High water in the schoolyard?

The Dutch are largely unaware of the danger of serious flooding in their area. Geography teacher Adwin Bosschaart has developed teaching materials to encourage secondary school students to think about the vulnerability of the Netherlands to flooding. The teaching package won the Water Innovation Prize in 2015.

Serious game

The teaching material comprises seven lessons and is intended for the third year of secondary education (HAVO/VWO). The content relates to the sequence of events during a flood (high water > dike breach > flood water > consequences > prevention and disaster response). The focus is on a web application that allows students to explore what happens when dikes or dunes break in their own environment: theflood risk atlas. On a digital map, they can click on dikes and see how the land behind them floods within a few hours or days. The accompanying teaching materials also include historical maps, old photos, and stories about floods in the past. Fieldwork on and around the dike is also part of the program. In this way, students are encouraged to think about the threat of flooding and the need to prepare for it.

The lesson series is tailored to three different sub-areas in North Holland:

• Coastal zone of North Holland
• West Friesland and Wieringen
• Zaan region and Waterland

The lesson series was created with support from the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, the Hollands Noorderkwartier Water Authority, and the Rivierenland Water Authority. For more information, see the video below (from 1:29m):