By Louise McGowan, Principal Adviser for Nature-based Solutions and Climate Change, Natural England, and Conference Chair, IENE 2026
The Infrastructure and Ecology Network Europe came to the UK for the first time this September, marking its 30th anniversary. Louise McGowan reflects on bringing the conference to Bristol, lessons from colleagues in more than 40 countries, and why nature must be regarded as infrastructure.
The green bridge over the A21 Lamberhurst Bypass in Kent shows how nature and infrastructure can go hand-in-hand. Credit: National Highways.In September, the Infrastructure and Ecology Network Europe (IENE) came to the UK for the first time, marking 30 years of bringing transport and nature together. Nearly 300 delegates from more than 40 countries spent 5 days in Bristol exploring how we build infrastructure that works for both people and nature. For many UK delegates, it was their first encounter with a community they didn't know existed.
"What an incredible community. I'd never heard of it before."
A delegate said to me halfway through the week, and others told me much the same. For me, this was validation that bringing IENE to the UK had been worth all the effort.
A community worth bringing home
I attended my first IENE conference in Prague in 2024. I'll be honest: when I saw the programme ran for 5 days, I was surprised. By the end of the week, I completely understood why.
IENE brings together people working where infrastructure meets nature, from across Europe and beyond. Ecologists rarely find themselves in the same room as transport planners, engineers, economists, policymakers and infrastructure operators, yet all of them shape the landscapes we depend on. Surrounded by this international community, the field feels large and established. But back home in your day job, it can feel like a very small niche.
I wanted UK colleagues to experience what I experienced in Prague, the realisation that a huge amount of knowledge and practical experience already exists. Across Europe, people are testing solutions, learning from what doesn't work and sharing those lessons. We don't always need another pilot project. Sometimes we simply need to learn from the people who have already done the work.
That diversity of experience showed from the start. Our opening panel in Bristol, Green is Cheaper than Grey, led by Natural England's Oliver Harmar, brought developers, architects, government agencies and industry leaders together to challenge the idea that nature is an added cost. Building nature in from the outset can cut long-term costs, improve resilience and add wider social and environmental value. As panellist Louise Clarke from Berkeley Group said afterwards: "It was refreshing being on a panel and looking out and only recognising one face."
That kind of joined-up conversation is exactly what Natural England's strategy, Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security, calls for. It recognises that resilient economies, healthy communities and critical infrastructure all depend on functioning natural systems, and that nature recovery can't be delivered in isolation. Bringing IENE to Bristol was a chance to learn from international experience and strengthen the partnerships we need.
Why "the value of nature"?
We deliberately chose the IENE 2026 theme to provoke debate. Some people hear The Value of Nature in Resilient Infrastructure and think of the services nature provides: trees cooling cities, wetlands reducing flood risk, healthy ecosystems helping infrastructure withstand a changing climate. Others think about economics. How do we account for nature in decisions without reducing it to a simple number, and make investment choices that respect ecological limits?
Those questions ran through the week, explored in-depth by Erik Gómez-Baggethun, a leading figure in ecological economics and environmental governance during his keynote. There wasn't a single answer, but there was broad agreement that infrastructure, climate resilience and nature recovery can no longer be treated as separate conversations.
Nature is infrastructure
One of the strongest messages to emerge from the conference was the growing recognition that nature is critical infrastructure. Across the programme, speakers explored how healthy natural systems increase the resilience of transport networks and help deliver better outcomes for people and places.
Reflecting on the discussions, Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England, said:
"One thing that came out loud and clear is how nature is infrastructure. Healthy blanket bogs are flood defences and sources of pure water, nature protects infrastructure, including roads and railways that would otherwise flood, and infrastructure can be built more quickly when nature is fully blended into construction plans, such as green bridges over trunk roads. The idea that nature and infrastructure are opposites is an idea well past its sell by date."
That theme came up repeatedly. Speakers from across Europe, South America and beyond showed how green bridges, wildlife crossings, railway corridors and restored habitats are reconnecting fragmented landscapes. Long-term monitoring showed that well-designed crossings improve safety for both wildlife and people. When connectivity is designed in from the start, the benefits go far beyond just for biodiversity's sake.
Louise McGowan speaking at the IENE conference. Credit: Steve Bega.What we heard from the experts
A keynote that stayed with me came from Manuela Panzacchi of the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. Her modelling tools show how infrastructure, climate change and other human activity affect wildlife movement, and can test future scenarios to identify the most vulnerable corridors. Whether the discussion was roads, rail, power, ports or urban development, the same principles kept emerging: connectivity matters, ecological limits matter, and nature must be considered from the start.
The policy session was equally thought-provoking. One talk on nature-positive procurement challenged us to build biodiversity into the business case much earlier, before designs are fixed and opportunities are lost.
Another explored liability for wildlife-vehicle collisions across Europe, sparking a fascinating discussion with a colleague from National Highways. We reflected on the UK's limited roadkill data and how lessons from our European counterparts could help us understand the issue better and inform future action.
Technology was another recurring theme, from AI-powered biodiversity monitoring and habitat mapping to collision prediction tools. It's no substitute for ecological expertise, but it is becoming a powerful tool for better-informed decisions.
Seeing Bristol through new eyes
On the Wednesday, delegates joined field trips across the West of England. I joined the Bristol Harbour boat trip and, despite living and working here, learned a huge amount about my own city.
From the water, we passed SS Great Britain and Temple Meads, we saw floating ecosystems and waterfront regeneration transforming former industrial landscapes while protecting the green and blue spaces that make Bristol unique. It was a fitting illustration of the week's central message: with the right planning and ambition, nature and development can reinforce one another.
Leaving a living legacy
The Organising Committee didn't want the conference to disappear as soon as everyone boarded their trains and flights home. Throughout the week, native trees supplied by The Tree Council were displayed across the venue. They are now being planted during National Tree Week as part of the emerging Western Forest, helping create Pucklechurch Wood. Together, they will form the IENE 2026 Copps.
I love the symbolism. For 30 years, IENE has been growing knowledge and partnerships across Europe, and now a small part of that story will literally keep growing in the landscape.
Thirty years on, what next?
The conference closed with reflections from Edgar van der Grift, one of IENE's founding members. From the first IENE conference welcoming less than 100 people from 20 countries to nearly 300 delegates from more than 40 countries in Bristol. Edgar observed that, after 30 years, the ecological viability of IENE itself appeared to be in very healthy condition.
I couldn't agree more. New leadership, a renewed board and a new generation of members bring challenges, but also opportunities. What hasn't changed is the need for the work.
Bristol wasn't a conclusion. It was the next step in putting nature and people at the heart of infrastructure thinking. For Natural England, that's why hosting IENE 2026 mattered. If we're serious about recovering nature for growth, health and security, learning from one another and working beyond traditional boundaries will be essential.
Get involved
If your work or interests sit where infrastructure, transport and nature meet, IENE is a fantastic community to be part of. Find out more at iene.info.
seen at 14:47, 20 October in Natural England.