The Flood

In the summer of 2010, a large group of young people enjoyed the shafts of golden summer in Edensor park. It was by the winding river of Salestown. A large expanse of grass is enclosed next to the river, with a two meter high drystone wall. On the other side of this there is a main road, with three storey Victorian style town houses in parallel. The road loops around the park to a large sandstone bridge which narrowed at its arch, midway across the water. On the other side of the river, there is a raised up promenade with railings which overlooks the park. Adjacent to this are a series of shops, bars and cafes which open out onto a large stone paved area. Cordoned seats are outside most of the bars and cafes. This is an idyllic part of Salestown, mainly for tourists, whilst other areas are a mixture of residential houses, flats and mainstream commercial buildings. The steeple of St Mary Magdalene’s church forms a focal point for the skyline. The city, including the church, can be seen from higher up areas in the Grandoaks countryside. Seth Smalling, Sally Sweeton, Simon Richer, Jake and Davy Joyman, John Oakes, Craig and Jessica Longstand formed the group of young people at the river bank. They were either playing rounders, or enjoying bottled drinks from the nearby pavilion bar.

For the first time, many of the group could enjoy being with friends following a flood which had nearly ravaged Salestown. Fortunately, the water didn’t reach the drystone walls which outlined the park. Many believed that the limited extent of the flood could be attributed to the ‘Recycle, Revive and Relate’ scheme. This includes the new flood defences and sustainable water drainage, as well as the greater balance in weather conditions as a result of other green initiatives that the scheme allows for.

‘So Seth, tell me again about how your scheme stopped the floods?’ Craig Longstand asks Seth, as the group sat down on the soft grass. Many of the group were in T-Shirts and jeans, and sat on their jumpers whilst wearing sunglasses. Some of the group had electronic cigarettes, which have been found to be safer than smoking ordinary tobacco.

Seth opened a bottle of home-made special brew cider with the end of an electronic cigarette. Then, after the slight delay, he replied ‘Well, I’ll start with grass you are now sat on. It actually slightly undulates! Every 20 metres or so, the slope of the ground disperses any rainwater or floodwater into drainage channels. These are made of a waterproof membrane covered in stones. The gaps between the stones regulate the water run-off so that the river doesn’t fill up too quickly.’

‘Secondly, the river has an overflow system. Just before the river reaches the Grandoaks countryside, there are concrete water channels that link to the reservoir. This means that if the river overflows, it doesn’t reach a too excessive depth because a lot of the water has been redirected.’ Seth paused and had a sip of his special brew cider, which glistened as the sun shone through the glass. Whilst he was talking, he didn’t want sound arrogant despite of what he had achieved. He always felt a little sheepish about talking about his time with the auxiliary. He then continued:

‘Thirdly, there has been a lot of re-landscaping in the towns and villages. Large areas of tarmac, and concrete, have been replaced with softer landscaping such as flower beds around grassed areas which allow rainwater to seep through at a reasonable rate. Tree planting is also a crucial element. Safety precautions, such as chambers below ground to prevent the root spread of planted trees, were always incorporated. The flower beds are made of recycled plastic, the walkways are mostly recycled rubber and both are also very good in terms of durability. The water generally runs from the walkways to drainage channels that line both sides.’

‘Fourthly, there has been a wide-scale road re-surfacing programme. We decided to use recycled aggregates to the greatest possible extent as the building material. This was also locally sourced to save on transport costs, associated carbon emissions and pollution. Local meteorologists have noticed more stable weather patterns across Grandoaks, and they can attribute this to the green initiatives that have been brought about! For example, the scheme worked with the Mary Magdalene drop-in centre. The scheme still pays some local clients an apprentice wage to look after the diverse horticulture, litter-pick using waste segregation, maintain bee-hives and carry out work for the protection of species. This has included a clean-up job on the Salestown River further north.’

‘Reclaimed materials have also been essential for other improvement works such as to the buildings throughout the district. This included the roofing programme which used slates of previous former use. The insulation programme used locally sourced sheep-wool, and the double glazing programme used mostly recycled units. The scheme also utilized the sheer quantity of scrap metal in the district in the production of streetlights, in the replacement scheme, powered by reduced size solar photovoltaic panels’.

‘Fifthly, the scheme included a subsection on welfare. That is the welfare of the communities throughout the district. It encouraged residents to take part in outdoor activities such as community walks and runs for charity. A young person who took part in a sponsored ten kilometer race said that his preparation for this detracted from his mobile phone, television and gaming addiction. Thus this reduced his carbon footprint. The scheme allowed for this to be replicated in many other instances. Like a philosophy related to the individual, to benefit the collective. This is not unlike the richer parts of the world working with the poorer parts to eradicate poverty. Engagement and imbursement are not just isolated imbursement. Poorer parts of the world need more than just funding.’

‘Sixthly, I really worked on myself. Before the scheme, I was a lonely and abrupt person. My mind wasn’t charitable, and I judged myself and others. Now here I am, sitting in the sun, in a state of grace. This wasn’t always so. I didn’t think that if I became a better person, as well as kinder and more considerate, that it would really make any difference. That one kind deed would only be like switching off one electric light of so many that light up our modern world. I was a faded halogen light on the motorway. The repair job seemed very insignificant, yet the fixed ones shone brighter as they yearned for the return of their counterpart. The incessant darkness, from this upshot of the rind, sucked all the light from neighbouring friends away. This was almost like a benign spirit, or a sinkhole in the middle of the street. There is now no question that something had to change. I’m still working on this’.

‘Finally, Grandoaks is turning to green energy. A team of five clients, at the centre, would work with one green energy installation engineer who had travelled over from a different part of the region. Again, this saved on the cost of transport previously described. They’re working hours were also 9am until 3pm, because the scheme highlighted that longer working days and weeks reduced the efficiency of operatives. A case study revealed that eight to twelve hour days had a long term impact on a person’s mental health, and even physical health, and wellbeing. This is exacerbated when repeated more than three times in a given week. Therefore, the rollout of green energy sources including wind turbines, solar panels and hydroelectric went much smoother than many anticipated. One of the philosophies of the study was ‘fairer conditions, for workers, for fairer conditions of the local and regional environment and economy’. Workers also received fairer pay. As well as the environmental impact of the scheme, there was a knock on-effect towards improving the local and regional economy. This included the lives of those who lived in more deprived areas.’

Sally Sweeton, who was to become Seths fiancée in a years’ time then said ‘Seth, that’s amazing! How did you do all that?’

Seth replied, ‘The answer to that question is mostly certainly that I didn’t’.