Learning Resources: Coasts
Our learning resources for coasts explore how different types and combinations of coastal defences can help improve resilience to coastal flood risk and erosion.
All our activities are freely available and include videos, worksheets, role play games and a virtual tour of the waterfront city of Portsmouth.
Coastal Resilience: Virtual Tour of the Island City of Portsmouth
Explore how engineering can help improve resilience to climate change by joining a virtual tour around Portsmouth.
We’ll visit six sites around the island to look at the range of different engineered structures that have been created or adapted to improve resilience to coastal flood risk and erosion, as well as enhance the areas where they’ve been constructed.
‘Resources for Our Bay’: Research-Enhanced Primary Teaching Resources
As part of the Morecambe Bay Curriculum, we have been working alongside Lancaster University researchers and primary teachers to develop educational resources that link to cutting-edge research on topics such as ecology, history, geography and art.
The Resources for our Bay: Our Future Coast booklet shares an overview of the different resource packs, how they were developed and can be adapted to different settings.
We worked with Helen Bielec at Shakespeare Primary School to develop a role-play game that puts pupils at the heart of decision making.
How Resilient is our Coast? Become a Coastal Defender!
National Curriculum: Geography
Developed by: Helen Bielec, Shakespeare Primary and Alex Scott, JBA Trust
Fly through this work and coastline with Colin the Curlew and become an informed coastal defender!
Using role-play this game puts pupils at the heart of decision making, much like the real-world work of Our Future Coast.
Facing challenges as a team and developing their knowledge with cutting-edge research, pupils make choices based on Shoreline Management Plans to connect knowledge to positive transformation of their own community.
Resource Pack 1: How Resilient is our Coast Overview
Resource Pack 2: How Resilient is our Coast Resources – Free Dropbox Download
Coastal Resilience Challenge Game
In this game, you are a team of designers and engineers helping a coastal town community become more resilient to flooding and erosion. Using the playing cards and resources provided, explore which engineering options can help the coastline adapt to a changing climate.
Don’t forget to consider your budget, the costs of each option, carbon, timescales and the needs of the community!
The game is designed to be played with a wave tank (and can also be adapted to be used with the wave tank video).
Download all the instructions and game resources below:
Wave tank
Many of our learning resources are designed to be used with the wave tank model.
Our wave tank demonstrates how both engineered and nature-based coastal defences reduce flood risk and help improve resilience to climate change.
Scale models of different types and combinations of coastal defences, like sea walls, rock armour and breakwaters, are used in the tank to explore how effectively they prevent wave overtopping and reduce flood risk.
Watch the wave tank demonstration video then complete the activities!
Wave tank activities
Activities for Key Stage 2 (age 7-11)
KS2 Invent a Wave Tank Activity
KS2 Wave Tank Coastal Structures Wordsearch
KS2 Wave Tank Coastal Defence Flooding Observations Form
Activities for Key Stage 4 (age 14-16)
KS3 & KS4 Wave Tank Coastal Defence Flooding Observations Form
Activities for Key Stage 3 (age 11-14)
KS3 Wave Tank Coastal Structures Worksheet
KS3 Wave Tank Volume, Averages and Cost Maths Activity
KS3 & KS4 Wave Tank Coastal Defence Flooding Observations Form
