Humans can feel that we have built a world to live in that is above and apart from nature. We concrete the ground, we regulate the temperature of our spaces, and we shield ourselves from storms. 

But increasingly wild and frequent weather events are making us doubt the endurance of our fortress of glass, steel, and stone. Faced with the environmental triple threat of carbon emissions, biodiversity loss and flooding, engineers and scientists are increasingly looking to nature for solutions.

In this episode we are travelling to Scotland, to a marshy stretch of land on the Firth of Forth to learn about one of these solutions. A project that could change the way we think about the management of our coastline. The site is called Skinflats RSPB Reserve and is part of a managed realignment of the existing coastline to allow tidal waters to once again inundate an area of land that was previously reclaimed from the seas.

It will boost biodiversity, protect from flooding, and might be an ideal carbon store.

Guest

William Austin, Professor – School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews