Last night, we attended the 2023 Edie Sustainability Awards along with the best of the sector and leading corporate partnerships. All the nominations were of a very high standard and there were many impressive projects showcased in the room.

The Rivers Trust was shortlisted for both the Nature and Biodiversity Project of the Year for the Wyre NFM Investment Readiness Project, and the Collaboration and Partnership of the Year award for our work with Coca-Cola.

We were honoured to take home the trophy for Nature and Biodiversity Project of the Year for our work with The Wyre Rivers Trust and Triodos Bank on Natural Flood Management (NFM).

The project, which recently came to the end of its pilot phase, aims to significantly reduce downstream flooding to communities through collaborative effort delivered by ourselves, Wyre Rivers Trust, Environment Agency, United Utilities, Triodos Bank, Co-op Insurance and FloodRE with funding from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

The partnership is exploring and implementing solution-based funding opportunities for implementing nature-based solutions such as woodland, wetland, and hedgerows around the River Wyre and its tributaries. Flooding has had a significantly negative impact on the local community there, and the long-lasting effects of flooding can lead to health problems and poverty.

Initial modelling of the River Wyre catchment has shown that development of approximately 70 hectares of Natural Flood Management features could mitigate the frequency of flooding to up to 120 properties in Churchtown. These could lead to large cost saving to multiple beneficiaries including the water company, Environment Agency, local authorities, insurance industry, locally based businesses and homeowners.

The Rivers Trust Technical Lead Dan Turner said: “I think the Wyre NFM project demonstrates the power of collaboration. In order to tackle our biodiversity and climate crisis, we have to work with a range of sectors with their different skillsets and perspectives. Hopefully, the Wyre acts as inspiration of what is possible and a mechanism to accelerate nature recovery at scale. Huge thanks to all that worked and dedicated so much time and passion in this project - especially Dan Hird, Tom Dyke, and Tom Myerscough.”

Well done to everyone shortlisted and to those who won awards!