A host of schools, volunteers, parish councils, and local residents have been honoured at the inaugural ‘Flood & Toast – Resilience & Innovation Community Awards’, in recognition of outstanding contributions to local flood resilience, nature-based action, and climate education across the Harpers Brook and Wootton Brook catchments of Northamptonshire.
The event, led by the RAIN Project (Resilience and Innovation Northants) and supported by ten project partners and sponsors, brought together community stakeholders, from parish councillors to primary school pupils, to celebrate the individuals and groups quietly driving local climate action.
Award Winners – Flood & Toast 2025
Climate-Resilient Schools Award (sponsored by the Environment Agency)
Gold: Oakley Vale Primary School – for their work in educating the children on flood risk and the changing climate, with assemblies, tree planting and the installation of multiple SuDS planters.
Silver: Woodland View Primary
Bronze: Wootton Primary School
Young Resilience Champion (sponsored by HR Wallingford)
Winner: Tommy Brumpton – for designing and building a RAIN garden as part of a home-schooling project.
Community Friend Award (sponsored by Nene Rivers Trust)
Winners: Paula Addision-Pettit and Steph Beckett from Brigstock Village – recognised for their unwavering support to Harpers Court residents (sheltered housing).
Nature’s Champion Group Award (sponsored by Woodland Dwelling)
Winner: Wild About Wootton – for working tirelessly to improve the flora and fauna in the Wootton catchment
Certificate of Merit: Oakley Vale Rangers – for providing free music lessons to young adults who volunteer with tree planting and litter picking.
Flood Resilient Farmer Award (sponsored by Landscape Enterprise Networks)
Winner: Hugh Shrive – for exemplary support with wetland creation, cover cropping and other natural flood management (NFM) measures.
Special Mention: Steve Armstrong – for longstanding NFM leadership in Wootton
Flood Action Group Award (sponsored by Resilico)
Winner: Brigstock Village Hall Committee – for tireless efforts to protect and fundraise for a vital community space.
Flood Action Individual Award (sponsored by Watertight International)
Winners: Brian, Dave, Jennifer and Katie from Harpers Court – recognised for stepping-up during flood events in Brigstock to support their friends and community.
People’s Choice Award (sponsored by BioScapes)
Winner: Nick Perkins – for supporting elderly neighbours during flood events, despite his own property being impacted.
Nature’s Champion Individual Award (sponsored by Ebsford Environmental)
Winner: Mick Lorkin – for leading tree-planting efforts, mentoring volunteers, and driving local environmental action.
Parish Support Award (sponsored by 3Keel)
Winner: East Hunsbury Parish Council – for a real ‘can do’ attitude with supporting residents, and embracing RAIN’s Property Flood Resilience, natural flood management and community planting schemes.
Mentor Award (presented by Alan Ryan, Programme Lead of the RAIN Project)
Winner: Bruce Durham, Harborough Woodlands – recognised for his outstanding community resilience leadership for the Market Harborough area and his positive influence in supporting all communities facing flood risk.
Sarah Parr, Project Manager for RAIN said: “This afternoon was a celebration of the kindness, innovation and community spirit that defines flood resilience work. From hedgerow planting and SuDS schemes to neighbours checking on each other in a storm, every action matters – and today we recognised just some of the amazing efforts helping to make our region more resilient.”
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The Flood & Toast Awards were made possible through the support of RAIN’s generous project partners who kindly sponsored each award category, including lead sponsor Watertight International. Special guest Mary Long-Dhonau OBE, also known as ‘Flood Mary,’ was in attendance to co-host the event.
Concludes Sarah Parr: “We created the Flood & Toast Awards to shine a light on the people and groups who make flood resilience happen, not through grand gestures but through consistent, practical action and a deep care for their communities and local environments.
“From school children planting trees to neighbours supporting one another through flood events, to volunteers digging in week after week – these awards are about recognising those efforts. It’s been a joy to celebrate that and we’re incredibly grateful to all our partners and sponsors for helping make the awards possible.”
Looking ahead to 2026
If you are a Northamptonshire business or organisation and have been inspired by the climate resilience work of local people and communities, and would be interested in either participating in future natural flood management projects, or the 2026 Flood & Toast Awards, contact project manager Sarah Parr for more information: sarah.parr@westnorthants.gov.uk.
RAIN is also looking for local people to help lead Northamptonshire flood action groups: retired civil engineers, ecologists, farmers, planners, community organisers - anyone who understands how water shapes our places or has the motivation to make a positive change. Together we can deliver practical, nature-based flood mitigation. Help us drive change.
The RAIN Project (Resilience and Innovation Northants) is funded by Defra as part of the £200 million Flood and Coastal Innovation Programmes, which is managed by the Environment Agency.
For more information, visit www.rainnorthants.co.uk.