C A S E S T U DY
The art of natural flood management Artists’ engagement in a project in Calderdale is creating a new approach to tackling the climate emergency. Benjamin Fenton
An exciting new project in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, is bringing together internationally renowned artists to create a series of artworks that respond to the climate emergency by acting as natural flood management (NFM). These artworks will help reduce flood risk in Calderdale, using established and proven NFM techniques to help slow the flow of rainwater into the valley during heavy rainfall.
The impact of climate change is felt in everyday life in Calderdale in many ways. Its steep-sided valleys and riverside communities make flooding a perennial threat, with devastating floods in 2012, 2015 and 2020. In winter 2019–20, 37% of all residential properties which flooded in England were in the Calder Valley. The council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and have made climate action a priority. Calderdale’s Climate Action Plan is a key part of this, and NFM sits within the Plan’s theme of working with land and nature to protect the borough in the long term. This builds resilience – a major focus of Calderdale’s ‘Vision 2024’ place strategy. NFM is simply replicating natural processes to reduce flooding. This can be done by restoring moorlands so they hold on to rainwater, creating dry ponds or building ‘leaky dams’ which temporarily hold back
water in times of high rainfall. The ‘Art as NFM’ project, as it is known, is led by newly formed community interest company Confluence Arts CIC. Comprising a team of passionate people with a wealth of experience working in the arts, the group also enjoys support from a range of partners including Calderdale Council. The artist launching this innovative project is none other than Andy Goldsworthy OBE, an English sculptor who produces site-specific work inspired by and working with nature. His piece reflects the local landscape, using locally sourced materials to create unique dams within a watercourse. 'I hope to create a social, environmental, community-driven art project that attempts to address the problem of flooding, but also articulate people's concern, and connection to the land,' Goldsworthy said of his project.1 1. Slow The Flow volunteers working at Hardcastle Crags. © Samuel Townsend
1.
20
¹ Quoted by Confluence Arts CIC.
