Corrie Grafton

Thames Natural Flood Management Advisor

About me

Moving to the Gloucestershire countryside at a young age kick-started my love for both animals and the natural environment. Since then, I have spent time appreciating and trying to conserve wildlife by volunteering with organisations such as WWT and the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. This passion, alongside my interest in biological systems, led me to study an undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences. Following a few years travelling and gaining a greater appreciation of the value of natural habitats and the threats they face, I completed an MSc in Environmental Policy and Management.

Following my studies, I worked at WWT as an aviculturist assisting with a project aiming to boost the population of Curlews in the Severn catchment using head-starting techniques. After this short contract, I spent time working as an Ecologist at a small consultancy and most recently worked at the Westcountry Rivers Trust as a Natural Capital Advisor helping to support landowners deliver a suite of Natural Flood Management (NFM) interventions to reduce flood and drought risk at a catchment scale. This role brought my attention to the multiple benefits that nature based solutions deliver, and how they should increasingly be integrated into strategy and policy to increase climate resilience.

My role

My work at WWT will help to further the evidence base and uptake of NFM in UK rural settings. My role involves the management of the Thames RFCC project which aims to facilitate local authorities in the uptake and delivery of NFM in high flood risk areas. This will involve building strong relationships with Lead Local Flood Authorities, key stakeholders and communities to not only show the benefits of NFM measures, but highlight funding opportunities and suitable areas for NFM delivery. This role will also involve the dissemination of outcomes from the project to further help the roll-out of NFM across the UK in rural settings.

Experience and interests

• Natural flood management/nature based solutions
• Stakeholder engagement
• Ecological surveying and practical conservation
• Collaborative working
• Environmental research