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.
On 18 July 2025, SpongeScapes hosted an online collaborative workshop with partners from both the SpongeScapes and SpongeWorks Horizon Europe projects. The aim is to develop a comprehensive catalogue of sponge measures to help water and land managers better understand, identify, compare and implement the wide range of available solutions to enhance the sponge functioning of landscapes.
Can reviving traditional water management techniques boost biodiversity in drought-prone landscapes? The Greek case study from the SpongeScapes project is helping us find out.
Brdo pri Kranju, SL - February 4-5 2025
Lèze basin, FR - 23 January 2025
On 23 and 24 January 2025, the first SpongeLab workshop was held in the Lèze pilot basin, more precisely in the Rosé sub-basin. Participants included farmers, local councilors, the Agriculture Chamber of Ariège, the Ariège Conservatoire d'Espaces Naturels, the Syndicat Mixte Interdépartemental de la Vallée de la Lèze and the Syndicat Départemental des Eaux et de l'Assainissement.