European Coffee Hour: monthly conversations for early-career landscape researchers

Held online on the first Thursday of each month, the European Coffee Hour is designed to support conversation across disciplines, institutions, and research traditions. Sessions are deliberately informal and conversational, providing a supportive environment in which participants can explore methodological questions, reflect on emerging ideas, or work through challenges they are encountering in their research or practice.

Landscape research often spans multiple fields and methods, and researchers may find themselves working across academic, professional, and geographical boundaries. The European Coffee Hour responds to this by creating a regular, low-pressure space where researchers can connect with peers who are navigating similar complexities.

Each session is typically led by a participant, who may introduce a theme, share a piece of work-in-progress, or pose a question for discussion. Recent and upcoming sessions have explored topics including ecomuseum practices, student work on topopoetics, peri-urban agriculture, and urban agriculture heritage.

Upcoming sessions (early 2026)

The next European Coffee Hour sessions are scheduled for:

• Thursday 8 January 2026

• Thursday 5 February 2026

• Thursday 5 March 2026

Further sessions will continue monthly on the first Thursday of each month.

Programme focus

Each session is usually led by someone within the group, who may introduce a theme, share work-in-progress, or pose a question for collective discussion. Topics planned for upcoming sessions, include:

• Ecomuseum practices, with Victoria McMillan (Nottingham Trent University)

• Student work on topopoetics, led by Prof Dr Jens Haendeler (Manchester University, tbc)

• Urban agriculture heritage, with Katharina Christenn (RWTH Aachen University / Technical University of Munich)

• Reflections on peri-urban agriculture and post-mining landscapes

The emphasis is on discussion rather than formal presentation, and participants are welcome to join regularly or dip in when topics align with their interests.

Who the sessions are for

The European Coffee Hour is open to postgraduate and early-career researchers, as well as practitioners working in landscape-related fields. Participants do not need to be based in Europe to take part, and many move between LRG’s different community groups, each of which offers its own character and perspective.

The programme responds to the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary nature of landscape research, providing a regular space for peer support, exchange, and connection.

Coordination and joining

The programme is coordinated by Amrita Slatch, doctoral candidate in Landscape Architecture at RWTH Aachen University and DAAD Research Scholar, whose research examines post-mining landscapes through socio-ecological and co-constructive approaches.

Those interested in joining the European Coffee Hour can find further details, including how to take part, on the European Coffee Hour event page.

Join Mailing List for European Group