Wildlife Trust wins £10,000 award for Sheffield flood prevention work

The grant will fund natural flood management works in the Trust’s Grenoside Woods nature reserve, a site of ancient woodland on high ground north of Sheffield.

Natural flood management is a method of reducing the danger of flooding in times of heavy rainfall, an increasing risk of climate change. Heavy rain can overwhelm the streams which normally carry away excess water, causing flooding to occur lower down in the valleys.

A series of occasional ponds will be dug which will store excess water in times of heavy rain until the natural water system is able to cope with it.

Leaky dams built into the watercourses will hold back excess rainwater and release it more gradually into the streams to prevent them from becoming overwhelmed.

Wildlife will benefit too. The ponds and dams will provide habitats for amphibians such as frogs, toads and newts. Woodland ponds also help insect populations to thrive, which provides food for the bird and bat populations of Greno Woods.

Chris Grice, fundraising officer for the Trust said: “We are looking forward to carrying out this work in Greno Woods. It is a cost effective, natural, wildlife friendly approach to mitigating a flood risk which climate change looks set to increase in the years to come. ”

The Trust was one of 30 charities picked by judges in specialist insurer Ecclesiastical's Movement for Good awards, which is giving £1million to good causes this year.