New project to offer ‘greening prescriptions’ to local communities

A new research project led by the University of Surrey aims to help people protect their urban spaces against climate change through ‘DIY greening prescriptions’. 

Going under the title ‘GP4 Streets’ the project has been supported with £2m funding from the Natural Environment Research Council as part of a larger investment in research to help UK prepare for climate change.

The project aims to offer a degree of protection to our urban streets which, because of climate change, are increasingly vulnerable to overheating, flooding, air pollution and loss of biodiversity.

To this end, GP4 Streets will work with councils and charities in the South West and South East, building community groups with whom they can work as the project progresses.

In the first instance, the local groups will be given monitoring tools to measure environmental factors such as air quality, temperature and water flow.

They will then be provided with do-it-yourself greening kits which will involve them in activities such as planting trees and  installing green walls.

As the project progresses, sensors will track the effect of their efforts.

Professor Prashant Kumar, principal investigator of the project and Founding Director of the Global Centre for Clean Air (GCARE) Research at the University of Surrey, said: ‘Our country’s most vulnerable need a step-change in how we adapt to volatile weather and transform built environments, like streets, where limited space restricts the scope for interventions.

‘Working hand-in-hand with communities, charities, businesses, and local councils, we’ll create tailored DIY greening solutions as a “prescription” for urban streets – from green walls to front and back gardens. With state-of-the-art monitoring, communities will see improvements in air quality, temperature, and biodiversity firsthand.’

Ben McCallan from the charity Zero Carbon Guildford said: ‘There are multiple barriers to implementing green solutions, so we are really looking forward to teaming up with GCARE on this project, as we did with the UK’s first ‘living gate’ installation at Sandfield Primary, to see how we can remove those blockers.

‘In Guildford, there are areas that have a frightening level of nitrogen dioxide, and we are keen to work with GCARE to help citizens improve the air quality of their communities.’

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