The Naturethon committee has completed the review of the eight projects developed by the students of the Environmental Management in Planning course, led by Jerker Jarsjö – Professor of Hydrology at Stockholm University and member of the Naturance project.

The analysis took into account consistency with the goals of the Naturethon, the degree of innovation, and the completeness of the information provided. Despite the different objectives of the degree course and the Naturethon initiative, the evaluation of the proposals turned out to be surprisingly similar. The quality of all the projects is high, demonstrating an overall strong level of depth and insight. However, the project submitted by the team informally known as the “SU Valencia NbS Team” – composed of Don Ivan Otieno, Miyusha Shenary, and Bárbara García – was selected as the winning entry.

Their project, titled “Nature-based Solutions for Long-Term Flood Resilience in Valencia, Spain: An Evaluation of Potential Green Infrastructure Strategies“, fully embraces the application of NbS in an urban context. The group presented a concrete approach, suggesting diverse ecological and innovative proposals for addressing flooding in Valencia. Their work was supported by a rich amount of data, effectively assessing both the extreme event and the conditions of the affected area.

They have considered various social and environmental impacts of NbS, with the aim of increasing the resilience and capacity of the urban system to cope with extreme events such as floods through the implementation of green infrastructure (GI). Overall, the presentation is extensive, clear and complete, considering many options and aspects of the proposed GI solutions, with a well-documented literature.

The group members received a Naturance water bottle and a tree dedicated in their honour in the CMCC Foundation’s Forest.