The Egremont flood system not only lowers the community’s risk of flooding but also makes the town better by adding more open spaces for local use. About 200 trees were planted by students from Orgill School in an effort to boost local biodiversity and access to natural spaces. Habitats of a single tree or shrub deal the greatest blow to threatened and endangered species. One easy method to improve the diversity and functionality of our environment is to reconnect woodland ecosystems and plant properly.
By reducing CO2 emissions, tree planting also helps to improve the quality of the air for both people and wildlife. The children will be able to harvest cherry, damson, plum, and apple trees from the newly planted trees in the future. The school and the Environment Agency collaborated to assist curb anti-social behaviour. The school would want extra planting to help further minimise the anti-social behaviour around the school. This behaviour has already been reduced by the planting of trees and shrubs inside the perimeter of the school’s gates.
The Environment Agency intends to engage with Orgill School in the near future by establishing miniature allotments filled with plants and vegetables in an effort to encourage students more active and aware of the sources of their food. Additionally, a nearby angling club is collaborating with the students of Orgill School to give them the opportunity to participate in fishing activities.
Julie Irving, Headteacher at Orgill School said:
“Our children, in Nursery, had a wonderful time planting fruit trees with ‘Safari’ Mike and his team. The children are incredibly excited to watch the trees grow and can’t wait to start harvesting the fruit!
“We are busy preparing for our next project and are delighted that Mike will be able to support again. Our allotment garden has been in the pipeline for a few years and was halted due to the pandemic. We are eager to get our children more involved in growing their own produce and have a space to enjoy throughout the year.
“A huge thank you to everyone involved in supporting our projects, this year.”
Since this significant flood scheme’s planning permission in October 2019, the Environment Agency has finished culvert work at Croadalla Avenue and supplied property resistance measures to 43 properties throughout the town. In addition, work on flood storage sites, which include flood barriers and flood embankments, has been finished at West Lakes Academy, Falcon Club, and How Bank Farm.
As part of this scheme, the Black Beck channel has also been finished. To enable the discovery of the beck’s natural channel once more, the project’s completion resulted in the creation of meanders and bends. Fish and insects require a healthy habitat to survive, which has been provided by the meanders and stream features like natural bed material.
At Black Beck, additional elements that can be found in floodplains and natural rivers have been added to reduce the flow. They aid in storing more water for use during floods. By storing more floodwater further upstream, this will assist in lowering the risk of flooding downstream.
Paul Robertshaw, from the Environment Agency said:
“We would like to thank the children of Orgill school for helping us plant trees, in bid to boost biodiversity, as part the flood scheme in Egremont. We look forward to seeing the benefits this will bring to wildlife and the local community. We also hope to continue this work by growing an allotment garden where children can grow their own produce.
“The Skirting and Whangs Beck Flood Risk Management Scheme will not only better protect people and property from flooding but will create a better place for the community by providing an enhanced environment for wildlife to thrive. We are delighted to see the progress on this scheme and look forward to the benefits its completion will bring.”
You can find out more about the scheme by visiting www.thefloodhub.co.uk and checking ‘Your local area’ to see a summary of what the scheme is proposing and for general information on how to prepare and respond to all sources of flooding.