More than 50 pupils from Buckingham Park Primary School learnt about the dangers of flooding and what can be done to prevent it, on a recent visit to the Shoreham Adur Tidal Walls scheme.
The Shoreham Adur Tidal Walls scheme is being carried out by Mackley as part of Team Van Oord, working on behalf of the Environment Agency, Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership, Adur District Council and West Sussex County Council.
Once completed, the £31m project will significantly reduce flood risk to more than 2,300 properties in Shoreham and East Lancing, as well as protecting important local infrastructure including roads, the railway line and Shoreham Airport.
The scheme is separated into 10 reaches, or lengths of the estuarine bank.
The pupils were given a tour of the work in progress which included piling works, landscaping and construction of a chalk embankment. A highlight for the pupils was seeing a piling rig install a sheet pile, and then being able to question the plant operator about the work he was carrying out.
The group of Year 5 pupils (aged 9-10 years) also participated in a workshop to learn about the project, the history of flooding in Shoreham, and how different groups might be affected by flooding.
Following the visit, Mackley received a number of thank you letters from the children involved in the trip, outlining their favourite parts of the day.
A letter from the school read: “To all the team at Mackley, thank you so much for the time and effort you put into our visit.
“All of the children and staff enjoyed our visit and we learnt a lot about the scheme.”
Angela Spinks, Public Liaison Officer for the scheme, said: “The Shoreham Adur Tidal Walls scheme has a high profile within the local community as parts of Shoreham were flooded as recently as 2013.
“We were delighted to welcome pupils from Buckingham Park Primary to the scheme, which will reduce the risk of future flooding in Shoreham.
“The children seemed genuinely interested in the project and asked many pertinent questions about the work we are carrying out – they were a credit to the school and their parents.”
07 June 2017
