What will the Irk Valley look like in 20 years time? How would you like it to look? How should we manage the environmental resource available? How can we develop green spaces more sustainably? These were some of the questions being asked by Phd students Joanne Tippett and Zinnia Clarke when they approached the Irk Valley Project with a view to looking at how we can engage local people in ecological planning.. Through 8 workshops over the summer, local people and officers from many agencies across Greater Manchester, both public and private sector, took part in trial. Imagine how we can make things better in the Irk Valley…. Combined with this, a focus group involving representatives from the Moston Valley Residents Association looked specifically at how they would like to see their nearest natural greenspace, Moston Vale, developed in the future. With an holistic appraisal of the land resource across North Manchester, a multitude of aspects were taken into consideration, from complex issues of development and control to potential links and networks across Irk Valley greenspaces. Joanne was pioneering her Designways E.A>S>E>L process of ecological design, looking at how different elements interact and affect one and other, and how they could impact on a given area. Topics for discussion included: Economic Activities Social Capital Elements and Settlements Landscape Zinnia Clarke provided mapping expertise to pull together a whistle stop vision – just ideas, but a starting point and food for though none the less. Joanne, Zinnia and Dave Barlow presented a summary of the work to a packed house at the meeting room in Manchester on the 19th June. The reports were very well received, and hopefully some of the ideas can become reality in the not too distant future.. <<back