Finding the Story Arc
Stories of Resilience
from the Aire Valley
The Project
Finding the Story Arc is a Leeds-based public engagement project supported by the University of Manchester. Working alongside the Aire Resilience Company (or ARC), we're trying to understand how businesses are preparing for climate uncertainty, and how we can work together within a changing world.
To do this, we've been listening to your stories, conducting interviews across the catchment of the Aire. We've heard from people about what helps them cope, and what keeps them going; the futures they're expecting, and the ones they want to see.
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Responding to these conversations, we've produced an interactive performance piece called Inundated - a darkly comic drama about facing the flood together, and moving on from the idea of 'bouncing back'. Weaving together stories from across the catchment, Inundated
holds space for its audience's hopes and concerns - and asks what might be possible with a little help from our friends.
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There's more information about ARC and Inundated below, but if you're interested in speaking to us about the project, or you'd like to talk to us about anything else, we'd love to hear from you. You can send us a message using this button:
Inundated
Inundated is a darkly comic drama about facing the flood together. You, the audience, are gathered at a meeting of the Business Improvement Network. Perhaps you’re hoping to trade contacts, or seek advice. But the guest speaker at today’s meeting has a strange story to tell, and an unusual proposal to pitch. So how will you, the network members, choose to respond?
Staged in intimate surroundings, with drinks available, Inundated is a fiction that tries to be real about the uncertain times we all live in. It tells the stories of real people, invites real conversation, and offers a real chance to network. With warmth and humour, the show explores the concept of resilience, and asks how we can bounce forward from setbacks, helping to keep each other afloat.
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Inundated will be performed at regular intervals during 2025 - usually at Crowd of Favours, in Leeds. If you'd like to attend a performance, or are interested in finding out more, please get in touch using the button below:
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The Aire Resilience Company
Our researchers are working in collaboration with the Aire Resilience Company (ARC) - an innovative new partnership between public- and third-sector organisations including Leeds City Council, the Environment Agency, the Rivers Trust, and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, developing nature-based flood resilience measures in the upper catchment of the River Aire. Simple interventions like planting trees and hedgerows, aerating the soil, and cultivating multispecies leys will slow the flow of rainwater from land to river.
ARC's interventions will reduce flood risk in Leeds, while also enhancing biodiversity - as well as forming a partnership of mutual support for a greener, safer Aire Valley.
​If you'd like to find out more about ARC, visit aireresilience.org.
Contact
Whether you're keen to talk climate resilience, or you'd just like to hear more about what we're working on, we'd love to hear from you.
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You can send us a message using this form, and we'll respond as quickly as we can - or if you prefer, you can connect with us on social media using the buttons below.