SUPPORT FOR CHARITIES
Led by:
REGISTRATIONS FOR SUPPORT ARE CLOSED
Regrettably, we are no longer able to take new applications for funded support from the Flood Innovation Centre. However, the University of Hull remains a world-leading centre for expertise in flood resilience, so we would be happy to direct your enquiry to a relevant department via the contact form.
We have left the remaining content of this page live, so visitors can review the support that was offered to SMEs and charitable organisations during the life of the project and examples of ongoing University of Hull expertise.
ACCESS FREE FLOOD SURVEYS & HELP PROTECT YOUR ORGANISATION
Registered charities often have a home base, a building, or perhaps you have outdoor space to benefit local people. For eligible charities and social enterprises, we can commission a free flood survey from qualified professionals and help you understand and respond appropriately to the findings. This could include information about a wide range of property flood resilience measures that could be implemented to reduce flood risk and flood impacts for your premises.
You first port of call is Sam Ramsden, the Flood Innovation Centre’s Community Support Co-ordinator. Sam is friendly and knowledgeable about flood risk and can help pull together an appropriate package of support for eligible organisations and help signpost outside support agencies. He also leads our Community Gardens Group.
Sam has worked extensively with community groups in the UK and as far afield as Papua New Guinea, Pakistan and Vanuatu! He led University of Hull research with communities in Hull and the East Riding into the impacts of the 2007 floods and he also works with the iCASP project to help communities understand their flood risk.
Email: Sam.Ramsden@hull.ac.uk
PREPARING COMMUNITIES FOR FLOODING
Communities across the UK face a variety of different types of flood risk, but did you know that there are simple steps you can take to help make your community more resilient to flooding?
We’re funded to work with eligible charities and social enterprises, including flood groups, parish councils and venues, such as village halls, to help them boost their resilience to flood. Following registration, our friendly team can help you to understand the type and level of flood risk that you and your community faces, how to become better protected from flooding and how to bounce back more quickly after a flood event.
We can help with:
- Planning for a flood, accessing and understanding flood warnings, signposting you to useful support resources and information.
- Networking with and mentoring from those who’ve been impacted by flooding.
- Free (fully funded) flood surveys for businesses and community venues.
- Explaining the role that sustainable drainage can play in reducing the risk of flooding and support the development of local sustainable drainage systems.
- Explaining what property flood resilience is, how it works and what sort of measures would work for your community group.
We can tailor our services to the needs of your community, so contact our friendly team today for an informal chat. See below for details.
SUDS – UNDERSTANDING SUSTAINABLE DRAINAGE SYSTEMS
Sustainable Drainage Systems, or ‘SuDS’, describe a range of measures that are used to control water in our environment. They are sometimes referred to as ‘Green-Blue’ systems as they use ‘Green’ measures, such as planting schemes, green roofs, raingardens, to control the ‘Blue’ water. During heavy rainfall, they can help to reduce the pressure on the sewerage system and lower the risk of flash flooding. Sam Ramsden has set up a friendly Community Gardens Group which is learning all about SuDS, as well as planting schemes to withstand both flood and drought conditions – new members are welcome!
SUDSLAB UK TOURS
For community organisations based in the Humber and neighbouring regions, we can host visits to the University of Hull’s award-winning SuDSLab UK. This is a campus-based ‘living lab’ that is testing out lots of different Sustainable Drainage Systems and can provide examples that you can readily introduce in your own community.
FACILITATED WORKSHOPS
Sam Ramsden and other members of our Flood Innovation Centre team are here to deliver both off-the-shelf and bespoke workshop packages.
As part of our ‘Mapping Flood Recovery Gaps’ project, we recently delivered a flood response workshop using the ‘Flood Recovery Game’ – a specially designed board game to help attendees role-play different flood-related scenarios.
We have also delivered workshops on Property Flood Resilience measures and understanding the benefits of Sustainable Drainage Systems.
We also help deliver the ICASP Communicating Flood Risk Exercise which helps community representatives and local authorities work together to plan effective communication during a flood incident.
FLOOD PLANNING SUPPORT
We can help you understand what to do before, after and during a flood and help you pull together a clear plan with individual roles and responsibilities. We can also support charities and social enterprises to develop new Flood Warden groups so the whole community is better prepared.
NETWORKING & MENTORING
We can work with you on an individual basis, or as part of a group, to provide mentoring support. We can connect you with relevant organisations, whether community-based, business or local government, including mentoring from those previously impacted by flooding.
SuDS WORKSHOP: 3 May 2023
An interactive workshop on Floods (and drought): Gardening, Biodiversity and SuDS and how they can help your organisation and benefit the wider community.
