Floods + Me

Floods + Me: Education in a Changing Climate

Project Overview

This project aims to understand children and young people’s flood experiences and its impact on their education. The Floods + Me project began with a pilot study examining youth-led participatory research on the 2022 floods in Lismore and received a Vice Chancellor Flood Funding Award of $25,000. In 2024, this research expanded to conduct another pilot study in the Maribyrnong region of Victoria with funding provided by the Maribyrnong City Council’s Flood Recovery Scheme of $8,759. In 2025 the project will seek to expand further with an ARC Linkage grant.

Investigators

Professor Amy Cutter-Mackenzie-Knowles, Professor Lexi Lasczik, Professor Lauren Rickards, Dr Lisa de Kleyn, Dr Blanche Verlie, Dr Katie Hotko, Associate Professor David Rousell, Dr Liberty de Rivera, Dr Helen Widdop-Quinton, Dr Yaw Ofosu-Asare, Dr Jeanti St Clair, Dr Simone Blom, Dr Chantelle Bayes.

The objectives of the project are:

• To understand and map the flood experiences of children and youth in the Northern Rivers;
• To support education and community services in understanding flood experiences of children and young people;
• To enable post-flood recovery practices that centre child and youth experiences, by co-designing a ‘Floods + Me Education framework’ and co-creating a ‘Floods + Me Community Exhibition’; and,
• To support post-flood recovery by situating children and young people’s flood experiences within global contexts and evidence-based practices in climate disaster research, and building cross-institutional collaboration to further support research and community recovery in this field.

Community/Industry Representatives

Broad invite to children and young people across Northern Rivers, including:

• The Living School
• Trinity College
• Homeschoolers
• Youth theatre groups

Other Academic Collaborators/Researchers:

• David Rousell (RMIT, Climate Impact Observatory)
• Blanche Verlie (University of Wollongong - UoW)
• Professor Lauren Rickards (La Trobe University, Climate Change Lab)

Floods + Me Exhibition and Education Framework

Exhibition: Flood Rats: After the Flood

The exhibition at SCU Lismore Learning Centre features the collaborative works of 16 young people and 14 researchers. It showcases their lived experiences after the Lismore floods, capturing the emotional, social, and environmental impact through creative expression. Art is used as a medium for storytelling and recovery.

Educative Framework for Policy Makers

The project team is developing a framework based on insights from Flood + Me to help policy makers better support young people in future flood events. This framework advocates for youth-centred disaster recovery strategies that consider emotional and social needs, not just infrastructure and logistics.

Conversation Article: Kids' Voices on Flood Recovery

An article published in The Conversation shares what young people need to recover after the floods. They spoke about the importance of emotional support, time to process their trauma, and simple acts of care like hugs and community connection. They also emphasised the need for schools and communities to play a role in recovery plans. This work highlights why young voices must be included in disaster recovery programs.

View the article here.