Cecil Konijnendijk – Nature Based Solutions Institute

From Utrecht, the Netherlands, Cecil Konijnendijk co-leads the Nature Based Solutions Institute, an international think tank for the greening of cities. Cecil is also an honorary professor of urban forestry at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading urban forestry experts. Cecil has advised various United Nations organisations and national, regional, and local governments in over 30 countries. In 2021 he launched his 3+30+300 principle for the evidence-based greening of cities, a guideline that is now used by organisations and cities around the world. Cecil has published widely, including his books ‘The Forest and the City: the cultural landscape of urban woodland’ (2008/2018) and ‘Rethinking urban green spaces’ (2024).

Paul Singleton – McCloy Consulting

Paul is an experienced Chartered Civil / Environmental Engineer, specialising in flood risk assessment, SuDS and environmental assessment.

Having returned from a sabbatical in east Africa, where he provided water engineering services to a number of NGOs, he now leads our Dublin office. He has particular experience of flood risk assessment in Ireland, as well as previously having gained extensive experience of flood risk assessment for infrastructure and private development projects in UK and Ireland.

Bob Bray – Robert Bray and associates

Bob has practiced as a landscape architect for over 40 years specialising in biodiverse and sustainable landscapes. He has a life-long interest in aquatic environments, wildlife and botany, spending part of his early career developing a management strategy for amphibian re-introduction on opencast mining sites. An inspirational trip to the US in the early days of SuDS design led to Bob becoming a pioneer in the field in the UK, delivering a tremendous number and range of innovative SuDS projects.

Neil Ross – Arborist and Tree Officer at Stockholm City Council, Transport Department

Neil has over 20 year’s experience in the treecare industry, working as a climbing and consulting arborist, as well as operational manager for one of Sweden’s largest arboricultural contractors. He has worked as a Tree Specialist at Stockholm City Council since 2019, with special focus on treecare, maintenance, tree planting and planting pit projects in Stockholm, collaborating with landscape architects, maintenance crews and engineers to find solutions for preserving and developing the urban forest. He will be presenting examples of recent and ongoing tree planting projects in Stockholm, for both new and existing trees, and hopefully share some experiences of how the methods can be used to help manage rainwater, and mitigate the effects of climate change such as cloudburst and urban heat events.