Over the past few centuries, our relationship with rivers – and nature more broadly – has grown distant. Rivers have been treated as resources to extract from, or as problems to manage. They’ve become background to human activity, rather than part of the living fabric that sustains it.
And, the results are clear – the River Medway, along with countless others, are suffering.
Pollution, chemical runoff, sewage overflows, litter, and over-extraction are not isolated incidents. They are symptoms of a wider culture of disconnection — a throwaway mindset that treats water as limitless and rivers as waste channels. Slowly and quietly, this has eroded the River’s health, turning once-clear, free-flowing waters into a murkier, burdened current.
But, it hasn’t always been this way.
Not so long ago, rivers were places of reverence. Burial sites along the Medway suggest that offerings were once common signs of respect and reciprocity. British folklore is alive with references to water as a portal to the otherworld: mysterious, life-giving, and sacred. Rivers were not scenery – they were central to human existence, both physically and spiritually.
And, in many parts of the world, they still are.
Across cultures, people speak of rivers as kin – not only in poetry, but as a reflection of lived experience and connection. Water is used sparingly, often no more than 20 litres per person per day, with deep gratitude for its presence. By contrast, in the UK, we use an average of 140 to 150 litres per person each day – just in the home. And, more often than not, we don’t even think about it: we turn on the tap and water magically flows. The worst part? A third of our household consumption goes towards flushing the toilet – sending clean, drinkable water into ageing systems that too often carry pollution back into the River.
So, we must ask ourselves:
What changed?
And, more urgently:
What can we do now?
Many of us will know what it feels like to be in a friendship where one side gives more than the other. As humans, we’ve drifted into that imbalance – taking more than we give. Now, it’s time to ask a different question: What can we offer in return?
For us, being a friend means showing deep care, love, and reverence. It’s about slowing down, paying attention, and truly listening to the River; it is about recognising that the River is not just a feature of the landscape, but a living presence deserving of the same compassion, tenderness, and reciprocity we offer in our closest human relationships.
Like any true friendship, becoming a friend to the River takes time. It’s through steady attention, gentle care, and quiet acts of kindness that we begin to truly know her. This is a commitment not just to protect, but to honour – to walk alongside the River in companionship rather than control. This is about learning the true art of friendship.
To become a Friend of the River is to remember something ancient – not a new idea, but a very old way of being. A way in which rivers were honoured, not harmed. Where they were seen not as sewers or backdrops, but as living beings. To be a friend of the River means rebuilding a relationship, while also taking action to prevent more harm.
We don’t need to wait for governments or companies – the power is in our hands. Through everyday choices, collective action, and a shift in mindset, we can become protectors and partners to the River once more.
Below, we’ve put together a list of actions – both big and small – to help guide that journey. Whether it’s reducing chemical use at home, speaking up for the Rights of the River Medway, or simply spending time beside the water, every gesture matters.
Choose an action, make your pledge, and add it to our live Pledge to the River Medway. Be sure to share it on social media too – tag us @formedway and use the hashtag #FriendOfTheMedway. Let’s create real change for the River. Together.
*No fairies needed
Before today’s chemical-laden detergents and personal care products, people used natural ingredients – clay, herbs, oils – things they could pronounce and trust. Now? Most cleaning products are filled with synthetic compounds like -ates and -linones – some so persistent they’re called “forever chemicals.” These toxins don’t disappear. They flow from our sinks into rivers, harming fish and rewriting ecosystems. One fifth of male fish in UK rivers now have female traits because of the chemicals in our products – and it hasn’t been a choice. Our rivers are filled with a cocktail of chemicals and high levels of nitrates and phosphates – nutrients often linked to household cleaning products. It’s time to turn the tide.
➡️ Take the Pledge: Switch to non-toxic, biodegradable cleaners.
Industrial farming douses crops with synthetic pesticides and fertilizers – and it doesn’t stay on the fields. Rain carries these chemicals straight into rivers, poisoning aquatic life. The solution? Eat like the earth matters. Organic, regenerative, and local farming keeps rivers clean and ecosystems thriving by reducing the amount of harmful pollutants, improving soil health (reduces runoff and erosion), and increasing biodiversity. And, it doesn’t have to break the bank: check out Zofia’s free guide on How to Eat Organic on a £30 Budget.
➡️ Take the Pledge: Eat sustainably, protect rivers.
Many popular flea treatments for pets contain pesticides so toxic, they’re banned in farming. Yet we’re still putting them on our cats and dogs. The problem doesn’t stop there: these chemicals enter waterways when it rains, or when your pet swims or gets a bath. There, they wreak havoc on aquatic life, killing off tiny insects that fish and birds rely on, throwing ecosystems out of balance. It’s a hidden environmental cost that we hardly hear about, but nature pays for it every day.
➡️ Take the Pledge: Switch to natural flea care.
Just like the chemicals in flea treatments for pets, many garden pesticides are laced with toxins so potent they’ve been banned from farms. But somehow, they still find a home in our backyards. These are the sprays and granules marketed to keep our roses perfect and our lawns weed-free – but few people realise the hidden cost. When it rains, these potent chemicals don’t just soak into the soil – they’re swept into storm drains, flowing straight into rivers and streams, poisoning the insects that pollinate our food, disorientating bees, harming birds, and wiping out the tiny bugs that keep ecosystems alive. It’s like setting off a chain reaction with every spray – one that ripples far beyond the garden fence.
➡️ Take the Pledge: Grow a pesticide-free garden.
Learn more about natural gardening here.
Each person in the UK uses 142 litres of water a day. One-third of that just to flush the loo – with drinking-quality water. Worse still, overflows send waste into rivers, polluting precious ecosystems. And yet, what we call “waste” is not truly waste at all. Human waste, when safely composted, becomes a rich source of nutrients – capable of restoring soils, not polluting waterways. The problem is not what we produce, but how we’ve been taught to discard it.
Compost toilets provide an off-grid, sustainable alternative that helps nourish our depleted soils. And they’re no longer the simple bucket systems of the past – companies like WooWoo have innovated modern designs that look and feel just like conventional toilets, making eco-friendly choices easier and more appealing. If you live in a rural area, have an outdoor space large enough for a composting bin, and are feeling radical – this could be the perfect solootion.
➡️ Take the Pledge: Install a compost toilet.
Celebrating the River is more than just a joyful day out; it’s a chance to rekindle our connection with the living water that sustains us. Long before the Romans arrived, the Indigenous peoples of these lands honoured rivers as sacred, recognising that their lives were deeply woven into the flow of these waterways. That ancient bond has frayed over time, and today, we’re feeling the consequences – in polluted waters, lost wildlife, and a growing disconnection from the natural world.
A Riverside Celebration is an invitation to change that. It offers people a meaningful way to engage with the river – perhaps for the first time – not just as a backdrop, but as a vital presence worth knowing and protecting. In doing so, we plant the seeds of a new relationship, one that can ripple outward, inspiring a new generation of river guardians.
➡️ Take the Pledge: Celebrate the River.
You don’t need a lab coat to make a difference. All across the UK, ordinary people are testing water, tracking pollution, and holding those who harm our rivers to account. This is citizen science – a powerful movement that’s transforming how we protect our waterways.
Our Ripple Effect team has uncovered numerous sources of pollution that might have gone unnoticed without this community effort. The power to create real change is in our hands – and it’s as simple as stepping outside, visiting the river, and paying attention.
➡️ Take the Pledge: Be a citizen scientist.
Corporations have legally-recognised rights. Rivers don’t. Around the world, communities and movements are rising to change that. They’re demanding that rivers be recognised not as property or resources, but as living beings with legal rights: the right to flow freely, to remain clean and vibrant, to nurture life in all its forms.
This shift is more than law – it’s a reawakening to the profound relationship between humans and water. It’s a recognition that rivers are not objects to be used or owned; they are living systems worthy of respect, care, and rights. When we shift the way we speak about rivers – from inanimate to alive and worthy – we change the way that we see them. And as our perception changes, so does our language.
We don’t need to wait for an authoritative body to acknowledge those rights. We can each declare it boldly, now: Rivers have Rights.
➡️ Take the Pledge: Recognise the Rights of the River Medway.
