Remembering the Rights of Rivers | Sat 12 Sept, 12-5pm @ St Katharine’s Docks, London | Aboard Raybel on the Thames
Tickets here
Join us for a unique exploration of the Rights of Rivers, hosted on the River Thames and co-hosted by Friends of the River Medway, Raybel Charters, and the river itself.
Together we will explore what it means to truly feel the river as alive; to listen to it, and speak for it; to learn about the rights of rivers movement from leading expert Paul Powesland; and to discover what it means to give back to the river.
12-2pm: Listening to the River & Letters from the River
In collaboration with the Museum of Consciousness, we will return to what indigenous peoples - the very communities who inspired the Rights of Rivers movement - have done for thousands of years. We will listen to the river. The session will be split into three phases:
1. Hydrophone Listening w/ Karina Townsend: using underwater microphones we will literally hear the river's voice: its currents, its creatures, and its hidden sound world beneath the surface.
2. Embodiment & Stillness: coming back into our own senses, we will sit quietly with the river, and allow space for whatever arises: sensation, image, feeling, or memory, without needing to shape it into words yet.
3. Letter From the River: The session will end with an invitation to write a letter from the river; tuning in and feeling into what the River Thames might say in response to the problems it faces.
2-2:30pm: Light Refreshments. Please bring a packed lunch.
2:30-4pm: The Rights of Rivers Movement: What It Means for Rivers in the UK
This talk explores the rights of rivers movement and where it stands today, ending with a 30-minute practical Q&A on how to bring it into your local context. Leading expert Paul Powesland brings the legal lens, while Zofia Page, Director of Friends of the River Medway, brings the community-building lens.
4-5pm: Water Ceremony
Led by Ellen Kittredge, this session offers a direct connection to ways of giving thanks that have been practiced for thousands of years. Through the Andean mystic tradition of despacho (meaning to "dispatch"), we will send our prayers out to the river, offering our thanks and wishes. Together we'll co-weave a beautiful ceremony with flowers and seeds, gifting to the river in gratitude for hosting our discussions, and planting seeds for the rights of rivers to continue to flourish.
Get your tickets: here.