ESP Summer School 2026

1-5 September 2026 | CREAF | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain

ESP Summer School 2026: Ecosystem services modelling and biodiversity indicators

📅 1–5 September 2026 📍 Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain

The second edition of the ESP Summer School is aimed at advanced MSc students, PhD candidates, and early-career postdoctoral researchers with some prior experience in GIS or spatial analysis. The course will provide theoretical and practical training in ecosystem services modelling and biodiversity assessment, within the ECO‑RESILIENCE 360º themes of nature-based solutions, ecosystem risks, and adaptation.

Ecosystem services are essential to human well-being, but are increasingly affected by climate change, land-use change, and biodiversity loss. Responding to these challenges requires approaches that combine ecosystem services modelling and biodiversity assessment to support analysis, planning, and management.

This Summer School is organized by the Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP), a global network dedicated to promoting research and the practical application of ecosystem services.

Apply here

This Summer School will:

Train early‑career researchers in cutting‑edge methods for modelling ecosystem services and assessing biodiversity indicators.

Foster interdisciplinarity by integrating ecological, social and economic approaches to socio‑ecological systems.

Generate a network of young scientists and senior mentors that strengthens collaboration between the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), the Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) and international partners.

Produce open‑source educational materials, a shared dataset and a synthesis report summarising methods, case studies and policy recommendations.

This Summer School is organized by the Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP), an international network dedicated to promoting research and the practical application of ecosystem services through conferences, training, and projects.

🌍Key topics

✅Train early-career researchers in current methods for ecosystem services modelling, biodiversity assessment, and mapping and spatial analysis using GIS tools.

✅Foster exchange across different perspectives on socio-ecological systems, including ecosystem services, biodiversity, and spatial assessment.

✅Strengthen a network of early-career and senior researchers working on ecosystem services modelling and biodiversity assessment across CREAF, ESP, and partner institutions.

✅Support the development of shared learning resources and collaborative outputs emerging from the summer school.

👥 Who Should Apply?

PhD candidates, PostDocs, and early-career researchers with a background in ecology, geography and/or environmental sciences. Participants will present their research and explore how value transfer can be applied to their work.

📝 Important Dates:

📌 Applications open: 13 April 2026

📌 Application deadline EXTENDED: 31 May 2026

📌 Results announced: 08 June 2026

📌 Registration deadline: 10 July 2026

💵 Estimation of costs:

€500 (excluding flights and accommodation)

The costs include:

Venue & lectures
Morning coffee, lunch, and afternoon tea (5 days)
Dinner (1 day)
Excursion

All other expenses are the responsibility of the participants

Contact your host institution for funding opportunities.

Apply here

About the summer school

This summer school will introduce early-career researchers to current approaches for ecosystem services modelling and biodiversity assessment, combining conceptual sessions with hands-on practical training. The course will use open-source data, open-source software, and ecosystem services classifications to explore how ecosystem services and biodiversity indicators can support research, planning, and decision-making.

Across the week, participants will work with three complementary examples focused on carbon and climate regulation, biodiversity and habitat quality, and cultural ecosystem services with a focus on recreation. Practical sessions will follow a common European-scale workflow based on shared datasets, covering data preparation, spatial analysis, mapping, and the interpretation of results. The course will also encourage critical reflection on the assumptions, strengths, limitations, and policy relevance of different approaches. A final field excursion near Barcelona will provide an opportunity to relate broad-scale model outputs to real landscapes and to reflect on the role of scale in ecosystem service and biodiversity assessment.

Output

Upon completion, participants will receive a certificate of 3 ECTS. The summer school may also lead to collaborative follow-up outputs, including synthesis activities and potential joint publications.

Keynote Speakers and Program

The course is organised around a European framework, complementary ecosystem services modelling approaches, and a final field-based reflection on the relationship between maps, real ecosystems and decision-making. The detailed program and additional keynote speakers will be announced soon...

Stay tuned for updates!

Eligibility

The ESP Summer School 2026 is open to PhD candidates, PostDocs and early-career researchers, with a background in ecology, environmental sciences, geography, etc., and with an interest in ecosystem services assessments and their implications for decision support. English proficiency is required and knowledge about ecosystem services modelling and GIS software is desirable. All participants are asked to present their current research and indicate how they expect to use the knowledge obtained in the summer school in their research. The summer school will take place from 1 to 5 September 2026 at CREAF, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. Participants are expected to bring their own laptops, with text (e.g. MS-Word), presentation (e.g. MS-PowerPoint), spreadsheet (e.g. MS-Excel) and GIS (e.g. QGIS/ArcGIS) software installed for the practical exercises. The summer school has a limit of 25-30 participants.

The application will be open between 13 April and 31 May.