River Stewards in the Making

The First Rochdale Scout Group is getting involved in an exciting new project to become Junior River Stewards and to work towards their Environment Partnership Award in conjunction with Rochdale Borough Council and Groundwork.

Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers, have received an activity session during which they discussed the risks of flooding, looked at maps of the area’s flood zone and discussed what to do in the case of a flood.

On Monday, 12 May, as part of the next stage of the award, the Scouts were shown the stretch of River Roch they had been assigned to monitor any issues, identify any potential problems and report them to the Environment Agency.

Sarah Parkington, Rochdale Borough Council’s Community Flood Resilience Officer, said: “This project identifies Rochdale’s active young citizens and will provide them with the skills to support their community."

Suzanne Walton, Groundwork’s Education and Communities Manager said: “Each member of the Scout group has been interested to learn about the local flood risks and are keen to become Junior River Stewards.”

The National Flood Forum and Rochdale Borough Council are setting up Flood Forums in East Central Rochdale and are looking for local residents and business owners to get involved.  If you would like to know more please contact Sarah Parkington on 07858 382506.