The bad news: climate context – the forecast for the UK is looking…wet.
The UK Met Office prediction is for ‘more intense downpours during summer thunderstorms and more rainfall in winter storms. Winters will tend to be wetter, with more potential for flooding.’¹

As populations increase, humans build habitats using concrete and tarmac that do not let rain drain directly into the soil. This means that our drainage systems are struggling to accommodate the amount of surface
runoff these impermeable surfaces generate.

Research from Manchester University explains that ‘in the UK, the cost of fixing sewer blockages reaches £88 million per year and around half of these blockages are credited to unflushables (man-made waste)’.²

The consequence is that we are starting to experience more flooding, and this will occur more frequently and with increasing severity. 

OK, so enough bad news. The good news is that there are things we can do to help, and Durham Wildlife Trust’s Rain Gardens in Schools Project is an example of what can be done. The project, which the Trust is working on with Northumbrian Water, educates pupils about the environment and sustainability through the design and construction of rain gardens in local schools. 

So, what are rain gardens? Simply put, rain gardens interrupt and slow down the flow of water to the drain, which relieves pressure on the sewers below.

Rainwater is diverted from the downpipe to a modified tank or trough, which acts as a simple filtration unit. It passes through a three-tier filtration sequence of soil, hessian material and limestone before passing into a pipe at the bottom of the tank, which is connected to the drain.

In January this year, the Trust worked with a school and the local community at Temple Park, in South Shields, to build and install a rain garden. Since then, the Rain Gardens in Schools project has worked with Bedeburn Primary School and St Oswald’s C of E Primary, in Hebburn, to research and install rain gardens with some of their Year 4 children.

Year 4 teacher, Miss Marley, said: “Year 4 had a tremendous afternoon with Mr Hayton! We had a great time learning about the water cycle, water flow, and how this can lead to flood damage. Then we built our own school rain garden to help reduce surface rainwater on our yard.”

<sup>1. Source: The Met Office – Climate change in the UK 
2. Source: Manchester University - Mapping Change Points for Intervention for Sewer Blockages</sup>