Workshop: Landscape connect session

Workshop content

The Landscape Connect sessions will explore the use of participatory methods and tools and how they can be used to engage with local communities and stakeholders. The assessment of cultural ecosystem services and the link with Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) will be examined using such tools. The importance of understanding stakeholders’ needs and requirements when selecting appropriate tools will also be considered. As the selection of the correct tools can enable researchers, practitioner and communities to create narratives, data and strategies that allow them to understand both local and global issues.
The tools used during the sessions allow stakeholders to move through their landscape and record their values in a format that can be used to underpin local economic and social development plans (including regional planning policies and local urban plans).
Case Studies will be used to demonstrate how such tools can support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as SDG 11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities and SDG 15 “Life on Land”

Session One: Introduction to Landscape Character Assessment (LCA)
The session will provide a broad understanding of the concept of LCA and an overview of the European Landscape Convention. It will also discuss the idea of cultural ecosystem services and how such services may be assessed and mapped.

Session Two: Overview of Stakeholder Engagement Tools
The session will review current approaches to stakeholder engagement and identify current tools available and critically assess their benefits. This session will be followed by a half day field exercise using engagement tools.