Links to Other Learning Resources

General

Cumbria Wildlife Trust Slow The Flow film series – Click here

Wild ideas about flooding

Watch these four short films, produced by the Environment Agency, explaining how we can slow the flow and help defend our communities from flood water.

Farmland – a natural solution to climate change.

Peatland – a natural solution to climate change.

Floodplains – a natural solution to climate change.

Rivers – a natural solution to climate change.

Even wilder ideas about flooding

These films have been produced as a sequel to the original award-winning films linked above. They are the result of a collaboration between Cumbria Wildlife Trust and Cumbria Innovative Flood Resilience project, funded by the Environment Agency’s £200m Flood and Coastal Innovation Programmes.

The films were made in partnership with the EA, RSPB, Wild Ennerdale Partnership, NFU and SEPA, who provided technical input and voiced some of the characters.

Wood you believe it, directed by Cadi Catlow (2024) – How woodlands are a natural flood defence.

Home and Dry, directed by Cadi Catlow (2024) – Helping wildlife at home.

Dam Fine Ideas, directed by Cadi Catlow (2024) – How nature is impacted by man-made structures on rivers.

It doesn’t have to cost the earth, directed by Cadi Catlow (2024) – How soil helps to prevent flooding.

Darcy’s Tale by Aardman (2025)

Aardman, the multi-award-winning studio behind the beloved Wallace & Gromit franchise, produced Darcy’s Tale to highlight the devastating impact of groundwater flooding. The short animation follows Darcy, a lonely mole searching for love, who is suddenly swept away by rising groundwater. It explores how groundwater flooding occurs and highlights the importance of communities and flood industry professionals working together to be better prepared.

The film supports ‘Let’s Talk Groundwater Flooding’, a new national network created by three groundwater flooding projects, funded by Defra as part of the £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programme, which is managed by the Environment Agency. The programme will drive innovation in flood and coastal resilience and adaptation to a changing climate.

For more information visit www.letstalkgroundwaterflooding.org

Geography Southwest Fieldwork Resources – Click here

Geography Southwest is a collaborative resource hub for students and teachers created by enthusiastic Geographers. There are articles, resources, and fieldwork site examples suitable for all ages, from investigating microclimates on school grounds to coastal fieldwork examples.

Save the Children & Lancaster University. Children, Young People and Flooding: Recovery and Resilience – Click here

A group of 30 children between the ages of 6 and 15 expressed their experience of flooding and the impact it had on their lives through the event and the recovery process. They discuss the feelings of fear and anxiety they experienced through the disruption. The research project also investigates what can be done to better support children and young people to prepare for a flood, during a flood event and supporting them if they’ve been affected by flooding.

Rochdale Borough Council – Climate Conversations – Think global, act local – part one – click here

Rochdale Borough Council have produced a short video which highlights some of the effects of climate change, including extreme weather and flooding. It also shows how Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) can be used to help manage the amount of waste water from your property and reduce the risk of flooding.

Activities

Canal and Rivers Trust. Canal and River Habitats Activities – Click here

This canal and river habitats activity pack covers life cycles, food chains and the various habitats which can be seen throughout watercourses. There are videos, games, quizzes, and colouring activities.

Climania Board Game – Click here

The free to play climate action game was a project concepted following COP26 between a group of young researchers in Birmingham at the end of 2021. The board game is educating and engaging and aims to inform the public of the role of the built environment in the climate emergency – specifically focusing on urban planning and retrofit.

Don Catchment Rivers Trust Learning Pool – Click here

This page has educational activity sheets, games like board games and card games, videos, and colouring sheets to help young people learn about rivers.

Mersey Rivers Trust Activities for Children – Click here

Activity sheets created by Mersey Rivers Trust which are suitable for young children. They include scavenger hunts, art activities and shelter games.

Reimagining Rivers Project (funded by Natural Environment Research Council – Flooding Fortune Teller – Click here

The fortune teller was developed by young people as part of this project and is a playful way to think about how we can all be prepared for flooding (KS2 upwards).

The Rivers Trust Schools Hub – Click here

Educational and interactive games suitable for children from 6 years plus.

United Utilities: H20 Hero Wordsearches – Click here

A pack of 4 wordsearches featured around the water cycle, think before you flush, water safety and a blank one to create your own.

United Utilities: Make Your Own Mini Water Butt – Click here

An experiment suitable for young children which involves making their own water butt which they can use to collect rainwater to reuse in the garden.

United Utilities: Quiz – What Kind of Water Saver Are You? – Click here

A set of questions which assesses how conscious you are over you’re the amount of water you use.

United Utilities: Think Before You Flush Experiment – Click here

An experiment suitable for younger children to show what happens to toilet paper and flushable wipes when they are flushed.

United Utilities: Yucky Gooey Sticky Sewer Monster Activities – Click here

Suitable for young children, this activity pack has three different colouring activities.

West Cumbria Rivers Trust River Wildlife Activity Sheets – Click here

Activity sheets which include crosswords, colouring, dot-to-dots, and quizzes.

West Cumbria Rivers Trust, The Adventurous Salmon – Click here

An interactive virtual flip book for young readers who can follow the journey of an adventurous salmon from tiny becks in Cumbria down to the sea.

Minecraft Education Edition

Minecraft Education Edition – RiverCraft – Click here

Created by the Environment Agency, RiverCraft allows students to explore and understand the key areas of the Environment Agency’s work through three games: managing flood risk; climate change and flooding and; environment and wellbeing.

Minecraft Education Edition – RiverCraft 2 – Click here

RiverCraft 2 allows students to explore and understand the key areas of the Environment Agency’s work through three games: nature based solutions, farming, irrigation and drought management and; SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems) and water efficiency in the home.

Key Stage 2

Canal & Rivers Trust: Rivers – Click here

This interactive resource pack follows the River Severn’s journey. The pack covers the history of the river, the lifecycle of the shad fish and how people help the shad to migrate to save the species from extinction. There is a video, activities and plans, fact files, teachers notes and games.

Countryside Classroom: Geography Resources for KS2 – Click here

Register to access a selection of free resources available for KS2 learning, covering water, climate change, fishing and more.

Stroud District Council: ‘The Sound of a River’ downloadable graphic comic – Click here

Written by Stroud District Council and illustrated by a local artist, the book tells the story of Monica, a girl who sets out to find out why her house has flooded. She travels back in time to learn that historical changes made to the way the river flows have not only resulted in the loss of wildlife and plants, but also increased the likelihood of flooding.

United Utilities: All About Water Adventure Pack – Click here

Suitable for KS2, this booklet provides information on the water cycle, water usage and water safety through engaging quizzes, match ups and experiments.

West Cumbria Rivers Trust: River School Online – Click here

A pack of 4 virtual lessons which cover key river terminology, freshwater wildlife, pond dipping and restoring a river ecosystem.

Key Stage 3

BBC Bitesize KS3 Rivers and Flooding Revision Pack – Click here

The BBC Bitesize resource features 5 revision lessons which cover the causes and impacts of flooding, storm hydrographs and case studies. At the end of the revision pack, there is a knowledge check test.

BBC Teach Geography KS3: Responses to Flooding – Click here

This film provides information for KS3 pupils on how humans can respond to flooding events and how the impacts can be managed or reduced. The hard engineering and soft engineering practices which can be used are explained and the pros and cons of each practice are given.

BBC Teach Geography KS3: River Flooding – Click here

A short film for KS3 pupils which explains the process from rainfall to flooding. It explains the importance of floodplains and the effects which can be seen when the floodplains have been altered or engineered.

Countryside Classroom: Geography Resources for KS3 – Click here

Register to access a selection of free resources available for KS3 learning, covering heather moorland management, climate change, agriculture and more.

Eden Rivers Trust: Information for Secondary School Teachers – Click here

A selection of online story maps which showcase case studies and works from across the catchment and online web exercises which focus on topography, hydrology and river catchment mechanisms.

Geography Southwest: KS3 Geography Resources – Click here

Geography Southwest is a collaborative resource hub for students and teachers created by enthusiastic Geographers. There are teaching suggestions, case studies and investigations relevant to KS3, including a resource pack created by the Royal Meteorological Society which covers weather and climate at a basic and extended level.

Met Office: Weather Resources – Click here

A pack of resources suitable for 11–14-year-olds which cover, forecasting and prediction, extreme weather, weather and climate, technology and innovation in weather, people in weather and climate and, activities and experiments. Each lesson pack contains presentation lessons, activity plans and experiments.

Lancaster University and University of Hull in partnership with the Environment Agency: Flood Stories – Click here

This series of lesson plans for KS3 & 4 uses 360 immersive video, based on the experiences of real flood-affected children, to explore the effects of flooding and identify action on flood risk. The work was developed by researchers from Lancaster University and University of Hull in partnership with the Environment Agency, teachers and young people.

Oak Teacher Hub Rivers Lesson Pack – Click here

A 13-lesson pack which explains the features of a drainage basin and how this system works, erosion and transportation processes through the river course, landforms and their characteristics, flood risk and management and responding to flood events.

Ribble Life Together River Home Learning – Click here

A course of 17 learning resources and activities which covers the river wildlife, invasive species, food chains, recording and researching river activity and climate change and sustainability. Most suitable for KS3, however they can be tailored for KS2 through to A level.

Royal Geographic Society: Are You Flood Ready? – Click here

Suitable for KS3 level, this 6-lesson resource pack teaches resilience in the context of water and flooding. There are teachers notes, activities like card sorts and preparing your own flood kit, powerpoint lessons and plans available for download. The downloads cover awareness and preparation for a flood event, case study examples, risk assessing, and alerting communities.

Key Stage 4 / GCSE

Countryside Classroom: Geography Resources for KS4 – Click here

Register to access a selection of free resources available for KS3 learning, covering water drainage systems, heather moorland management, climate change, agriculture and more.

Geographical Association teaching resources – Click here

Register to access these resources which have been produced by the Geographical Association and the Environment Agency. They focus on the: causes of flooding, effects of flooding, responses to flooding, river and coastal management strategies and case studies. Flood risk and flood risk management are seen through the curriculum from ages 14-19. The GCSE curriculum expects an understanding of river management, along with the causes, effects, and response to a weather hazard.

Geography Southwest: KS4 Geography Resources – Click here

Geography Southwest is a collaborative resource hub for students and teachers created by enthusiastic Geographers. There are teaching suggestions, case studies and investigations relevant to KS4 and GCSE level. There are resource packs created by former Geography teachers which cover higher level flood management, flood resilience, measuring storms and rainfall and flood disasters.

Lancaster University and University of Hull in partnership with the Environment Agency: Flood Stories – Click here

This series of lesson plans for KS3 & 4 uses 360 immersive video, based on the experiences of real flood-affected children, to explore the effects of flooding and identify action on flood risk. The work was developed by researchers from Lancaster University and University of Hull in partnership with the Environment Agency, teachers and young people.

Key Stage 5 / A Level

Countryside Classroom: Geography Resources for KS5 – Click here

Register to access a selection of free resources available for KS3 learning, covering flood management, drainage systems, soil quality and more.

Geographical Association teaching resources – Click here

These resources have been produced by the Geographical Association and the Environment Agency and focus on the: causes of flooding, effects of flooding, responses to flooding, river and coastal management strategies and case studies. The A level curriculum expects an understanding of the movement of water through the drainage basin, and an evaluation of the ways the coastline is managed.

Geography Southwest A Level Resources – Click here

Geography Southwest is a collaborative resource hub for students and teachers created by enthusiastic Geographers. The A Level resource pack contains case studies and resource packs suitable for high level Geography, such as drainage basin hydrology created by University of the West of England, Bristol.

Royal Geographic Society: London Under Water – Click here

Two lessons including teaching notes, powerpoint lesson, practice exam questions, articles, and activity sheets about the three major natural threats facing London, flood, drought, and heatwave.

The Flood Hub