An innovative talk on natural flood management (NFM) was held at Nottingham Trent University Brackenhurst Campus (supported by WWF and AVIVA Insurance).
The talk was prompted by the Southwell Flood Forum who have been actively supporting NFM alongside mor traditional techniques to reduce flood risk.
Dr Lucy Clarke at the University provided an overvieww of NFM and how this can be an important part of the flood management toolkit. NFM uses natural process and technique to slow the flow of water, create areas for water storage and incease infiltration upstream of properties at risk of flooding.
Dr Jillian Labadz also from Nottinghams Trent University spoke about the experience at the Brackenhurst campus where NFM was installed in 2016 amd 2019. She explained the complexities of delivering and maintaining an NFM scheme over the long term.
Ruth Needham outlined the typical approach the Trent Rivers Trust used to deliver an NFM project which involves talking to landowners and stakeholders at an early stage about the environmental conditions. A desk study and walkover then identifies areas that might be suitable and combined with data and mapping to locate, design and build the most cost-effective solutions.
The audience included farmers, community members and local councillors with discussions around food production, dredging, climate change, solar farms, the planning process and securing funding for NFM. To find out more or to talk about developing a new project please visit: www.trentriverstrust.org/natural-flood-management-guide
