Bioregional health
Riverkeepers
Are you a Riverkeeper? Riverkeepers look after their rivers in many different ways, all over the UK. We love our rivers… being on, in or beside them. When something isn’t right Riverkeepers take action as part of a group whose aim is holding to account, or by calling the Environment Agency’s incident hotline, or posting online. As part of a growing network of citizen scientists, Riverkeepers take samples from the river to track, and advocate for, its health.
Riverkeepers is a grassroots movement fostering direct action for river conservation across the UK's 1,500 river systems.
This project was designed to have three parts: 1) a River Charter, 2) the practice of riverkeeping as both a practical duty and a cultural shift toward valuing waterways as living systems rather than resources, and 3) a River Council to address issues that arise.
The initiative emphasises:
- Pollution reporting: Immediate response to environmental incidents via the Environment Agency hotline (0800 555 111) and social media.
- Citizen science: Regular water sampling to track pollutants and assess river health.
- Community stewardship: Encouraging creative, localised care for waterways through litter cleanups, habitat restoration, and public education.
- Collaborative action: Formation of Friends groups, like Friends of Ernesettle & Budshead Wood, and partnership between groups, like the Dart, the Cam, the Don and the Ouse, to implement management plans with policymakers and explore the concept of River Rights.
The initiative responds to urgent challenges including plastic pollution, biodiversity loss, and agricultural runoff exacerbated by extreme weather. It also seeks to address modern environmental pressures through:
- Crisis response: Mitigating impacts of disruptions like Covid or post-Brexit regulatory changes on water systems.
- Intersectional approach: Blending ecology, art, and education to rebuild human-waterway relationships.
- Scalable solutions: Local actions like mulching orchards or reporting industrial waste contribute to national river health goals.
