Tackling the challenges of surface water flooding

It was a perfect day on Thursday 17 November to be discussing how new surface water flood forecasts could help support resilient decision making.  The heavy rain was a timely reminder of the challenges surface water flooding brings and we had a fantastic turnout at the University of Leeds for our joint workshop with the … Read more

WY FLIP – Working together to get results

Tangible results are starting to be achieved by the West Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme (WY FLIP) just a year after it was first launched. Partners have joined together to bid for extra funds for their region to make it more resilient to flooding and climate change. An example to illustrate how their collaborative ways of … Read more

Don’t get caught out – flooding can happen to you

We are supporting National Flood Action Week, 7 – 11 November. On Friday we are running a free session about communicating flood risk during an incident for flood wardens, communicating groups or anyone who has a role in flood risk management to help increase resilience in our region. It is part of a week of … Read more

Innovative action to increase resilience to flooding and climate change in West Yorkshire

A new animation has been created to promote the benefits of West Yorkshire Flood Innovation Programme (WY FLIP) since it began a year ago to increase resilience to flooding and climate change in the region. Ambassador for WY FLIP and Deputy Leader of Calderdale Council, Councillor Jane Scullion, launched the animation at Yorkshire Integrated Catchment … Read more

Opportunity for Artists to reflect restoration at Great North Bog, in the north of England

The Great North Bog, United Kingdom, is one of six Action Sites included in WaterLANDS – a five year European Union Green Deal funded project which aims to restore damaged wetlands across Europe and lay the foundations for protection across larger areas. We are looking for artists to engage with the site, the restoration team … Read more

How do information flows affect impact from environmental research? – An analysis of a science-policy network

There’s a growing demand for evidence of what impact environmental research is having – especially from funders. And yet those who use the research often don’t report the impact in the way researchers expect them to according to a new study which looks at Yorkshire iCASP as science-policy network. This analysis by Prof Julia Martin-Ortego, Prof Martin … Read more

iCASP works with academics at University of Leeds to shape new NFM Manual

New guidance to drive the implementation of natural flood management (NFM) has just been published by CIRIA working with Mott MacDonald. The manual will provide a road map for nature based solutions project setting out the key stages of delivery from initiating a scheme and understanding the interests of local people to selecting, designing and … Read more

MPs urged to take more action against INNS

Research shows that the threat from invasive non-native species (INNS) is growing and causing a huge impact on  biodiversity, increasing the risk of flooding and costing the UK billions of pounds each year. Biosecurity measures can be adopted to prevent the introduction and spread of INNS. INNS, or invasive alien species, are those that are … Read more

Positive feedback on our flood engagement sessions

We are delighted to be getting really positive feedback on our flood engagement exercises and bookings from national, regional and local teams.

Our first face-to-face exercise was held with incident management staff who work with Leeds City Council.

This is what Carl Fisher and Ian Hope took away from the day – we captured their thoughts on video

Some of the other positive comments we have receieved are:-

“The scenarios really encouraged me to remember to think about flood events from different perspectives.”

“Really enjoyed the session and how engaging it was. Definitely worth it! I thought the discussions around it were great and the facilitating was done really well.”

“I learnt a lot about the most effective communication and how challenging it can be to get right. I think there are a lot of takeaways for the incident team to put into practice that we possibly haven’t come across or thought as deeply about before. It will definitely help to start those conversations and I’d encourage anyone involved in incidents to participate.”

“I will take away the importance of tailoring engagement to the target demographic but also considering people in the minority/margins, using a consistent, clear approach.”

“The facilitators created a great, inclusive environment. The number of participants was good (not too small or large) and the realistic but fictitious scenario made it easy to relate to, while allowing you to think differently and consider a range of factors.”

The exercise is part of a project we are delivering working with partners to improve communications about flood risk using engagement tools.

Our aim is to support Risk Management Authorities to engage more effectively with their communities, increasing resilience to flood risk and the impact of climate change.

We are delivering the free sessions for groups of flood wardens, teams who work in incident management, community groups and anyone interested in communicating better during flood events.

Bookings have now been extended until the summer and can be made online , so do get in touch if you have a group that would like to take part. It’s fun, interactive and opens your eyes to new challenges.