Planter boxes have started to fill up at Pilgrim Academy

Late last year, North East Lincolnshire Council and its delivery partner, Equans, announced the awarded share of £6.7m for new Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme.

Since then, sustainable drainage retrofit techniques to mitigate flooding have been put in motion.

In February, planter boxes were installed during half-term at the following four schools: Pilgrim Academy, Oasis Academy Immingham, Western Primary and Wybers Wood Primary.

Planter boxes also known as Roof Irrigation Planters, have pipes connected to them to allow rainwater from the roof to discharge directly into a planter bed, this helps to increase flood resilience by absorbing water and slowing the flow of water down.

The first boxes of plants arrived at Pilgrim Academy on Wednesday 15 March and time was spent productively with students to fill these planter boxes with fresh new plants. The boxes of plants include shrubs, herbs, succulents and grasses.

Educational boards will be added in due course besides these planters to educate school children and local residents on the purpose and benefit of these planters to make people more aware about sustainable drainage systems features.

Councillor Stewart Swinburn, portfolio holder for environment and transport at North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “It has been a fantastic day at Pilgrim Academy seeing the students excitedly plant new plants in their new beds. This is a great start to the Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme, and I look forward to seeing more sustainable drainage systems features carried out in the borough.”

Andy Smith, drainage and coastal defence team manager at Equans, added: “It’s great to see these sustainable drainage features come to life. The planter boxes provide multiple benefits to the local area, such as reducing pollution, reducing rainwater runoff flow rate and increasing biodiversity by creating new habitat for pollinators such as butterflies and bees. It also provides an educational opportunity for children at the schools to learn more about sustainability.”