by Holly Chapman | 18 Dec 25 | International, Landscape Architecture, News
The Husqvarna Urban Green Space Insights (HUGSI), its AI-powered satellite solution that indicates how green cities are, has released its latest dataset for green space.
Key findings include the global average of cities, which maintain 43% of green space coverage, whilst Europe leads with the greenest coverage.
With insights from across 516 cities, the 2024 dataset has been uploaded to HUGSI.green for city planners and professionals worldwide.
Now also localised in German, French, Swedish and Spanish, the dataset can be accessed to a bigger group of planners.
It also highlights a critical trend, that shows a net loss of 95 million m2 globally, however 119 cities are growing greener.
View the updated dataset here.
by Holly Chapman | 28 Jul 25 | International, News, Sustainability
Kubota Holdings Europe B.V. (KHE) has celebrated the opening of its new headquarters in Nieuw-Vennep in The Netherlands.
A climate neutral building, it will also serve as a shared office for the Kverneland Group entities Nieuw-Vennep BV and Mechatronics BV.
Global company Kubota hosted the event at its new headquarters with the Ambassador of Japan, representatives from the local municipality, the King’s Commissioner of North-Holland, the Kubota Japan management team, European management and key stakeholders.
Yasukazu Kamada, president of Kubota Holdings Europe says the new headquarters “represents a major step forward in creating a workspace that inspires creativity, collaboration and success”.
The celebrations took place in early July and featured speeches, a symbolic sake barrel-breaking ceremony, and a traditional Japanese taiko drum performance alongside mingling and a dinner.
by Holly Chapman | 26 Jun 25 | International, News, Sustainability
Members of the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) attended this year’s European Nurserystock Association (ENA) summer meeting to discuss trade, skills and sustainability.
The meeting took place in the Czech Republic on 24 and 25 June, following the recent announcement outlining a new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) trade agreement between the UK and Europe.
HTA members left the meeting with “renewed optimism” as delegates across Europe heard how the new SPS agreement is expected to reduce trade barriers and support a smoother flow of plant material between the UK and Europe, while maintaining biosecurity and plant health.
Sally Cullimore, technical and trade policy manager at the HTA says the summer meeting is an “excellent opportunity” for the HTA to represent UK horticultural growers, adding:
“We hope this leads to collaborative efforts like those recently seen to ensure that plant trade is included in the EU-UK Reset announcements.”
Guy Massey, production manager at Joseph Rochford Gardens and HTA’s second representative for ENA says the optimism from the meeting marks a “significant and welcome step forward.”
Massey continues: “the HTA, working with ENA, offers a valuable platform for communication with our European counterparts and can play a role in helping both parties advise and reach clarity on how the agreement will operate in practice.”
The HTA assures that since the meeting, it is committed to enhancing collaborative efforts with Europe, particularly across areas such as the role of peat, retaining skilled workforces and developing digital workflows.
by | 13 Sep 23 | Nature & Biodiversity, News
The red fire ant, Solenopsis Invicta, has been identified across 88 ant nests spread over 12 acres in the city of Syracuse, Italy.
The invasive non-native ant species is thought to have spread from the US or China. Now established in Italy, studies warn of its rapid spread through Europe and the UK as it is one of the most invasive and destructive species.
The red fire ant has a ravenous appetite, with the ability to destroy crops and known to pose a risk to native ecosystems, farming, and human health.
With a painful sting, injecting venom to its victim if disturbed, they can rapidly form “super colonies” with multiple queens.
The red fire ant is the fifth most costly invasive species in the world. It is able to live in urban environments using concrete to build their nests under.
Causing structural issues with buildings, these ants have also been known to attack electrical equipment after being shocked.
The EU has banned the export of soil from the UK.
