In the Schneifel case study area, restoration activities have now moved into the implementation phase. 🌳 👉 The cable-crane operation has started, and the spruce removal in one of the project areas has already been completed. 🔗 Learn more: www.spongeboost.eu/news/schneif...

A new SpongeBoost publication examines the socio-economic importance and valuation of different types of wetland restoration as nature-based solutions ⤵️ 🔗 doi.org/10.3897/natu...

🌟 On 25 March, the European Commission adopted guidance to help Member States adapt the Natura 2000 network to growing climate pressures. 🔗 environment.ec.europa.eu/publications... #Natura2000 #ClimateAdaptation #Biodiversity #EU

🏝️ Last week, the SpongeBoost consortium convened for its second Annual General Meeting, a five-day event dedicated to reviewing progress, strengthening collaboration, and advancing the implementation of sponge measures and nature-based solutions across Europe. 🔗 www.spongeboost.eu/news/what-wa...

Day 5️⃣ of SpongeBoost’s second Annual General Meeting was dedicated to a joint excursion across São Miguel Island, Azores, offering partners a valuable opportunity to connect beyond the meeting room and strengthen collaboration within the consortium. 🤝🏝️ #SpongeBoost2026

🕊️ SpongeBooster of the month is the Priolo: 🔷Helps regenerate islands' native laurel forests 🔷Inspired large-scale habitat restoration and long-term conservation action 🔷Found only on the São Miguel Island 📸 Images: Rui Teixeira, Julen Franco & Yasmin Redolosis

Day 4️⃣ of SpongeBoost’s AGM2 began with an innovative communication session, where partners exchanged ideas for the 3rd edition of our comic book, exploring creative ways to communicate project results to broader audiences.🦸 📚 Explore the 1st and 2nd editions here: www.spongeboost.eu/media-center...

On day 3️⃣ of SpongeBoost’s second Annual General Meeting, consortium members visited one of the project’s case study sites – the Graminhais Plateau on São Miguel Island.

Day 2️⃣ of SpongeBoost’s second AGM is focused on deepening collaboration around the project’s case study work and strengthening connections between scientific findings and policy development.

🌞 SpongeBoost's Annual General Meeting (AGM), taking place in the beautiful Ponta Delgada, is kicking off today! Stay tuned for our live updates. 📲

SpongeBoost partners will meet in the beautiful Ponta Delgada for our project's second AGM. 🌞 The consortium will exchange ideas, plan the next steps, and visit one of the project's case studies – the Graminhais Plateau. 📲 Follow us on social media and stay tuned for updates. #SpongeBoost2026

🔦 Spotlight on freshwater monitoring at #BioMonWeek2026! Submit an abstract by 18 March and bring your work to the European stage! 🔎 Explore the full programme: www.biomonweek.eu @biodiversa.eu, #AllianceforNature, @bioagora.eu, @gbif.org, @marco-bolo.bsky.social

Today at 7:00 PM (CET), we are finally launching the second part of our comic book series! 🎉 🌃 As part of the Long Night of Nature Conservation during the German Nature Conservation Day, we are presenting the new adventures of Spongy: www.spongeboost.eu/media-center...

✨ Join us and the IGB for the Long Night of Nature Conservation. 📅 12 March 🕖 7:00–9:00 p.m. 📍 DUH Federal Office, Hackescher Markt 4, Berlin Join us for the launch of our second comic book! 🦸 In case you missed Part I: zenodo.org/records/1481... 👉 www.umweltkalender-berlin.de/angebote/det...

This new Special Issue features 15 peer-reviewed articles from 100+ experts, showcasing #nature-based solutions to the #biodiversity and #climate crises. Full editorial ⤵️ doi.org/10.3897/natu...

🥇 We're happy to announce that the Spanish project “Spongy Slopes” was recognised as the winner of the #SpongeBoosterOfTheYear 2026 award. 📖 Learn more: www.spongeboost.eu/news/communi...

📕 Over 300 people joined us for the virtual launch of a new Special Issue: "#Wetlands in a Changing #Climate" published in our #journal. @bfn-de.bsky.social @umweltministerium.de @ufz.de @idiv-research.bsky.social @ramsar.org @sgn.one @spongeboost.eu @bioagora.eu @respin-project.bsky.social 🧵 1

🧵/5 The closing remarks synthesized the chapters, translating the discussions into structured guidance and concrete policy recommendations. @bfn-de.bsky.social @umweltministerium.de @ufz.de @idiv-research.bsky.social @ramsar.org @sgn.one @spongeboost.eu @bioagora.eu @respin-project.bsky.social

Check out the newest Special Issue in @natureconservation.pensoft.net on #coastal & #floodplain #restoration. 👇 @bfn-de.bsky.social @umweltministerium.de @ufz.de @idiv-research.bsky.social @ramsar.org @sgn.one @spongeboost.eu @bioagora.eu @respin-project.bsky.social

📕Or see the full Special Issue on #Wetlands in a Changing #Climate here ⤵️ natureconservation.pensoft.net/issue/5008/ Cc: @bfn-de.bsky.social @umweltministerium.de @ufz.de @idiv-research.bsky.social @ramsar.org @sgn.one @spongeboost.eu @bioagora.eu @respin-project.bsky.social @spongeboost.eu

🔎 SpongeBooster of the month is water flow monitoring equipment, a small tool with a big job: making sponge effects visible. By continuously measuring how much water leaves a catchment, it turns restoration from a good story into solid evidence. Learn more 👇

Are you a specialist, #policymaker, or just want to learn more on how to restore #riverine and #coastal #wetlands in the context of #climatechange? Then join the free virtual launch event of the newest special issue: When? - 26 Feb 2026 Time? - 10:30 CET / 11:30 GMT Learn more and register here:

SpongeBoost's fifth newsletter is just around the corner. 🔜 ✍🏻 Make sure to subscribe to join our community and stay on track with the latest updates and insights: dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/100477...

Only 6️⃣ days left! ⌛ Join us for the virtual launch of “Wetlands in a Changing Climate: Restoring Coasts and Floodplains”, a new Special Issue in Pensoft Publishers’ open-access journal Nature Conservation. ✍️ Register here: events.hifis.net/event/3409

💚 We're concluding our #PreviousResearchofSpongeBoosters campaign with a publication on how restoring river floodplains through near-natural, year-round grazing can boost biodiversity while improving flood protection and climate resilience. 📚 Read here: auenweiden.de/wp-content/u...

Join us for the virtual launch of “Wetlands in a Changing Climate: Restoring Coasts and Floodplains”, a new Special Issue in Pensoft Publishers’ open-access journal Nature Conservation 📅 26 February 2026 🕑 10:30–12:00 CET 💻 Online ✍️ Learn more and register: events.hifis.net/event/3409

Today, on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we celebrate the brilliant women advancing discovery every day. 💐 Through research, collaboration, and mentorship, their curiosity, creativity, and persistence continue to shape the future of science. 🔎🔬 #WomenInScience

Today in #SpongeBoostSites series: Eifel – Schneifel region. 📍 🧽 Discover this unique landscape and see what the SpongeBoost team is working on in the video below. 📸 Photos: Philip Meier (RWTH Aachen University), Lisa Burghardt, Leonie Hebermehl (Stiftung Natur und Umwelt RLP)

💧 EU water and environmental laws help keep rivers, lakes, and public health protected. Changes could weaken these protections, affecting chemicals, forests, and wildlife. ✍️ Sign the petition to support Europe’s environmental safeguards: www.duh.de/mitmachen/ha... @umwelthilfe.bsky.social

💚 This week in #PreviousResearchofSpongeBoosters: We are highlighting a publication that explores the complex relationship between otter conservation and pond farming in Germany. 📚 Read here: www.otterland.info/wp-content/u...

💚 This week, as part of our #PreviousResearchofSpongeBoosters campaign, we highlight a publication that addresses the urgent need to protect, preserve, and restore aquatic ecosystems across Europe. 📚 Read the full publication here: riojournal.com/articles.php...

The Eurasian beaver is one of nature’s most underrated climate #resilience engineers 🦫 💡 Beaver-related #restoration can: 🔷 cool water in summer 🔷 increase water storage 🔷 reconnect #floodplains 🔷 create diverse habitats These changes help landscapes withstand wildfires and #climate extremes 💧

Today, as part of our #SpongeBoostSites, we take you to the beautiful Azores. 🏝️ 📍 The central area of the Graminhais Plateau is home to the largest expanse of peatlands on the island of São Miguel, covering more than 100 hectares. 🌿 📸 Photo credit: Tarso Costa and Yasmin Redolosis

💚 This week in #PreviousResearchofSpongeBoosters: We highlight a publication that synthesises biodiversity research conducted in Europe and worldwide. 📚 Read here: www.researchgate.net/publication/...

💚 This week in our hashtag#PreviousResearchofSpongeBoosters campaign, we’re highlighting a publication on best practices for publishing hashtag#biodiversity data. 📚 Read the full publication here: riojournal.com/article/1243...

🎥 As we step into the new year, we take a look at SpongeBoost’s 2025 – shaped by creativity, innovation and many firsts. We're excited for what 2026 will bring and to keep sharing this journey with you. ✨ ▶️ Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jeaa...

🗾 Discover our case study sites through #SpongeBoostSites. 📍 This time, we are taking you to the Xistral Mountains of Galicia, a remarkable landscape of nearly 10,000 hectares of #peatlands, including both well-preserved and degraded areas. 🌿 📸 Photos: Aniela Stachnik Pérez and Horacio García

💚 This week in our #PreviousResearchofSpongeBoosters campaign: 🦦 Meet Otti – a cartoon character who explains the importance of healthy rivers, #biodiversity, and river #restoration through the eyes of an otter living in Thuringia’s waterways. 📚 Read here: www.duh.de/fileadmin/us...

Happy New Year! 🎉 We look forward to what 2026 will bring and to making Europe spongier, together. 🧽 💧 We’re starting the year by sharing a throwback from last August, with our team measuring water discharge at the Eume River’s headwaters. 🌤️ 📸 Photo credit: Aniela Stachnik Pérez (CIREF)

Here's to another year of making Europe spongier, together. 🧽 Wishing you a cheerful holiday season and a fantastic beginning to the new year!🎄

💚This week in #PreviousResearchofSpongeBoosters: We’re highlighting a publication that provides comprehensive guidelines and best practices for publishing biodiversity data, helping researchers make their datasets widely accessible and citable. 📚Read the full paper here: riojournal.com/article/12431

February throwback! 📍 Our team was working on identifying the best spots to deploy equipment at the Veiga do Tremoal peatland (Serra do Xistral), where natural recovery is ongoing. 🌱 📸 Photo credit: Aniela Stachnik Pérez (CIREF Centro Ibérico de Restauración Fluvial)

Our SpongeBooster of the month is the water buffalo. They're calm, fluffy, and undeniably cute, but also powerful allies for resilient landscapes. 🐃 💡 Through extensive, year-round grazing, buffalo help #wetlands and #floodplains function like real sponges. 🧽

🎥 In the final episode of our #SpongeBoostFaces: Raul Paat (University of Tartu) talks about his role in the project, which includes a combination of monitoring, fieldwork, collecting and analysing data, and hydrological modelling. 👉 Watch and subscribe: youtu.be/5gpff6Ov1R4

💚 This week in our #PreviousResearchofSpongeBoosters campaign, we’re highlighting a publication introducing OpenBiodiv-O, an ontology that bridges the gap between biodiversity data standards and semantic publishing. 📚 Read the full paper here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The Xistral Mountains get their water from fog — up to 16,000 mm/year thanks to valley winds! 🧽 🌿Back in September, our team had a technical meeting there with a monitoring expert to improve and consolidate our monitoring program. 🔎 📸 Photo credit: Horacio García

🎥 This week in #SpongeBoostFaces: Tarso Costa (SPEA) shares his experience working in the field and highlights the positive results of monitoring conducted within the first year of the project.💚 👉 Watch and subscribe for future episodes: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuDw...

💚 This week in our #PreviousResearchofSpongeBoosters campaign, we’re highlighting a publication which examines how residents in Liberec, Czech Republic, perceive different types of green and blue infrastructure. 📚 Read the full paper here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

These former pine plantations in the Fragavella #peatlands of Serra do Xistral have died due to permanent waterlogging conditions. 🌿💧 📸 Photo credit: Aniela Stachnik Pérez

🎥 This week in #SpongeBoostFaces: Jan Brabec explains how the UJEP team analysed nearly 2,000 scientific abstracts and selected hundreds of relevant papers, which fed into the creation of a catalogue of innovative sponge solutions. 📖💚 👉 Watch and subscribe: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJje...