Rewilding Arcadia: 21st-century solutions to manage increasing flood risk along the river Thames

Jason Debney is the Coordinator of the Thames Landscape Strategy – a not-for-profit partnership to conserve and enhance the remarkable Arcadian Thames between Weybridge and Kew. Jason has raised £23m for works on the ground much of which has been delivered through local volunteer action.

The new initiative – Rewilding Arcadia – explores ways in which nature-based solutions can be used to manage the functioning floodplain that includes protected parks, gardens and open spaces. What is wet now is going to get a lot wetter; places that for centuries have been managed as dry environments are going to have to change to embrace flood water – the Thames is reclaiming its floodplain back and at the moment no one is ready for this change!