+44 (0)1579 372140 info@wrt.org.uk

Welcome to Project SPONGE!

The Somerset SPONGE team is working with communities across Somerset to take inspiration from nature and transform our towns!

By creating and improving green spaces in a clever way, we can gain many benefits. We can soak up water when it rains, make a little more space for wildlife, and create places which can be enjoyed by everyone.

We are working with local people, gathering the ideas and priorities of everyone who lives and works nearby, to design and create spaces which mean a lot to the community.

So, over the next three years, we will dig, plant, sow and grow to make towns in Somerset a little greener, more resilient to flooding and even happier – and you should be part of it! You can get involved in choosing places to make a change, designing what you want to see and be part of delivering that change.

Somerset SPONGE is part of SPONGE 2020, a European project funded through the ERDF, and is delivered by Westcountry Rivers Trust and Somerset County Council. It also receives additional funding and support from other partners – head to the About section to find out more. 

What's the project all about?

Find out why the project is important, why we are working in Somerset and where our focus areas are…

How can I get involved?

SPONGE is all about working together to make our local towns a little greener. So we need your help!

Where can I find more info?

Learn more about the science behind SPONGE, and get help to make changes in your home or neighbourhood

Latest news from SPONGE…

Gardens revisited – September 2019

In September, we had an opportunity to revisit some of the completed project gardens, to see how they had matured  In late 2017, we helped build some rain planters with the residents at a sheltered housing complex  - nearly 2 years on it was great to see it still...

Workshops and Celebration Days with our 5W schools!

Following on from the excellent planting days, in July it was time to celebrate with the pupils, and introduce the finished gardens to the parents. Following on from the excellent planting days, it was time to celebrate with the pupils, and introduce the finished...

Garfield Weston Foundation

SPONGE2020 is funded in great part by the European Union, but relies on match funding to complete our exciting work.  We have been very fortunate to recently receive generous support from the Garfield Weston Foundation who are fantastic donors providing support...

Community planting day at Middleway

Thank you to everyone who came along to our community planting day for the new raingarden at Middleway. The sun was out and the tea and cake was flowing - a perfect day to finish off the raingarden! The raingarden, complete with bench and stepping stones, is now home...

Planting days at our 5W schools

Now that the Sustainable Drainage Systems have been installed at the two schools we've been working at under the 5W project, it is time to add some plants! We've got the children at the schools involved in planting up the features, using a variety of plants which add...

Another raingarden is underway…!

Today, we got started constructing a raingarden in Middleway in Taunton. The contractors, Whites Landscapes, have got a lot of digging to do to create a raingarden which will allow water from a nearby rooftop to soak away into the ground, rather than going down the...