Rising waters | Rooted solutions
Join the 2025 Living Labs – shaping the future of natural flood management
We’re inviting university students to join the 2025 programme. Whether your interests lie in environmental science, geography or community engagement, there’s scope to make a tangible contribution.
Recruitment is underway for the 2025 Living Labs cohort! Each year, students from the University of York work with Ousewem and partners to explore practical questions about natural flood management (NFM) – helping build the evidence base that informs decisions and shapes policy.
Real research, real impact
Coordinated by Professor Piran White, the Living Labs give students the opportunity to apply their research skills to NFM challenges with genuine implications for the environment and local communities. Previous projects have ranged from analysing how trees influence flood risk to exploring how community volunteering supports mental health and resilience.
Highlights from this year’s projects
- understanding how trees help manage water – MSc student Matilda Finch adapted a plant physiology model to study how woodland affects peak river flows through evapotranspiration. Her findings will help identify which tree species and planting strategies offer the most potential for reducing flood risk
- exploring the wellbeing benefits of NFM – MSc student Amelia Czop combined literature review and interviews with volunteers from Slow the Flow in Hebden Bridge. Her research show that community involvement in NFM can improve wellbeing, strengthen social connections, and boost local resilience
- investigating leaky dams and flow regimes – continuing into his second year, Sustainability Science student, Owain Wells, is assessing how leaky dams influence flow regimes in the upper catchment. By collecting flow rate data above and below NFM features, he’s examining how these interventions affect peak flow and lag time
Why take part
As a Living Labs student, you’ll:
- work with academics, practitioners, and land managers on real-world NFM questions
- develop skills in research design, data analysis, and communication
- contribute to work that supports climate resilience, nature recovery, and community wellbeing
Looking ahead
We’re inviting undergraduate and postgraduate students to join the 2025 programme. Whether your interests lie in environmental science, geography, health, or community engagement, there’s scope to make a tangible contribution.
Learn more
- read more about 2024 Living Labs
- explore previous projects
- see how student research has tackled real-world NFM questions
Apply now
Join us in shaping the future of NFM. Contact the University of York’s Living Labs team today to explore how your NFM questions can be transformed into impactful research projects.
Interested 2025 students are asked to please contact the University of York Living Labs lead, Professor Piran White, via email: [email protected].
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