2B's Christmas 2007 Newsletter stated:

"One of our main themes of 2007 was an increasing resolve to put sustainability at the heart of our business. This was partly prompted by the flooding in June, which hit both Hull and North Cave badly, and partly by attending the Landscape Institute's Conference on Climate Change in early November. We have always felt strongly about the importance of environment and sustainability in everything we do. Now we want to fully explore the opportunities for us, as landscape architects, to help deliver mitigation and adaptation to Climate Change. Put simply, we can't think of a more worthwhile way to use our skills."

Well, that exploration is taking us in a direction we really hadn’t anticipated - west!  

Maslen Environmental and JBA Consulting

Having decided to further develop our understanding of the subject, Bill attended a conference in Sheffield, entitled “Flooding, Water and the Landscape”. There, he fell into conversation with a landscape architect who was presenting a paper to the conference. Steve Maslen, of Maslen Environmental, was talking about some excellent projects carried out in this area. We were already aware of Steve’s work, and he of ours, as we had both presented at a Landscape Institute Yorkshire Branch Practitioners’ Evening in 2007.

At the start of 2008, Steve completed a merger with one of the UK’s top water and flood risk management consultancies, JBA Consulting. Their joint aim is to explore further the relationship between landscape, water and the effects of climate change.  

Steve was looking for someone to help him develop his Saltaire-based practice and to fully explore the opportunities presented by the merger. He was also very impressed by our skills and experience, including visualising landscape-scale climate change and adaptation. So, despite the upheaval involved, it was too good an opportunity to pass up: the chance to pursue one of our greatest personal and professional motivations.

Climate Change and Landscape

Before any of this came about, we had anticipated trying to acquire the necessary skills in-house. We would then set out to convince agencies, authorities and developers of the benefits of: sustainable drainage systems, catchment area reviews, green infrastructure - and other approaches needed to help us deal with Climate Change. Instead, Elizabeth and I will be working with some of the UK’s foremost experts, who can quantify the benefits of these approaches, and have national and international experience of putting them into practice.

Contact

As from the beginning of June 2008, Bill will be working from the Maslen Environmental office, in Saltaire, as Technical Director of Landscape. Elizabeth will complete 2B work and will later join Bill in Saltaire.

So if you need help with any of the topics mentioned above - climate change adaptation, visualisation, or indeed any aspect of landscape and environmental consultancy - we hope you will give us a call on 01274 714269 or email
b.blackledge@maslen-environmental.com 

For the foreseeable future, the 2B website and email addresses will be retained to maintain contact with existing clients and visitors.

The Team

Maslen Environmental currently has 8 landscape staff , 5 ecologists, 3 hydro-geologists and 2 social geographers, plus expertise in rural land management, fisheries and project/stakeholder management. For further information please go to www.maslen-environmental.com

JBA Consulting has around 190 staff in 11 offices. They are experts in all aspects of water engineering and management, flood risk assessment and drainage, supported by cutting-edge GIS capability. For further information please go to www.jbaconsulting.co.uk

Elizabeth and I are very excited about the opportunities ahead - the services we can offer existing and new clients will be hugely enhanced by the increased capacity, skills and specialised expertise of our new colleagues.