents problems like damp and condensation. Ultimately measures like external wall insulations should keep tenants happier and ensure they remain in the house for longer.

Neil, Rochdale property owner

We used to think we didn’t have enough time to shop on our local market because we were working; how wrong we were?  We discovered it is an amazing place to shop for plastic free. We swapped tea bags for tea leaves and coffee jars for beans which we buy from The Market Grounds on Ashton Market – well worth a visit as the homemade cakes are delicious. All the stall holders have been amazing, not one of them minds us taking our containers to be filled with meat from the butchers. We get our bread, cheese, fruit and veg from the market too.

Julie from Ashton-under-Lyne

Kat Mulhall, Events Manager at Victoria Baths Trust in Manchester

Although becoming carbon neutral is important to our organisation, it’s a lot of work for a small team to put the measures into place. The Journey to Net Zero course has given me practical, step-by-step advice that has made it easy for me to lay the foundations for our organisation to be able to take action and achieve our goal of becoming carbon neutral.

Kat Mulhall, Events Manager at Victoria Baths Trust in Manchester

Kat Mulhall, Events Manager at Victoria Baths Trust in Manchester

The Business Growth Hub has given us focus and extra knowledge. They’ve helped us form the base to grow sustainably and work efficiently as a team while making us conscious of our environmental impact as a business.

 

Ollie Birchall, Founder of Nutri Bar

I’ve not really been a cyclist throughout my life, more of a runner to be honest. And certainly not commuted. But I just thought if I’m going to change, surely now is the moment to change. I’m feeling the personal benefits of doing it. You just feel better when you come into work. It clears your head. There are benefits of cutting congestion, cleaning up the air. Everyone benefits when people cycle.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester

We think our water fountain is INCREDIBLE, it’s the perfect place for people to ‘refill’ and help themselves to any of the free edibles we’ve got growing in Market Place. We’re so grateful to all the organisations that helped make this happen. Alongside the plastic free motion that was passed by council and helped us achieve our first Surfers Against Sewage objective and in turn our Plastic Free Community status, it shows real commitment in reducing plastic waste and supporting our community.

 

Pete Fillery, Plastic Free Rammy and Incredible Edible Ramsbottom

I guess I’ve always been what you would call a conscious consumer. I’ve always detested plastic bags, all of my skin care products at home are plastic-free, vegan, and sustainable. My toothbrush is made of bamboo, there’s no plastic anywhere in the house. Everything in the salon has to be vegan – that was the first rule for me. We started with one brand of haircare products that was vegan, organic, and Fairtrade, but the distributor in the UK was wrapping all of the deliveries in plastic, and it felt really needless, so we ditched them.

 

Rachael, Gronn eco-salon in Bury

Although becoming carbon neutral is important to our organisation, it’s a lot of work for a small team to put the measures into place. The Journey to Net Zero course has given me practical, step-by-step advice that has made it easy for me to lay the foundations for our organisation to be able to take action and achieve our goal of becoming carbon neutral.

 

Kat Mulhall, Victoria Baths Trust, Manchester

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