On 6 November 2025, the Netherlands hosted its first National SpongeDay—a full-day knowledge event organised by the Horizon Europe SpongeScapes project, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, and Deltares. More than 140 participants from ministries, water boards, provincial authorities, research institutions, and consultancy firms gathered in Zutphen to explore this question.
Three new comics created under the Horizon Europe SpongeScapes project invite readers into the fascinating world of environmental research — where scientists study how rivers, soils, and ecosystems function, and how this knowledge can help us adapt to climate change.
In October 2025, as part of the SpongeScapes project, researchers from the Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO) conducted a field visit to the Gradaščica catchment near Ljubljana, Slovenia, to collect essential data for the calibration of their hydrological model. This work will help improve understanding of how forest cover influences rainfall runoff and the catchment’s capacity to retain water — key to managing both floods and droughts.
Understanding the Landscape
On 8 October 2025, the SpongeScapes project held its third SpongeLab workshop in Loosbroek, hosted by the Regional Water Authority Aa en Maas. This workshop marked an important milestone in the co-design process for the Aa-dal Noord case study, one of SpongeScapes’ 14 pilot areas across Europe.
From 22 to 26 September 2025, European researchers, water managers, farmers, local authorities representatives gathered in Toulouse for the General Assembly of the Horizon Europe projects SpongeScapes and SpongeWorks. This joint event highlighted Europe’s role as a living laboratory for developing and testing “sponge measures” – nature-based solutions that help landscapes absorb, store, and slowly release water to reduce floods, ease droughts, and boost biodiversity.