We were awarded the Climate Resilient Schools contract by the Greater London Authority (GLA) to design, build and install approximately 800 planters across London's most flood prone schools. 

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has collaborated with the Department for Education and Thames Water to focus on 100 London schools to make them more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

The measures will also include educating children on the importance of nature in combating global warming.

The Climate Resilient Schools project will prioritise the top 10 % of London’s schools with the highest flood risk and those that fall in the worst affected areas on the Flood Risk Map.

According to City Hall over a fifth of all London schools suffer from rainwater flooding, causing playing fields to be waterlogged. When the water enters the buildings then this can cause a school to close down completely.

Due to the ever increasing volatility of our climate change we are experiencing heavier and more frequent rainfall, therefore flooding is only going to get worse.

Across the UK in one year alone flooding in schools cost over £12m in damages and resulted in 400,000 lost pupil days.  Those were the last record figures and are from 2007, we expect today's figures to be at least double those.

SuDS planters

Meristem's Rain Garden SuDS planters (also known as gutter or stormwater planters) are a sustainable flash flood and stormwater management solution with an internal water reservoir and slow release drainage system.

Many flash floods are caused by unprecedented heavy rainfall, combined with failing defences or insufficient or blocked drainage systems that cannot absorb the surface flows. This is when SuDS planters are most effective and, as these incidents become more frequent, they offer a more affordable solution when ground level retrofit options are inappropriate or too costly.

Suds planters are designed according to the principles of the Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS*).

• Manage rainwater runoff from domestic and commercial roofs, reducing the impact of flash flooding situations due to heavy rainfall, by slowing the flow of surface water. This significantly reduces the risk of surface water flooding, particularly in urban areas with sloping roofs.

• The SuDS slow release and overflow pipes are fed directly to the building drains, and thus prevent overwhelming the drainage grates and grids of the building and adjacent road, and consequent surface water flows.

• Provides a cost effective, low maintenance, aesthetic living purification, water storage and slow release system, as an alternative to expensive and higher maintenance SuDS groundwork alternatives

• Suitable for retro fitting as well as for new housing developments, tackling SuDS solutions where space is at a premium

• By managing runoff and capturing stormwater, as well as filtering pollutants, SuDS planters improve the quality of surface water flowing into streams and rivers.

• Based on a living ecological system, SuDS planters also bring amenities and biodiversity to new and existing spaces.

NOTE: SuDS rain gardens are not designed to cope with the less frequent groundwater flooding, which happens when water levels below ground rise above normal near-surface levels due to prolonged periods of rainfall, which can last for weeks and months.

* SuDS: Sustainable drainage systems include a range of techniques for holistically managing water run-off to reduce the amount of surface water that flows into the sewers from a development. In general, SuDS mimic natural systems and manage rain close to where it falls. SuDS not only reduce the burden on our sewerage system, but they can also help wildlife to thrive in urban areas, with many of the drainage systems being intrinsically wildlife friendly.