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…
Exciting new SuDS features at Holway Park Primary
Our project partners OTA Water have been busy installing some exciting new Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) at Holway Park Primary School! The school now has to great new features in its central courtyard. On one side, a cloud covers a small water tank. When it...
Great progress at Lyngford Park Primary School!
The raingarden at Lyngford Park Primary School is progressing well. The cobble channel has been laid, raised planter built and raingarden dug out, lined and filled with fresh soil. Soon it will be ready for planting up by the pupils at the school! The 5W project...
Raingarden construction gets started at Lyngford Park…
Today saw the start of building the raingarden and sustainable drainage system at Lyngford Park Primary School! The team from Whites Landscapes were keen to get going in the lovely weather. The system will take water from the flat roof by the school reception, into a...
SPONGE2020 partners meet up
Last week in Somerset we hosted our partners in the SPONGE 2020 project at beautiful Dillington Hall. We are working with organisations from across the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium. Each partner works on their own pilot, where they are co-designing and constructing...
Review of our work in Taunton so far…
We've been working in Taunton for the Somerset Pilot of SPONGE2020 for two years now, and to celebrate verything that has been going on we have brought together the work we've been doing into a single document. The review shows the data and evidence we assessed in...
Students were overflowing with ideas at Bishop Fox’s School!
In recent weeks, our SPONGE team has taken the fight against flooding to Bishop Fox’s School in Taunton. After an assembly on how we can use sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) in our towns and cities, year 8 pupils set to work designing raingarden planters that will...