Visiting Research Sites with Local Planners in Helsinki Metropolitan Area

By Hanna Nieminen

In the end of August, after summer holidays in Finland, we invited local planners from cities of Vantaa and Helsinki to join us for half-a-day field trips to discuss project research results and jointly explore selected study sites of aquatic nature-based solutions (aquaNBS) for stormwater management. In Vantaa, we visited Illenpuro Brook, Koisotie Brook, and a pond on the Håkansböle estate. Respectively, in Helsinki, we visited three sites: the constructed wetland in Vauhtitie, the stormwater pond in Helene Schjerfbeck Park, and the brook Viikinoja. See locations of each 12 sites in Helsinki and Vantaa here.

On-site dialogue between practitioners and researchers to increase research impact

The aim of the site visits was both to discuss unpublished research results on species diversity (vegetation and zoobenthos) with local practitioners and to enhance understanding of the possibilities and challenges related to supporting the biodiversity of aquaNBS in urban environments. In addition, we aimed to co-learn on-site about the original rationales and expected outcomes, the current state and maintenance practices of the sites, and possible needs for change from a biodiversity perspective. The Syke team had prepared fact sheets about the sites beforehand, including information on inventoried plant and benthic species. Additionally, we invited a pollinator expert from Syke to provide insights into how different insects might benefit from aquaNBS.

Maintenance practices need a “biodiversity turn”

Currently, one of the key challenges is ensuring adequate management and maintenance practices. A lack of sufficient funding for the maintenance of green spaces in general, and aquaNBS specifically, is a problem in both cities. Additionally, while strategies and instructions exist to guide the maintenance of aquaNBS, they are often too general and fail to consider the specific features of individual sites. It was noted that the increasing requirements for preserving and enhancing urban biodiversity call for new types of knowledge and expertise—for example, the ability to identify different species, understand their needs, and assess how they are affected by various management activities. Practitioners, from planners to developers and managers, are unsure how to adapt current practices to meet the requirements of preserving and enhancing urban biodiversity.

The utopia of managing nature?

Getting into the field and visiting local, real-life solutions spurred discussions about natural succession and the inherent dynamics of NBS—the realization that one attempts to govern living organisms, which are fundamentally different from stable, clear-cut technical objects. Nature is inherently uncertain and spontaneous, prompting participants to re-examine the current lived experience of NBS in relation to the original plan, which included planned and planted species. This reflection raised questions about how such dynamics should influence decisions on management practices and guidelines. For example, should naturally spreading trees and other plants be removed or supported? And ultimately, what defines a weed—a plant simply growing in the ‘wrong place’?

Mutual and collaborative learning

Field trips were extremely rewarding, providing valuable insights for both researchers and practitioners. They also highlighted the lack of monitoring and systematic reflection on lessons learned from already implemented solutions as key deficiencies in the current governance system of NBS. Consequently, events like these, which foster collaborative observation in the field, are essential. They make concepts more tangible and, for example, illustrate how local NBS solutions are part of preserving and enhancing urban biodiversity and how they could be enhanced to become more biodiversity-inclusive. Visiting sites in situ can also bring up important topics that might not surface in online meetings or other types of gatherings.

Coming up next: guidelines and scientific papers

And now, back indoors in the researchers’ chambers, BiNatUr project researchers are finalizing guidelines for more biodiversity-inclusive planning, implementation, and management strategies for aquaNBS. These guidelines will provide insights into how to enhance the biodiversity potential of aquaNBS by addressing the needs of different species.

 

The writer of this blog post, Hanna Nieminen, is currently working on a pan-European scientific paper exploring the boundaries and dynamics that influence the implementation of biodiversity-inclusive NBS for water management.