On this page you will find a list of educational and outreach resources that are useful for any floodologist. The majority are fee to use. Unless otherwise stated, I was not involved in their creation.
Focus is on the UK and its educational system. For clarification:
- Key Stage 1 = Primary school Years 1-2, ages 5-7
- Key Stage 2 = Primary school Years 3-6, ages 7-11
- Key Stage 3 = Secondary school Years 7-9, ages 11-14
- Key Stage 4 = Secondary school Years 10-11 (GCSE), ages 14-16
Are you flood ready? @ Royal Geographical Society
A module of six lessons for Key Stage 3 considering the human and physical geography aspects of flooding. Students learn about flood risk, how they can assess their own flood risk, and how people can work together to build flood resilience.
Beat the Flood @ STEM Learning
This workshop based activity is aimed at school children and STEM clubs. In teams, they must build a flood resilient home able to withstand the blast of a hosepipe. Includes teaching and support materials to download for free.
Fun educational videos, animations, and activities designed to engage primary-aged (5-11) with the science of coasts.
Digital Resources Series @ the British Society for Geomorphology
Tools and learning for using digital resources in education and outreach relating to geomorphology.
(These were produced from a grant call I put together whilst a trustee for the BSG)
EmRiver produce mini-flumes for educational and outreach settings. Many people will be familiar with their products and I have used them many times to engage people with hydrology, geomorphology, and flood risk.
Their YouTube channels features several demonstrations and lessons using their flumes.
Education Resources @ the British Society for Geomorphology
A list of educational resources about landscapes and how they form and change, compiled by the BSG.
Education Resources @ Slow the Flow
Teaching resources for Key Stages 2 and 3 designed to raise awareness of flooding and in particular the role of Natural Flood Management (NFM).
Flooding Resources @ Natural Resources Wales
Lesson plans, activities, and case studies to support Key Stages 2, 3, and 4, based around flooding. Topics include the dangers of flood water, preparing for flooding, evacuation, and the impacts and aftermath of flooding.
Mary Long-Dhonau OBE, affectionately known as the Queen of Floods, has turned her experiences of flood recovery into a mission to help others in similar situations. Her website is packed full of useful guidance and resources, including the Homeowner’s Guide to Property Flood Resilience.
Flood Stories @ University of Hull
Flood Stories was a collaboration between the University of Hull, Lancaster University, and the Environment Agency (I was part of the project team for Hull). It told the real flood recovery stories of children from their perspective using innovative immersive storytelling and 360 animation.
The resources include the 360 videos Help Callum and Help Sali, interactive digital teaching aids, and lesson plans co-designed with teachers and the National Childrens’ Bureau.
My own YouTube channel where you’ll find videos on flooding, numerical modelling, careers in floodology, and some general geographic knowledge.
Tonnes of free guidance and guides for home owners and businesses of how to build their resilience to flooding. Includes introductory videos about flooding and the ‘How to make your home resilient to flooding’ book.
The Hydrological Ensemble Prediction EXperiment (HEPEX) research group is renowned for its use of games to help engage people with probabilistic hydro-meteorology. These games are best suited for technical audiences in meteorology and hydrology, such as university students.
Hydrology Resources @ Crest Award
Resources to support students working towards Silver or Gold Crest Awards, covering the hydrological impacts of climate change. Produced by the Hydro-Jules project.
Introduction to Flood Hydrology @ Environment Agency
Short videos introducing hydrology, how it relates to flooding, and the different types of inland flooding.
(I made these videos as part of my day job role at the Environment Agency)
Kids’ Zone @ Yorkshire Flood Resilience
The Yorkshire Flood Resilience project brought together information to help people understand their own flood risk and how property flood resilience could help them reduce it.
Their Kids’ Zone includes a link to Flood Alert, a web games designed for 7-11 year olds to help them understand property flood risk and resilience (I helped to advise this game).
Learning Resources @ JBA Trust
JBA Trust is a charity that aims to use research, education, and outreach to help people become more resilient to flood risks. They have created learning resources for 7-11 and 12-16 age groups, and for Higher Education/CPD, or river and flooding related topics.
They also create and maintain a plethora of physical models for educational and outreach purposes.
Learning Zone @ Association of Drainage Associations
Teaching resources for Key Stages 4 & 5 geography covering topics of flooding and water management in lowland areas.
The Flood Hub compiles flood information for the public with a particular focus on the North-West of England. Their Learning Zone includes:
- Key Stage 2 lesson plans for flooding and climate change
- A GCSE Case Study on river flood management based on the Low Crosby, Cumbria
- The Landscapes 2 Lifescapes virtual exhibit, showcasing science into how floods both shape the world around us and people’s experiences (I was one of the co-creators of the exhibit)
Free guidance on experiments and activities for general science communication across numerous topics, produced by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
Rain and Flooding Activity @ Red Cross
A practical activity for ages 7+ to help students learn about rainfall, flooding, and climate change. The resources detail an activity where students build a rain gauge and use it to measure rainfall.
This series of lessons about flood risk management and careers have been made using the Educational edition of Minecraft. They have been used to engage over 2 million children in schools around the world.
You can also find further lessons in Rivercraft 2.
SeriousGeoGames YouTube Channel
SeriousGeoGames was a project a ran at the University of Hull when I worked there as a Research Fellow. I produced several immersive storytelling 360 animations and videos to help communicate about flooding. Many of these, including Flash Flood! and Inundation Street, are still available on the YouTube channel.
These are suitable to help engage community groups or for supporting teaching.
Teaching Resources @ Geographical Association
The Geographical Association produce lots of great and free resources for geography teachers. Search ‘flood’ to find several flooding-based resources, including a ten-part series on flood risk and flood risk management to fit with the 14-19 curriculum in the UK (GCSE and A-Level), co-produced with the Environment Agency.
Teacher Resource Pack @ Scottish Environmental Protection Agency
This link takes you to a PDF full of lesson and activity plans for flooding produced by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency. Covers topics from the water cycle to flood warnings.
A frankly astonishing collection of professionally made short videos on geography topics designed to be used in schools, for free! Search for ‘flood’ to find a collection of floodology-related videos.
FloodSkinner 