As we launch into Spring and hopefully more manageable underfoot conditions for us all on site, I welcome you to the March issue of the AGS Magazine.

I very much look forward to seeing many of you at the AGS Annual Conference next month, to be held at the Barbican Centre in London, and we have been working hard to secure interesting speakers and sponsors for your benefit. You can read more about the programme in this issue.

In the meantime, in this edition we focus very much on geo-environmental issues facing our industry. Please read on to refresh your knowledge of cover systems for containing contaminated ground and to learn more about the benefits, limitations, and suitability of using timber piles in the UK. Our Laboratories Working Group leader advises us on considerations regarding the analysis of and detection of coal tar, and we feature an article by our Loss Prevention Working Group leader on COP27 and how the AGS will be supporting its members in initiatives to support limiting climate change. In the ‘Inside’ article this month, Solenn Le Pense tells us what makes an interesting career as a Senior Geo-digital Engineer with Jacobs.

It’s also time to get your cameras out and send in your entries to our Photography Competition for a chance to win a tasty food hamper and to have your images features in future AGS publications. I look forward to seeing recent images reflecting your work from the usual high standard of entries.