Co-designing Water Resilience

Ballyshannon has always been shaped by water. The River Erne has influenced the town’s landscape, culture and economy for centuries, while the surrounding rivers, lakes, wetlands and green spaces form an important network of natural assets. Today, this relationship with water is also central to how Ballyshannon responds to climate change, biodiversity loss, water quality pressures and flood risk.

ACT was commissioned by the Ballyshannon Regeneration Group to undertake a Blue Green Infrastructure Audit, establishing a baseline understanding of the town’s existing blue and green spaces and identifying opportunities for Blue Green Infrastructure (BGI) and Nature based Solutions (NbS). The project was funded through the Community Water Development Fund 2025. The aim was to create a practical foundation from which the community can identify, fund and deliver future projects that respond to local environmental challenges and priorities.

Mapping Ballyshannon’s blue and green infrastructure

A key output of the project was the development of a comprehensive 3D Blue Green Space Audit Baseline Model, mapping Ballyshannon’s existing blue and green infrastructure and helping to understand the relationships between the town, its waterways, wetlands and green spaces. The model was developed as both an analytical and engagement tool, making complex environmental information more accessible and creating a shared spatial understanding of Ballyshannon’s natural systems.

The audit was informed by existing environmental evidence, including water quality and flood risk information, alongside Ballyshannon’s existing regeneration, active travel and public realm initiatives. This helped place the project within the wider ambitions for the future of the town.

Local knowledge shaping the audit

Community knowledge was central to the process. A workshop at St Anne’s Hall and a thematic walk through Ballyshannon gave local people the opportunity to share knowledge of the town’s blue and green spaces and identify key issues and opportunities. Challenges included road flooding, rainwater management, pollution and runoff, disrupted natural water flows and pressure on habitats. These insights informed the BGI Baseline Model and shaped the audit’s priorities and proposed interventions.

From challenges to opportunities

The audit identified 36 potential Nature based Solutions, developed through the community workshop and subsequent project research. These were organised into two interconnected workstreams responding directly to the challenges and opportunities identified across Ballyshannon.

Strengthening Ballyshannon’s Blue Infrastructure focuses on improving natural water quality and urban water management. It includes three projects: Watercourse Protection, The SuDS Initiative and The Rainwater Planter Project.

Strengthening Ballyshannon’s Green Infrastructure focuses on protecting and restoring biodiversity while improving access to nature. It includes four projects: Ballyshannon Community Biodiversity Action Plan, Ballyshannon Pollinator Project, Ballyshannon Pocket Gardens and Ballyshannon Food Forest Initiative.

Each project brings together a range of potential interventions, from riparian buffers, Sustainable Drainage Systems and rainwater planters to pollinator planting, pocket forests, orchards and community food growing. The projects are intentionally modular, allowing individual actions to be progressed independently or brought together as part of a wider town wide programme.

Working with nature

At the heart of the audit is a simple principle: many challenges facing Ballyshannon can be addressed by working more effectively with natural systems. Blue Green Infrastructure connects natural and semi natural spaces so they can perform multiple functions. Nature based Solutions build on this by using natural processes to address flooding, water pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change while creating healthier, more attractive places for people.

For Ballyshannon, this means looking at water, ecology and public space as parts of the same system. A rain garden can manage stormwater while creating habitat. Changes to the management of grassland can support pollinators while improving access to nature. Restoring vegetation alongside a watercourse can support biodiversity while helping protect water quality.

A roadmap for action

The audit is intended as the first step in a longer process, providing Ballyshannon Regeneration Group and the wider community with a framework for moving from ideas to delivery. Rather than proposing that everything happens at once, the report recommends combining visible, relatively low-cost actions such as pollinator zones, rainwater planters and pocket gardens with the development of larger projects including SuDS retrofits and a community food forest. It also recommends establishing a BGI Delivery Steering Group, developing a Community Biodiversity Action Plan, engaging landowners and businesses and incorporating education and citizen science into future projects.

Importantly, the audit also connects these ideas with potential funding and knowledge resources, helping the community understand how projects could move towards implementation. The result is a community informed roadmap for strengthening Ballyshannon’s relationship with its natural environment, where individual projects can build over time into a connected network that improves water quality, supports biodiversity, strengthens climate resilience and creates better access to nature.

"This project is about imagining what Ballyshannon could become if its rivers, wetlands and green spaces were recognised as some of the town’s most valuable infrastructure. By working with nature and building on local knowledge, there is a real opportunity to create a healthier, more resilient and more biodiverse town for generations to come." - Inna Stryzhak, Project Lead, ACT.