18. 11. 2025
Author: Zuzana Novotná
The path of change: Mendel students sought new ways to retain water in the landscape
On November 12, 2025, Mendel University in Brno hosted a workshop as part of the international PlusChange project, focusing on water retention in the landscape and how land improvement can be seen as an opportunity for the landscape to adapt to climate change.
The workshop took the form of a policy simulation, an innovative and experiential method that combines role-playing, scenario creation, and working with complex systems. Its aim is to enable participants to understand how individual stakeholder groups think, what their needs are, and where conflicts and opportunities for cooperation may arise.
A new perspective on the landscape: students as actors deciding its future
Around 20 bachelor's and master's students from Mendel University's Faculty of Agronomy tried on the shoes of farmers, municipal representatives, water managers, conservationists, researchers, civil servants, and politicians. In their assigned roles, they developed strategies, evaluated scenarios, and sought solutions for the South Moravian landscape, which faces pressure from climate change, drought, and gradually aging drainage systems.
The method showed that water retention is not just a technical issue, but a complex decision-making process in which different values, competencies, and expectations play a role. Students experienced firsthand the dynamics among stakeholders and understood the importance of communication, empathy, and finding common ground.
Why is policy simulation beneficial?
The simulation method used in the PlusChange project offers participants a unique opportunity to:
- Understand complex systems and how decisions within them are reflected in the landscape.
- Seek ways of cooperation between actors who have different goals but share a common space.
- Test future scenarios without the risk of real-world consequences.
- See land improvement differently—as a potential infrastructure element that can be used for sustainable water management.
- Connect education with practice, because the issues addressed have an immediate regional impact and are also supported at the regional level.
This allows students not only to gain specialist knowledge, but above all to develop skills that will be important in their future careers – from negotiation and analysis to the ability to create long-term strategies.
Workshop outcomes and next steps
The workshop resulted in a shared vision among participants and a set of proposals for approaching land improvement as an opportunity for water retention in the landscape. These proposals form the basis for future discussions and will be further developed in subsequent meetings within the PlusChange project. Given that many hydromelioration systems in the Czech Republic are reaching the end of their service life, now is the ideal time to reevaluate their role in the landscape. The workshop thus opens the way for an innovative approach to land management that can benefit agriculture, the environment, and local communities.
Selected students were also invited to a round table discussion with stakeholders on November 28.
PlusChange Project
The PlusChange project aims to support the transformation towards sustainable land use that takes into account the needs of the landscape, the values of local communities, and the impacts of political decisions.
More about the project: PlusChange
