Celebrating the River and River Guardianship
About This Event
This special Rochester gathering is a full day of celebration, creativity and river guardianship along the River Medway.
At its heart, the day focuses on youth leadership, interspecies thinking and collective care for the river ecosystem, exploring what it means to design a more nature-friendly future alongside the Medway and the more-than-human world it supports.
The River Medway is not just a landscape, but a living system of relationships between water, wildlife, people, history and place. This day invites participants of all ages to listen, learn, imagine and act in ways that support the river’s future wellbeing.
Through storytelling, shared meals, creative making, citizen action and ceremony, we’ll come together to celebrate the voices of young people and the role they play in shaping environmental futures.
What to Expect
🌊 Explore river guardianship through youth-led discussion and creative ecological thinking
🧠 Engage with ideas of interspecies councils; imagining decision-making that includes nature itself
🧤 Take part in practical action to care for the river environment
🍲 Share food inspired by the Medway and local landscape
📖 Listen to river and pilgrim stories rooted in place, memory and ecology
🎨 Contribute to collaborative banner-making celebrating the river and community
💬 Take part in reflection and ceremony by the river
🤝 Meet others working toward a healthier, more connected Medway
This is a family-friendly, community-focused day welcoming all ages, backgrounds and levels of experience.
Schedule
🧤 9:30 PM – 11:00 AM | Litter Pick: Caring for the Medway
We begin with practical action along the river. Working together, we’ll remove litter from the river environment to help protect wildlife, improve habitats and reduce pollution entering the water system. This is a hands-on opportunity to make an immediate and visible difference to the Medway.
All equipment will be provided where possible.
Meeting location: Rochester Pier
🧠 11:00 AM - 1:00PM | Youth-Led Interspecies Council & Letters to the Earth
This imaginative and reflective session is led by young people exploring what it means to include the more-than-human world in decision-making.
Through the concept of an interspecies council, participants will consider how rivers, animals, plants and ecosystems might be given a voice in shaping the future.
As part of this, we will co-create “Letters to the Earth” - collective written reflections, messages and responses directed to, or from, the river. These may express gratitude, concern, hope or commitment, forming a shared act of ecological listening and response.
This session blends creativity, dialogue and ecological imagination to reframe river guardianship as something deeply relational.
Location: Rochester Castle Gardens
🥪 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM | Shared Lunch
A relaxed break to eat, rest and connect with others. Bring your own lunch and enjoy informal time by the river. This is a chance to reflect on the morning’s themes and share conversation in a welcoming community space.
Location: Rochester Castle Gardens
🎨 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM | Banner Making: Celebrating the Medway
A collaborative creative workshop where we design and make banners celebrating the River Medway, youth voices and river guardianship. These banners will express shared values, hopes and messages gathered throughout the day, and may be used in future river gatherings and pilgrimages.
No artistic experience is needed. Everyone is welcome to contribute.
Location: Rochester Castle Gardens
💧3:00 - 5:00 PM Water Ceremony
We will gather for a shared water ceremony, rooted in ancient practices. This reflective moment invites gratitude, connection and intention-setting with the Medway. It is a chance to acknowledge the river as a living presence and to reflect on our responsibilities as its guardians.
Location: Rochester Castle Gardens
🍲 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM | Dinner: Fed by the Medway and River and Pilgrim Stories (Donation-Based Booking Required: LINK)
A communal meal inspired by the river itself.
This shared dining experience celebrates seasonal food, local connection and the idea of being nourished by the Medway and its landscape. It is a space for conversation, rest and community connection.
We will close the day with storytelling rooted in the pilgrim experiences, and listen to the river herself. Stories of place, memory, ecology and lived experience are shared and explored together, reflecting on how rivers shape human and more-than-human lives, and how we, in turn, shape the river.
BOOK HERE > LINK.
Location: LV21, Chatham
Accessibility
This is a family-friendly event with accessible elements throughout. Please contact organisers in advance if you have specific access needs so support can be arranged.
Cost
Free event
(Some elements require donation-based booking)
Part of the River Medway Pilgrimage
A wider series of events exploring river guardianship, ecology, culture and community along the River Medway.
We warmly welcome everyone to join us in Rochester for a day of imagination, care and celebration of the river and its future.