Natural Flood Management

© Jon Milliken

Living near a river or stream has many advantages, from employment and recreation to opportunities for wildlife-spotting. But for some residents the proximity has another, less positive outcome: a risk of localised flooding.

In the right circumstances flooding can be a good thing - floodplains offer nutrient-rich soil and valuable wildlife habitat - but over time various factors have increased the risk for local homes and businesses. As the human impact upon the streams increases, so does the need for us to help them cope with times of high flow.

As part of the Watercress and Winterbournes Landscape Partnership Scheme, we're exploring ways to address this issue through our Natural Flood Management project. This method uses nature-based solutions to reduce the risk of flooding; you may also have heard it called 'Working with Natural Processes' or simply 'NFM'.

About the scheme

Email the team

Share your thoughts

This project is still in development, but one great way to get involved now is to complete our Natural Flood Management questionnaire. We’re collecting the views of local people in the scheme area, and Hampshire more broadly, in support of our partner Hampshire County Council.

The Council is conducting research on implementing natural solutions to flooding as part of the broader Natural Flood Management project. Taking this survey will help us to better understand the role of Natural Flood Management in the lives of local communities.

The Wildlife Trust is collecting this data on behalf of Vicki Westall, the Council’s Strategic Flood and Water Management Co‐ordinator, and it will contribute to her MSc in Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management. For full details about this please see the participant information sheet.

If you'd like to share your views on Natural Flood Management, please complete the questionnaire below by Sunday 31st January 2021. If you have any problems with the form, or any queries, please contact the team on winterbournes@hiwwt.org.uk.

1. Which of the following NFM measures have you heard of? (choose one or more)
10. Which of the following would be a factor in your feelings? (choose one or more)


If you own land in Hampshire, please answer the following additional questions:

14. Which of the following would be a factor in your decision? (choose one or more)

15. If your land includes a winterbourne (a stream that only flows during wetter periods) please choose three words to describe your feelings during the following times:

 

About you

Please provide your details for our records – they will not be made public. You’ll only be contacted if you give your permission below, and then only about the answers you have provided on this questionnaire.

Privacy statement
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is collecting this information on behalf of the partners of Watercress and Winterbournes. Your personal information will be stored in a secure Trust database, through which it will be accessible to our scheme partners Wessex Rivers Trust and Wild Trout Trust only as required by scheme activities.

Your personal information will need to be shared with Hampshire County Council along with your answers, in order to form part of the research project. It will not be included in any publication of the research findings. Please see the participant information sheet for more details.

Due to the nature of Watercress and Winterbournes it may be necessary to share this information with some other scheme partners, and with the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Outside of these uses, the Trust will not pass on your information to third parties without your permission. You can ask to see this information, and request its erasure, at any time.

For more information, please see our full Privacy Policy

 
Are you happy to be contacted at a later date to talk about your answers in more detail?
We’ll be running several workshops over the coming months where you can learn more about Natural Flood Management and Working with Natural Processes. Would you like to be invited to attend these workshops when the dates are confirmed?