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The Linklater RATS – a sea level rise youth initiative.
This voluntary after school group emerged from the Coastal Communities 2150 project and they named themselves The Linklater RATS, Raising Awareness of Tides and Sea levels
The idea of a youth initiative on sea level rise came from two sources:
1. A seminar in London by Dr Bronwyn Hayward on the response by young people to the 2011 Christchurch earthquake by young people. Bronwyn is a Senior Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand and co-researcher at the University of Oslo on the Voices of the Future project.
We offer this short video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kptEw1aZXtM that captures her approach and the following is recommended as further background reading:
Hayward, B. (2012) Children, Citizenship and Environment: Nurturing a Democratic Imagination in a Changing World. London: Earthscan/Routledge. 208pp.http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781849714372/.
2. The notion of ‘civic ecology’ practices put forward by Professor Marianne Krasny and Dr Keith Tidball at the Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, New York.
The basis of civic ecology lies in stewardship practices that integrate social and environmental values within a social-ecological framework. The emphasis is on stewardship and resilience and the following book is recommended for further information:
Krasny, M.E and Tidball, K.G.(2009) ‘Applying a resilience systems framework to urban environmental education’. Environmental Education Research, Vol. 15. Number 4. pp 465 – 482.
The link between civic ecology practice and environmental education is best shown in this diagram from Krasny and Tidball:
Ecological practice and environmental education
The result of engaging with the two ideas of democratic imagination by Hayward and civic ecology by Krasny is a two year phased project that aims to help a dedicated group of young people in Lewes develop their awareness of the tidal processes and water catchment issues of the Ouse basin.
The purpose is to increase pupils’ understanding of the impact of climate change and severe weather events on the local environment and to demonstrate how young people can monitor and respond practically to impending extreme weather events, particularly surface water or flash flooding.
Three things which set the pilot apart:
1. The high value placed on peer-to-peer learning as the first group will be expected to present a report of their experience and ideas for development and improvement to a second group.
2. The relationships developed within the group should expand through friends and social networks, thereby increasing a knowledge of the subject.
3. The initial vision of maintaining a two year cycle for the next 150 years, which will gradually respond to the effects of both sea level rise and episodes of severe weather.
The pilot aims to prioritise skills which can be learnt relatively easily through interactive learning, without a significant commitment from the participants. The two year programme will be offered to 12 young people from Years 7-8 from Priory School and Ringmer Community College.
Recruitment began in January 2014 and the formal launch took place on 12th February at the Coastal Communities 2150 international conference
Receiving the baton at the Coastal Communities 2150 international conference, 12th Feb. 2014.
The pilot will be run initially by Dr John Parry, Director of the Lewes Railway Land Project and Joanne Higgs from the Environment Agency. Other public sector and small scale providers will be brought in to deliver modules, such as:
Methodology/Activities.
To make the project as accessible as possible, modules will be delivered in sessions of no more than two hours and the framework for a Year One programme is shown below.
Module Aims
Number 1. March 2014
Tidal processes, water quality, Winterbourne Stream and the River Ouse.
To increase awareness of river and tidal processes and the chalk aquifer and to develop an understanding of EA mapping, modelling and monitoring of levels.
Number 2. May 2014
Climate change and sea level rise. To promote understanding of the impact of climate change and sea level rise linked to tides and high rainfall events. To promote the development of modelling through the use of LIDAR and GPS especially in relation to establishing baseline data.
Number 3: July 2014
The role of young people in local governance and decision making.
To facilitate greater understanding of young people’s participation in democracy through peer to peer insights via the East Sussex Youth Cabinet.
Number 4: September 2014
Severe weather warnings and specific flood impacts.
To increase understanding of how severe weather is communicated and the specific impacts of severe flooding.
Number 5: November 2014
Prepare an emergency “grab bag” and emergency plan.
To increase personal resilience to emergencies through household emergency planning.
It provides a well-structured first year, with increased responsibility in the second year, leading to the documentation of experiences and key findings ready for passing on to the next group.
Format of modules, which may be altered to suit tutors and students
Evaluation
The aim for this initiative is twofold:
1. Motivate increased awareness of the issues among the young people involved and that increased resilience may develop, which we hope will be communicated to their peers.
2. Encourage subsequent groups to take possession of the activities and their learning, especially in response to severe weather events and surges.
3. Inspire other groups around the country and in countries bordering the Channel, to set up similar initiatives to cope with similar problems.
It is essential to establish baseline data from the young people concerned in order to inform future approaches, for teachers, parents and other adults involved, in order to track the penetration of the innovation into the community.
We offer two questionnaire’s below for those who may wish to set up a group.
Baseline data questionnaire for the young people concerned
Please give your name and age___________________________________________________
Baseline Q1.
How concerned are you about extreme weather, sea level rise and flooding in our area?
Tick one that best fits your feelings.
1. Very concerned
2. Fairly concerned
3. Not very concerned
4. Not at all concerned
5. Don’t know
Please explain why below…
The Linklater Pavilion
Baseline Question 2. How much do you feel you know of the work of agencies such as the Environment Agency and local councils in relation to coping with sea level rise.
1. Nothing
2. A very little
3. A moderate amount
4. A lot
5. A great deal
Please explain why below…
Baseline Question 3. Do you know the meaning of infrastructure?
1. No
2. A vague idea
3. A reasonable idea.
4. Yes I have a good idea, but I can only give a couple of examples.
5. Yes I have an excellent understanding and I can give many examples.
Please explain why below…
Baseline Question 4. Do you know the meaning of resilience?
1. No
2. A vague idea
3. A reasonable idea
4. Yes, I have a good idea
5. Yes, I have an excellent understanding and I can give several examples
Please explain why below…
Baseline Question 5. How much power do you feel you have in influencing actions along the Ouse valley that might help towards responding to sea level rise and environmental change?
1. None
2. A very little
3. Some
4. A fair amount
5. A lot
Please explain why below…
Baseline Question 6. What are the skills and strengths you think you can bring to the project?
Please circle of the following which apply
1. Good at listening
2. Good knowledge of part of the river catchment area
3. Good at problem solving
4. Good at recording and presenting information
5. Photography
6. Video making and editing
7. Setting up a social media site
8. Recording of meetings and sessions in easy to use formats
9. Leading discussions
10. Confident at making presentations to my own age group
11. Other – please write below:
Baseline Question 7. Please describe, if you can, what you think the main threats are in relation to extreme weather, sea level rise and how they will affect people of the Ouse valley. Try to give as much detail as possible, even if you only have a very few ideas.
Baseline Question 8. What do you personally hope to get out of being involved in this project? Please write as much as possible about this in the space below.
Baseline data questionnaire for teachers, parents of the young people involved and other interested adults.
Please give your name and which of the above apply to you
________________________________________________________________________________
Baseline C. Question 1. How concerned are you about extreme weather, sea level rise and flooding in our area?
Tick one that best fits your feelings.
1. Very concerned
2. Fairly concerned
3. Not very concerned
4. Not at all concerned
5. Don’t know
Please explain why below…
Baseline C. Question 2. How much do you feel you know of the work of agencies such as the Environment Agency and local councils in relation to coping with sea level rise.
1. Nothing
2. A very little
3. A moderate amount
4. A lot
5. A great deal
Please explain why below…
Baseline C. Question 3. How much power do you feel you have in influencing actions along the Ouse valley that might help towards responding to sea level rise and environmental change?
1. None
2. A very little
3. Some
4. A fair amount
5. A lot
Please explain why below…
Baseline C. Question 4. Please write below what you think success for this project would look like in two years’ time? What might you expect of the young people involved? What do you hope they will have gained from it? What might you, or the organisation you represent, have gained from it?
Please feel free to write as full an answer as possible.
