Please suggest activities and events – we’d love to hear from you: rcggroup@ciwem.org.uk
Our annual Rivers and Coastal Group Study Trip brings together river and coastal professionals, both current and aspiring CIWEM members, for a mix of lectures, workshops, site visits and social activities. They are informative, educational and good fun is always had by all! In previous years we have run a mix of local and international visits, including Leeds, Durham, Lancaster and The Netherlands.
Our next Study Trip is in North Wales on 11 October 2023. Further details will be available on the CIWEM events calendar and shared with RCG members and social media.
If you have any suggestions for future study days, please get in touch at rcggroup@ciwem.org.uk.
In 2023, we co-hosted a day of the
conference with The Rivers Trust. This focused on Nature-based
solutions - scaling up ambition, evidence and delivery. We created a
working group and collaborated with The Rivers Trust to find and book speakers,
plan workshops and chair panels. We are keen to support early careers
professionals especially and held drop-in sessions on chartership and the RCG as
well as delivering a successful networking challenge breakfast session and a
discussion on skills and apprenticeships.
Jack Lewin prize
Every year the RCG committee presents the Jack Lewin prize to someone who has made a significant contribution to the rivers and coastal sector. In the past it has been presented at the Rivers & Coastal Group Conference and this year, it was presented at the Flood & Coast Conference.
History of the Prize
Formerly known as the RCG Chairman’s prize, it was renamed in 2010 after Professor Jack (Jacob) Lewin. Lewin, born in 1922 in East Prussia as it was then, was a survivor of Kristallnacht in 1938, and came to Britain the following year on the Kindertransport aged 16. Lewin learnt English at night school and started out as an apprentice draughtsman. He became one of the world’s leading experts in the design of hydraulic gates, writing the definitive book ‘Hydraulic Gates and Valves’ in 1995.
Lewin was an enthusiastic supporter of CIWEM and the RCG and donated a section of original wooden elm water pipe from his days with the Metropolitan Water Board to the RCG. The water pipe became the trophy for the Chairman’s Prize.
Following Lewin’s death in January 2010, the RCG chose to rename the Chairman’s prize in his honour. The name plate on the Elm Pipe trophy is now full-up of previous winners so is on display at CIWEM HQ. A new trophy was manufactured, and with Jack in mind, was made from parts of one of the UK’s famous flood gates - the Thames Barrier.
Recent recipients of the Jack Lewin prize
Mott MacDonald nature-based solutions technical director Emma Wren MCIWEM C.WEM
"I really wanted to make a difference, not just through my career, but in my life - I want to leave a legacy of a world that's better than the one we have now."
Find out more about Wren's contribution to the sector here.
- 2022-2023 – Emma Wren for her commitment to striving for better understanding and management of river environments, both in her work to promote sustainable approaches and bring partners together, and for living those values through her commitments to volunteering and grassroots work.
- 2021-2022 – Bryan Curtis for their long history of contribution to Coastal Partnerships and coastal planning and issues, as well as contribution to the CIWEM Rivers and Coastal Group
- 2019 – Multi-agency group coordinating the emergency response to the Toddbrook Reservoir (Whaley Bridge) dam spillway collapse
- 2018 – Chris Broome for a lifetime contribution and member of CIWEM East Midlands Branch committee for more than 15 years