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5,000 trees planted at the Brownlee Triathlon Centre

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The University of Leeds in partnership with the Environment Agency and Leeds City Council have planted more than 5,000 trees at the University’s Brownlee Triathlon Centre to reduce flood risk to the Leeds area downstream.

Tree planting at Bodington Playing Fields, where the Brownlee Triathlon Centre is located, took place between February and March 2021, and is part of a wider programme of natural flood management techniques being introduced into the Leeds catchment. It is a great example of the University’s partnership approach to implementing climate solutions through collaborative research and innovation.

The Brownlee site was earmarked as the first urban pilot location last year as part of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme’s Natural Flood Management Project – looking at alternative and sustainable ways to manage flood risk and increase resilience to climate change. This will work alongside, and complement, traditional engineering being implemented through the scheme, whilst also creating habitat for wildlife and helping regenerate rural and urban areas through tourism.

The scheme forms part of the University of Leeds Living Lab programme, opening the site up as a location for live research projects that test and trial solutions that inform how we and our city partners manage land more sustainably in the future.  The site will become an integral part of research-led teaching and active learning at the University, and provide outreach and engagement opportunities for local schools and our communities the research and the space more broadly.

This work at the Brownlee Triathlon Centre is part of a wider strategic ambition for the University of Leeds to become exemplars of urban biodiversity, recognising and embracing the challenges faced in urban centres and linking with the local community, outreach and in building resilience to climate change.

To find out more about the Biodiversity living lab, click here.

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