Children as agents of change in flood preparedness

Full project title: As the climate changes: Intergenerational action-based learning in relation to flood education

Duration: 20 June 2013 to September 2017

Project lead for CESR: Dr Sara-Jayne Williams

Other UWE Bristol researcher: Professor Lindsey McEwen 

Funder: UWE Bristol

This project explores how seven  to nine year old children can play an active role in flood education and household preparedness. Despite being one of the groups most affected by future climate change, children are often overlooked in flood risk communication. This research set out to change that.

Using action based, participatory methods, the project worked directly with children to co create a creative, inclusive flood education resource designed to spark curiosity, build understanding, and encourage preparedness behaviours.

Key findings

• Children’s learning: Young children are fully capable of understanding flooding, its impacts, and how to prepare for emergencies.
• Intergenerational learning: Children often shared what they learned at school with their parents, helping raise awareness at home.
• Family dynamics: The success of this child to parent learning depended heavily on family relationships and whether parents empowered their children’s voices.
• Risk perception barriers: Some parents were disengaged from or dismissive of flood risk, limiting how much children’s messages influenced household preparedness.

Why it matters

The project shows that children are powerful agents of change, capable of improving household resilience when given the right tools. However, for flood preparedness education to be truly effective, it must address not only children’s learning but also adult attitudes, risk perception, and family communication patterns.

• Williams, S., McEwen, L., and Quinn, N. (2017). As the climate changes: Intergenerational action-based learning in relation to flood education. The Journal of Environmental Education 48 (3): 154–171.
• Williams, S., and McEwen, L. (2021). ‘Learning for resilience’ as the climate changes: discussing flooding, adaptation and agency with children. Environmental Education Research, 27(11), 1638–1659. 

For further information about the project, please contact Dr Sara-Jayne Williams (sara3.williams@uwe.ac.uk).