The final training session of the EU-funded Urban Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (URBES) project will take place on 14 January 2015 in Brussels (Belgium), providing an opportunity to learn from the outcomes of the three-year project, and explore ways to strengthen the connection between science and practice to enhance urban sustainable development . The URBES project aimed to better understand how urban ecosystems work, how they change, and what limits their performance, with a view to comprehending ecosystem change more broadly.

Titled ‘Bridging the gap between Science and Practice’, practitioners and researchers from cities involved in URBES, namely Stockholm (Sweden), Berlin (Germany), Salzburg (Austria), Barcelona (Spain), Rotterdam (the Netherlands), Helsinki (Finland) and New York (USA), will present their experiences at the training and discuss the project outcomes.

Through the session, practitioners and scientists will have the opportunity to explore the added values of the project’s research results in greater depth. The training will be held directly following the final conference of the URBES project, taking place from 9.30 – 14.00, which will see discussion on how best to integrate the natural environment into city planning. Registration for the training is free, but places are limited – early registration is advised.

For more information, contact pamela.muehlmann@iclei.org.