Young people's role in incidents to be celebrated in Somerset

Somerset Prepared will celebrate the county’s young people at its annual event day this month. 

Councillors and community groups will join the celebration at Somerset Prepared Community Resilience Day on Wednesday 21 October at Millfield School, Street. 

The free event brings together the Environment Agency, Somerset Rivers Authority, Somerset Council and others to help communities become more resilient in emergencies.  

This year’s focus is on young people, exploring how younger generations can bring fresh ideas to emergency planning alongside experienced volunteers. Youth-themed sessions include Hampshire Young People’s Emergency Response scheme, and the National Flood Forum with local flood action groups on engaging schools. 

The keynote address will be delivered by Martin Parham, whose work focuses on involving young people in community resilience planning. 

The event will end with the Community Resilience Awards. Image: last year's group winners, the Martock flood team

Martin Parham, a lecturer in disaster management at The University of Manchester, said: 

Young people have so much to offer when it comes to building resilient communities, but too often they’re left out of the conversation.  

My experiences from work in Manchester and the Caribbean tell me that when you give young people a genuine role in resilience planning, they bring energy, ideas and connections that have great potential benefits.  

I’m looking forward to sharing that experience in Somerset and seeing how it can help shape the work happening here.

Workshops will show people how to create emergency plans, prepare ahead of wildfire, and understand weather patterns such as El Niño. A demonstration will show what three days’ worth of food and water for a household looks like. Somerset Council will also provide an update on the Somerset Flood Resilience Fund.