Connor walks us out the door, Isabella gliding on anticipation between the reserved pair of elders flanking her. The square is abuzz with anticipation for the big town meeting, and the mayor ushers them all inside. A string of interruptions and missteps building until a roaring storm, as the meeting falls into chaos. Until that is, an unlikely figure stands up to speak.

Connor is joined by Arjan and Esmee to try and make sense of the chaotic meeting. They talk about the inspiration for these characters, how the meeting in the story is different from the best practices of today, and the importance of working with young people to help determine the future of our salt marshes.

This series was developed and produced by the Story Engineer, Connor McMullen, as is distributed in collaboration with the Dutch International Storytelling Centre.

The Living Dikes Project is a consortium of Universities, research institutes, and Dutch Water Boards and provinces. In this episode we are joined by Arjan Konijn, a PostDoc at Groningen University and Esmee Bannenberg, a PhD candidate in the Policy Analysis section of the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management.

Special thanks to the sound artists whose Creative Commons sounds and recordings helped bring our stories to live. Most of the birds, animals, and nature sounds you hear in these stories are from the collection of Klankbeeld, the Dutch Sound Museum.