Natural Infrastructure on the Canadian Prairies’ Post

🌊 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐲? 🤔 Here’s a simple demonstration that explains part of the story: 🌱 👉 On the left, we see bare soil, and on the right, we have forested soil with roots holding everything together. When water is poured over these two, the difference is 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞. The bare soil? 🌧️ It washes away, quickly turning into murky water. The forested soil? 🌳 It absorbs and retains the water, letting clear water come through. This is one of nature’s ways of flood management. 🟢 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭? The answer lies in 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 🌿 𝐕𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬: Plants and their root systems hold soil in place and allow rainwater to slowly infiltrate into the ground. 🌳 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬: Healthy vegetation can reduce runoff, slow down water, and decrease the peak flood level. 🏞️ 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Simply put, maintaining and restoring natural areas is key to managing water better and protecting our cities from flood disasters. Of course, vegetation alone isn't the only answer. Flooding is complex and influenced by many factors: urban planning, soil types, climate patterns, and more. But working with nature can be a powerful part of the solution. Sure, flooding happens. BUT, it doesn’t have to devastate our communities. We can work with nature, not against it. Let's get the conversation started! 🎥 Unknown (DM for credit). *𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘦. ----------------- 👇👇👇𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔, 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆: 🔍 Follow Karoline Qasem, PhD, PE, PMP, CFM, #20MinRule 🔔 Click the bell icon on my profile 👍 Like 🔁 Repost --------------- #FloodMitigation #NatureVsFlooding #WaterManagement #NatureBasedSolutions #RestoreNature #EnvironmentalEngineering #UrbanFlooding #SustainableCities #ClimateAction #GreenInfrastructure #FloodResilience #StormwaterManagement #EcoFriendly #SoilConservation #Hydrology #SustainableDevelopment #CommunityResilience

🌊 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐲? 🤔 Here’s a simple demonstration that explains part of the story: 🌱 👉 On the left, we see bare soil, and on the right, we have forested soil with roots holding everything together. When water is poured over these two, the difference is 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞. The bare soil? 🌧️ It washes away, quickly turning into murky water. The forested soil? 🌳 It absorbs and retains the water, letting clear water come through. This is one of nature’s ways of flood management. 🟢 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭? The answer lies in 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 🌿 𝐕𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬: Plants and their root systems hold soil in place and allow rainwater to slowly infiltrate into the ground. 🌳 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬: Healthy vegetation can reduce runoff, slow down water, and decrease the peak flood level. 🏞️ 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Simply put, maintaining and restoring natural areas is key to managing water better and protecting our cities from flood disasters. Of course, vegetation alone isn't the only answer. Flooding is complex and influenced by many factors: urban planning, soil types, climate patterns, and more. But working with nature can be a powerful part of the solution. Sure, flooding happens. BUT, it doesn’t have to devastate our communities. We can work with nature, not against it. Let's get the conversation started! 🎥 Unknown (DM for credit). *𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘦. ----------------- 👇👇👇𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔, 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆: 🔍 Follow Karoline Qasem, PhD, PE, PMP, CFM, #20MinRule 🔔 Click the bell icon on my profile 👍 Like 🔁 Repost --------------- #FloodMitigation #NatureVsFlooding #WaterManagement #NatureBasedSolutions #RestoreNature #EnvironmentalEngineering #UrbanFlooding #SustainableCities #ClimateAction #GreenInfrastructure #FloodResilience #StormwaterManagement #EcoFriendly #SoilConservation #Hydrology #SustainableDevelopment #CommunityResilience

🌊 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐲? 🤔 Here’s a simple demonstration that explains part of the story: 🌱 👉 On the left, we see bare soil, and on the right, we have forested soil with roots holding everything together. When water is poured over these two, the difference is 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞. The bare soil? 🌧️ It washes away, quickly turning into murky water. The forested soil? 🌳 It absorbs and retains the water, letting clear water come through. This is one of nature’s ways of flood management. 🟢 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭? The answer lies in 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 🌿 𝐕𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬: Plants and their root systems hold soil in place and allow rainwater to slowly infiltrate into the ground. 🌳 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬: Healthy vegetation can reduce runoff, slow down water, and decrease the peak flood level. 🏞️ 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Simply put, maintaining and restoring natural areas is key to managing water better and protecting our cities from flood disasters. Of course, vegetation alone isn't the only answer. Flooding is complex and influenced by many factors: urban planning, soil types, climate patterns, and more. But working with nature can be a powerful part of the solution. Sure, flooding happens. BUT, it doesn’t have to devastate our communities. We can work with nature, not against it. Let's get the conversation started! 🎥 Unknown (DM for credit). *𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘦. ----------------- 👇👇👇𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔, 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆: 🔍 Follow Karoline Qasem, PhD, PE, PMP, CFM, #20MinRule 🔔 Click the bell icon on my profile 👍 Like 🔁 Repost --------------- #FloodMitigation #NatureVsFlooding #WaterManagement #NatureBasedSolutions #RestoreNature #EnvironmentalEngineering #UrbanFlooding #SustainableCities #ClimateAction #GreenInfrastructure #FloodResilience #StormwaterManagement #EcoFriendly #SoilConservation #Hydrology #SustainableDevelopment #CommunityResilience

🌊 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐲? 🤔 Here’s a simple demonstration that explains part of the story: 🌱 👉 On the left, we see bare soil, and on the right, we have forested soil with roots holding everything together. When water is poured over these two, the difference is 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞. The bare soil? 🌧️ It washes away, quickly turning into murky water. The forested soil? 🌳 It absorbs and retains the water, letting clear water come through. This is one of nature’s ways of flood management. 🟢 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭? The answer lies in 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 🌿 𝐕𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬: Plants and their root systems hold soil in place and allow rainwater to slowly infiltrate into the ground. 🌳 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬: Healthy vegetation can reduce runoff, slow down water, and decrease the peak flood level. 🏞️ 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Simply put, maintaining and restoring natural areas is key to managing water better and protecting our cities from flood disasters. Of course, vegetation alone isn't the only answer. Flooding is complex and influenced by many factors: urban planning, soil types, climate patterns, and more. But working with nature can be a powerful part of the solution. Sure, flooding happens. BUT, it doesn’t have to devastate our communities. We can work with nature, not against it. Let's get the conversation started! 🎥 Unknown (DM for credit). *𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘳. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘦. ----------------- 👇👇👇𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔, 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆: 🔍 Follow Karoline Qasem, PhD, PE, PMP, CFM, #20MinRule 🔔 Click the bell icon on my profile 👍 Like 🔁 Repost --------------- #FloodMitigation #NatureVsFlooding #WaterManagement #NatureBasedSolutions #RestoreNature #EnvironmentalEngineering #UrbanFlooding #SustainableCities #ClimateAction #GreenInfrastructure #FloodResilience #StormwaterManagement #EcoFriendly #SoilConservation #Hydrology #SustainableDevelopment #CommunityResilience

With severe flood and drought events becoming increasingly common, especially here in Australia, the economic costs of disaster recovery efforts is becoming untenable. Can nature-based solutions (NbS) offer a cost-effective alternative that not only reduces the impacts of these weather events, but also provides social, cultural, and economic benefits to communities? While the answer to this question would seemingly be an overwhelming yes, there is very little data to reflect the efficacy of rewilding in terms of water flow across rewilded landscapes and, suprisingly, many insurance agencies and governments are not yet exploring the enormous potential that NbS offer in terms of reducing long-term economic and social risk. A new study from the Queen Mary University of London shines a light on this issue. The research synthesised outcomes from over 100 published studies and found that the evidence suggests that rewilding can lead to reduced flood magnitudes, as well as ensure water retention during drought events. Despite these promising signs however, the authors note that, "rewilding drives multiple interacting ecosystem changes in the same location, and that future research must account for this complexity." What that means in simple terms is that we need data, data, and more data in order to drive further government, corporate, and philanthropic funds to nature-based solutions like rewilding. At Positive Change for Marine Life, we aim to bridge this knowledge gap through our Rewilding our Floodplains program. As the study concludes, addressing the vital need for ongoing monitoring and analysis of rewilding's impact on water flows in river catchments, which consider both flood and drought events will lead to informed decision-making and effective implementation of rewilding initiatives to bolster flood and drought resilience. In a world that is increasingly being affected by anthropogenic climate change and all that it brings, we believe that nature is the solution. Take a look at some of the high resolution drone mapping that our team recently put together showing a before (December, 2023) and after (February, 2024) image of one of our Rewilding our Floodplains Australia sites. (Note: all of the light coloured areas in middle of the 'after' shot are mulch for the 2,000+ native trees and shrubs that we planted with the help of our good friends at Greening Australia). You can read the full study from QMUL here: https://lnkd.in/gdmMtU_9