Green Retention is an event that sets new standards in the approach to rainwater management and treatment using greenery. The conference will be held in Gdansk, a city repeatedly recognized for its rainwater management. It is here that the largest number of rain gardens, retention basins and mini rainforests are being built. The event is scheduled for June 19-21, 2024, to make the business trip even more inspiring. The organizers are Gdansk Water, the Polish Waterworks Chamber of Commerce and the Gdansk Water Foundation.
Why join?
The Green Retention Conference is the essence of practice and theory on the use of greenery for rainwater management and treatment. Experts from various fields lead workshops, demonstrations, discussions and lectures, providing participants with the concrete tools and skills needed for effective rainwater retention and climate change adaptation. This year’s edition will focus specifically on how to get started.
Development, modernization and maintenance of infrastructure related to water management – yes, but not only. Green Retention is a space where we define specific challenges and show how they can be approached to solve them. We are talking about them from the design stage through execution and maintenance. We show the effects in the field. The core of our conference is practical activities. Our ambition is to build a community to share our experiences – says Ryszard Gajewski, president of Gdansk Water.
The program was designed to pique the interest of those “green” on the subject of green retention, as well as those who are already in the implementation stage. This is a compendium of knowledge from practitioners for practitioners – Agnieszka Kowalkiewicz, head of climate change adaptation at Gdansk Water, adds.
Practical and atmospheric!
One of the unique features of the conference is the opportunity to participate in field workshops. Participants will learn how to plan, design and maintain rain gardens. They will compose their own retention bed and plant plants in it. Practitioners will reveal what is a retentive hedgehog or a bristly curb. Also planned for this year is a bicycle tour of Gdansk’s rain gardens, a computer workshop on hydrodynamic modeling and determining runoff paths based on the terrain of the city of Rumi. Speakers will also talk about forest retention, guidelines for updating the MPA or the effectiveness of retention greenery in absorbingCO2. This is a great opportunity to see for yourself and learn how rainwater retention solutions work and what tools are worth using to effectively manage the retention system.
Different industries, one goal
Integrating different industries and making valuable new business connections are an important part of the event. The President of Polish Waters, Joanna Kopczynska, both as a speaker, discussant, participant and scientist, will talk about how to start implementing green retention in cities. The Deputy Director of Water Restoration will talk about good practices in water restoration. Water Services and Environmental Management, Agnieszka Zientara.
Also invited to co-facilitate the conference were, among others. Janusz Bohatkiewicz (Road and Bridge Research Institute, Cracow University of Technology), Piotr Czarnocki (Ministry of Climate and Environment), Barbara Rajkowska (IOŚ), Piotr Nieznański (WWF), Paweł Sikorski (Polish Waterworks Economic Chamber), Wojciech Szpakowski (Gdansk Water), Patrycja Wolińska-Bartkiewicz (ZWiK Szczecin) and Piotr Ziętara (City of Cracow Waterworks). On the first day of the conference, a debate on the possibilities of rainwater management using greenery in cities will be moderated by Agnieszka Hobot, editor-in-chief of Water Matters.
Networking
The organizers made sure that the seaside climate was conducive to the free exchange of ideas and experiences. On the first day, they will invite participants to dinner on the beach, and in the evening of the second day to dance. Traditionally, there will also be a retention HYDE PARK, on which there are no difficult questions.
Registration opportunities and the full program are available on the event website.
Source: press release from Gdanskie Wody sp. z o.o.