Water risks brought to life in the classroom

Our wave tank, mini-flume and Projection Augmented Relief Model (PARM) were in action for the ‘Water Risks’ day at Ermysted’s Grammar School, supported by Dr Gary Priestnall, from the University of Nottingham, and Craig Lyons, a Public Safety Officer from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

The students had an interactive and informative day, learning about different aspects of water and flood risk management and using our hands-on physical models to understand how water behaves in the environment.

Our volunteers Adam Odell and Vicky Crowley, from JBA Trust and JBA Consulting, delivered 8 sessions using the wave tank. The students learned about coastal erosion, and how to manage it using a variety of defences including sea walls, rock armour and nature-based solutions.

 

Dr Gary Priestnall used the Projection Augmented Relief Model (PARM) to demonstrate flood risk to Skipton and discussed where Natural Flood Management (NFM) could be implemented to reduce the flood risk to the town.

Craig Lyons, from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, used the mini-flume to demonstrate some of the dangers of structures in rivers including culverts, screens and bridges. Both students and staff were surprised by how dangerous weirs can be to swimmers and kayakers.

Thank you so much for coming in to the school, the students really enjoyed it and loved the day. They were very engaged and asked some great questions

– Kathryn Suter, Assistant Head of Humanities and Geography teacher at Ermysted’s Grammar School