Researchers at the University of Liverpool are working with Merseyside and Cheshire community groups on a new research project to address the rising flood risk across the region.
Thousands of communities, homes and businesses have been affected by flooding across the region, with incidents predicted to increase in the coming years because of climate change.
The CONVERSE project will work with communities to identify how they would like to manage flood risk in their local areas with a particular focus on working with nature.. Examples of such natural solutions used in other areas of the UK include woodland planting and leaky damns.
By working with the local communities and stakeholders across the region the project will explore how communities interact with these interventions, work alongside them to co-design monitoring strategies, and compare their community-developed suggestions with conventional monitoring methods.
The project, which involves both University engineers and social scientists from the University's Heseltine Institute, is one of three supported by the Natural Environment Research Council's (NERC) Engaged Environmental Science programme. They are the first NERC research projects to be co-led by local community members and scientists from beginning to end.
Dr Annie Ockelford, from the School of Engineering, said: "The whole team here at the University and the communities who helped us build the project are absolutely thrilled this project s been funded. Flooding is rarely far from our news feeds and is a key issue across the Mersey region so being able to work with communities to begin to tackle the problem is fantastic. The great thing about this project is that it has been co-led by the communities and stakeholders from the outset so hopefully project outputs will be better integrated with their needs and will build legacy across the region.
The key partners involved in CONVERSE project are the University of Liverpool, Faiths4change, Mersey Forest, the University of Leeds and Woodland Trust.
Louise Heathwaite, Executive Chair of NERC, said: "The NERC Engaged Environmental Science programme will address critical environmental challenges such as flooding, coastal erosion, and water pollution.
"For the first time we have awarded funding to three projects that will be co-led by local communities and scientists. By working together in new and innovative ways, they will develop natural solutions that protect and enhance natural habitats along the river Mersey, in Yorkshire and in the Outer Hebrides."
