Students from two East Midlands schools tackled climate change and the dramatic affect it can have on waterways head on during a recent journalism workshop at the University of Lincoln. The group, from Cleethorpes Academy and John Spendluffe Technology College, created a story package on flooding which included a video, podcast, digital story and social media. Here is their story.
Flooding is occurring so often in Lincoln that dedicated volunteers are now needed to help with clean ups, the Canal & River Trust has said.
People are being sought to offer a hand with clearing debris, rubbish and silt each time the city’s Brayford Pool overtops.
It comes after torrential rain in January led to flooding that saw underpasses filled with water, walkways turned into rivers and roads become fords.
Stephen Hardy, communications manager with the trust, said: “We need volunteers. When the flood waters subside, they leave behind a lot of debris, a lot of rubbish, a lot of silt on towpaths and that’s not safe for people to enjoy the waterway.”
He also said that flooding across the UK had cost the trust £10 million more than it had budgeted for last year.
The Brayford itself has flooded five times in just 12 years with some experts suggesting large swathes of lower Lincoln could even be underwater by 2050.
Andrew Armstrong, a technical specialist at the university who lives on a house boat, said the flooding had become worse in the three years he had lived on the water.
He said of January’s flood: “Unless I took my socks and shoes off and rolled my trousers up, I wouldn’t have been able to get to work.
“The harbour master came with planks of woods and made a bridge for me.”
Jack Mooney, vice president of the University of Lincoln Rowing Club, said: “Water rises and gets inside the boat club. It’s a nightmare.”
He added: “Last year there was two to three months of training being called off and training time out the window.”
To read the story, watch the video and listen to the podcast, please click here: Lincoln Brayford flooding
