Sam Townsend is one of Slow The Flow’s longest serving volunteers, which inspired his academic journey, Sam has him recently submitting his MRes thesis on the impact of leaky dams on water quality and sediment retention in June 2024. Sam was then appointed as a Trustee with a focus on monitoring. In this blog, Sam details his Trustee Journey so far.
Introduction: my journey so far
GCSE Geography had always been my favourite subject at school and I was inquisitive to find out how Physical Geography (for example, a river) can have an impact on Human Geography; such as the socio-economic impact a flood event can have on the local community.
Whilst applying for universities, I was looking for volunteer opportunities to include in my UCAS statement, and it just so happened that my A-Level Geography Teacher, Dr Whittall, mentioned Slow The Flow in a lesson on flooding. I decided to get in contact with Slow The Flow and volunteer on a Sunday morning at Hardcastle Crags and the rest is history!
At University I wanted to explore the “middle-ground” of Geography (both Physical & Human), and my local interest in the Calder Valley, so I decided to study Geography BSc locally at the University of Huddersfield.
One of my first leaky dam building sessions (lad in the blue shirt on the left) Credit: National Trust
From Volunteer to Secretary
Completing my studies at a local university meant I was fortunate to become a regular volunteer at Hardcastle Crags; building leaky dams, slowing the flow whilst speaking to like-minded individuals from the Calder Valley (and afar) about how flooding has impacted people’s lives.
As I progressed with my studies, I began to support Slow The Flow more with their social media/comms, as photography is a hobby I enjoy and it seemed like a great opportunity for my own professional development outside of my studies.
Whilst completing my Master’s By Research, I had a lot more flexibility with my time and often attended conferences and meetings on NFM, locally and on a national level in my role as a Researcher at the University of Huddersfield and as an Associate for Slow The Flow (another voluntary role available, if you have an interest in helping in a particular way, but without necessarily wanting to be a trustee).
When I submitted my thesis in June 2024, I was invited to be a Trustee in charge of monitoring. Then shortly after was made Secretary. In my role, I am in a privileged position to be the first person to see and respond to emails received by Slow The Flow. It is always quite exciting, with new opportunities arising daily.
Broadhead Clough – Monitoring
Some of you may know from volunteering that Broadhead Clough is a site of outstanding natural beauty, and is regarded as one of the “wildest” sites managed by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. The area has recently been put on the map after the BBC2 show, Cragg Vale Coiners; the gang leader David Hartley frequently traversed these woods near his home.
Together, the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and Slow The Flow volunteers have supported the installation of new Natural Flood Management (NFM) woody leaky dam structures at Broadhead Clough. The primary aim is to reduce the tributaries’ peak flow during a heavy rainfall event, holding the water back in the headwater catchment and increasing the time it takes for the water to travel to the River Calder, reducing flood risk downstream. Slow The Flow are Educators in nature-based solutions (NBS) to flooding, and want to continue exploring and gathering more evidence of the effectiveness of ‘leaky dams.’
Slow The Flow was very fortunate to have been connected with Mainstream Measurements, an organisation who specialises in portable flow meters and are supporting our study. Mainstream Measurements’ help has been invaluable and we are incredibly thankful to the team for all their support with the installation and troubleshooting.
Mainstream flowmeters feature a self-monitoring capability which simplifies installation and reduces maintenance by detecting any variation in performance.
Broadhead Clough has a unique microclimate. For an accurate and impactful investigation, I have also lived every GCSE Geography student’s dream, and managed Slow The Flow’s investment in a Weather Station to collect rainfall and other data, which we can then compare against the flow data to investigate the impact leaky dams have on the delay in peak flow.
‘Evidence behind NFM’ conference
For the last 6 years of my academic career I have been passionate and driven by the evidence behind NFM. The more data we have to support the notion that NFM can be an effective solution, the more investment we hope to see in funding and resources (see our 5 key messages).
It was brilliant to attend a conference dedicated to looking behind monitoring of NFM, organised by the West Cumbria River Trust. A general consensus at the end of the conference was to see an improvement and more more practicable examples and more large scale projects.
Junction 36 Exhibition Hall, Kendal Conference: The evidence behind Natural Flood Management.
Future
The last 9 months of being a Trustee at Slow The Flow has been an incredible experience, and as of December 2024, I officially started my role as secretary. Whilst I have been a volunteer for Slow The Flow for many years, it is unbelievable to gain further insight into the amount of work done behind the scenes for our charity on a voluntary basis.
Kate Dearden MP and Sam Townsend at the end of the MP Visit to Hardcastle Crags in January 2024.
From my own personal experience, I would highly encourage any young person to get involved with a charitable organisation like Slow The Flow. Not only will you have the chance for self-development, but very rewarding experiences, some once in a lifetime opportunities!
After reading this blog, if you are interested in becoming a Trustee or Associate for Slow The Flow, please contact secretary@slowtheflow.net. At the time of writing, we are particularly interested in Trustees wanting to take a Fundraising or People Management role – but always keen to hear from enthusiastic individuals with something to offer.