Turquoise Thinking are winners of the Landscape Institute ‘Excellence in Tackling Climate Change’ award in partnership with Cookson & Tickner for market research conducted for the National Trust Killerton Spatial & Audience Development Plan.
Excellence in Tackling Climate Change Award
The Landscape Institute award celebrates projects which provide tangible benefits to addressing the climate emergency: mitigation of climate change, low-impact designs, specifications for reduced embodied carbon, afforestation strategies, or other approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Turquoise Thinking Joint Managing Director, Mark Harvey said,
We are very proud that our research has contributed to such an important piece of work which I believe will positively impact the local environment and population for decades to come. We have supported the National Trust, and in particular, the Killerton Estate on a number of projects over the years, and it’s wonderful to receive this industry recognition in partnership with Cookson & Tickner.
The Project
The National Trust has recognised that climate change poses one of the biggest threats to the places that it cares for. The vision is for Killerton to reimagine the entire estate to create a functioning landscape and community relevant for the 21st Century. Carbon net zero, focused on working with nature and for people, operating sustainably, adopting new and innovative ways of using land and buildings to provide inspiration and enjoyment for everyone. This vision is to be delivered over the next 30-50 years, but it is imperative that action is taken over the next 10 years to address the climate and nature crises.
The Plan
The Killerton Spatial and Audience Development Plan sets out spatially how the National Trust can successfully deliver its national Environmental Pledges and the Destination Estate Vision for Killerton, whilst protecting and enhancing the Estate’s significant natural, archaeological, built and cultural heritage features and its unique character and sense of place.
Through creating a range of connected destinations and activities across the Estate it looks to welcome a wide range of new and existing communities and find diverse ways for everyone to feel part of this place.
The Audience Development work conducted by Turquoise, identified the following opportunities from the focus groups:
- More walking trails and cycling paths with colour coded systems to highlight difficulty/duration
- A desire to access to rich ecosystems and wild landscapes
- Option to purchase a monthly walking pass that allows free parking
- More waymarking signage that makes it clear where trails go and where they are free to access
- Interpretation covering wildlife to include IT based solutions, leaflets and boards
The Ceremony
This year’s Landscape Institute Awards ceremony took place in a recently restored award-winning venue: Troxy, a Grade II-listed art deco music and events location close to the heart of London. The awards celebrated the exceptional contribution of landscape designers, managers, planners, researchers, and local authorities across the world towards levelling up and creating a better place to live.
A high number of outstanding projects were celebrated in the areas of combatting climate change, supporting health and wellbeing, promoting biodiversity and “levelling up” local spaces at a global scale. Congratulations to all finalists and winners!
