Coastal Streams Climathon

The webinar took place in the afternoon of 18 November. It included a range of speakers who provided vital insights into ongoing work relating to Northumberland’s coastal streams, land use, farming, and community engagement:

• Melanie Thompson-Glen, Head of Business and Innovation at NICRE, introduced the climathon process and the aims for the session.
• Duncan Glen, CEO of the Northumberland Rivers Trust, spoke about ongoing efforts in waterways management and strategies within the region.
• John Baker Cresswell, farmer, landowner and a trustee of Northumberland Wildlife Trust, introduced the local context and the role of agriculture in climate resilience.
• Clare Deasy from Northumbrian Water, shared insights from the Thriving Catchments initiative which takes a collaborative approach to improve water quality and river health.
• Jenny Holmes, from the TweedWATCH project, discussed the role of youth engagement as a way to develop communities’ environmental stewardship of rivers and waterways.
• Jane Davies, from Coquet River Action Group, explained an ongoing, community-led, citizen science project to investigate the health of the River Coquet.

The webinar also featured a breakout group session halfway through where participants shared initial questions and ideas about the climate resilience and water quality of Northumberland’s coastal streams. Key themes included:

1. Public engagement and outreach, including community engagement, education for young people, domestic sewage advice, and leveraging existing community action groups.
2. Making use of existing organisations and programmes, such as water quality monitoring, farming advice and financial incentives, research projects, and developing more peer-to-peer advice.
3. Making use of existing data through increased availability and accessibility of modelling and research project data to make sure it is useable and shareable.
4. A need for clear messaging around shared goals that are properly resourced, achievable, aligned across organisations, and supported by accessible, neutral information.
5. Gaps in existing data and information that could be addressed include a one-stop-shop for relevant information, water flow maps and the development of wetlands on farms.
6. Engaging with farmers and landowners to break down barriers to implementing environmental solutions and, where possible, incentivise these activities.
7. Pressures and barriers to address included balancing yields and sustainability with soil health, temperature rises, changes in sea level, storage, cultural barriers, and economic pressures including a need for funding and investment.
8. “How might we…?” questions started to be developed, such as around managing polluted water, co-operating with and involving farmers, future-proofing challenges and solutions, and engaging and supporting landowners and publics.