Our academic background and links to universities mean that our approaches are scientifically rigorous and often developed in collaboration with leading researchers. Key areas of training and development include:
This is a unique training course that we have delivered both in-person and online, designed for anyone working in the planning and development sectors. This course is suitable for members of the public, private, and third sector. It is a national training course that is run in conjunction with the Ecosystems Knowledge Network. More information can be found here: https://ecosystemsknowledge.net
We run bespoke training courses designed to help organisations understand the concept of natural capital, how it is relevant, and to identify tools to inform decision making. We also facilitate workshops to engage stakeholders in projects and promote dialogue around the natural capital approach.
We undertake research projects both independently and collaboratively to develop cutting-edge tools and approaches for the application of the natural capital concept across sectors. In the past we have undertaken projects to develop and compare alternative methods for habitat basemapping, to develop an approach to map habitat quality, to perform habitat opportunity mapping, and to refine approaches to the prioritisation of investment opportunities.
We conduct academic reviews of topics of interest. For example, we carried out a review of the benefits to people of trees outside woods for the Woodland Trust, and a review of the benefits of developing green and blue infrastructure and natural capital in urban areas for the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Scottish Forum on Natural Capital.
3rd September 2024
Natural Capital Solutions and Morris Resource Economics were commissioned by the RSPB Northern Ireland to explore the added value that enhancing farmland nature can deliver, assess its viability in the context of changes to agricultural policy post-Brexit, and the need to address the climate and nature emergencies. The project explored two future scenarios across four case study farms (across lowland and upland livestock farms and one arable farm) using a natural capital asset and ecosystem service mapping and accounting approach, along with farm business assessment.
3rd October 2024
Alison Holt, director and co-founder of Natural Capital Solutions, discusses the vital role of biodiversity and ecosystem services in enhancing the NHS outdoor estate. She highlights the importance of integrating natural capital into healthcare decision-making, emphasizing the substantial benefits these green spaces provide, including carbon sequestration, health and well-being improvements, and biodiversity support.
A project examining natural capital asset condition in rivers and how this impacts on ecosystem service provision. In particular, this involved a Quick Scoping Review (QSR) of the links between natural capital asset condition and the provision of ecosystem services, and determined if it was possible to map condition from existing data, reviewed approaches to doing this, and identified evidence and data gaps.
An assessment of the condition of habitats at a landscape scale to bring together a wide range of data from different sources to create maps of natural capital assets and environment quality.
An evidence review of the benefits, disadvantages, and economic value of trees outside woods.
