River Reflections
Celebrating two years of community engagement
As we mark our second anniversary – having launched on September 25th, 2002, with the River Festival in partnership with the Railway Land Wildlife Trust – it feels fitting to reflect on our progress.
We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved in a relatively short time and of the partnerships we’ve forged with so many local people and organisations who tirelessly work to connect with and be part of a healthy river community.
Looking ahead, we’re part of a growing groundswell nationwide to address the nature crisis, with our waterways receiving unprecedented national attention. Next month, a March for Clean Water in London will see a coalition of NGOs, community groups, and river champions come together to reclaim the right to clean and abundant water for all.
Guided by our key pillars – Celebrate, Learn, Act – we’ve been on a very eventful journey downstream this past year, sometimes meandering but often rushing headlong through the rapids.
We’ve conducted a series of consultations, workshops, and public events with key stakeholders and communities along the Ouse.
The River People Tour
October 2023 – May 2024
This tour was a compact version of the Festival, designed to widen engagement by reaching people living along the entire length of the river and highlighting the variety and specific features the river offers from source to sea. These one-day, free, inclusive events in Balcombe, Barcombe, Lewes, and Newhaven brought together 30 organisations and attracted approximately 1,090 visitors.
Key activities included our Rights of River Charter workshop and Community River Mapping, which collected over 300 contributions on people’s thoughts, concerns, and connections with the river. The events also showcased local initiatives and offered a variety of themed talks and debates, along with music, boats, and plenty of cake!
River Ecology 101 training
We kickstarted our Citizen Science programme this year with four free River Ecology 101 training days for Ouse locals. The response has been astounding, with 80 participants trained by the end of September and a waiting list of 40.
The course covered:
🐟 Basic ecology principles
🐟 River ecology – what a good river looks like
🐟 The current state of the River Ouse
🐟 Problems and issues around the water environment (and how to spot them)
🐟 How to get involved in taking action for the river
🐟 Comprehensive list of open data sources, including water quality, water levels, species presence and more
🐟 How to conduct a basic river survey – including land access and essential Health & Safety and biosecurity – to contribute to our river map
Rights of Rivers
After Lewes District Council passed a motion in February 2023, Love Our Ouse began leading the development of a Rights for the River Ouse Charter in collaboration with Lewes District Council and other key stakeholders. This initiative is part of a rapidly growing global movement that redefines our relationship with nature, recognising its intrinsic value and its right to exist, regenerate, and thrive.
We organised a summit in November 2023 to bring together over 44 organisations, including local authorities, river groups, statutory bodies, academics, environmentalists, water utility companies, legal experts, farmers, and local communities across the UK. Nine rivers were represented. The program consisted of talks and workshops exploring themes such as: What mechanisms are available to implement Rights for the River? What does a Rights of River Charter look like? Who speaks for the River? And what are stakeholders’ responsibilities?
News of the Lewes motion gained significant attention. We’ve been asked to deliver talks, be interviewed for articles and podcasts, and contribute to academic research projects. We’re now part of an emerging UK network, which is very exciting. Lewes is definitely on the map, with eyes on our progressive approach to tackling the nature crisis.
The Charter is being created with substantial input and support from top lawyers, including The Environmental Law Foundation, along with academics and, most importantly, local people. We look forward to sharing this work once it’s ready.
We’d like to thank Ouse Valley Climate Action, the National Lottery and the Railway Land Wildlife Trust for their support and funding over the past two years, which has enabled much of this activity.
Ouse Art, Culture and Heritage
We’ve continued to have a presence at many local events to showcase the River Ouse, offering activities covering heritage, cultural, and ecological themes. Recent highlights included two guided walks as part of the annual Walk This Way Festival organised by Visit Lewes. Glimpses of the Lower Ouse, led by Director Matthew Bird, was a multi-layered journey exploring the history of the Lower Ouse from the Bronze Age to the present, addressing challenges such as pollution and climate change, the rich ecology, Virginia Woolf, shipbuilding, and the Celery Sewer!
We also collaborated with Chalk and Stream creative writers to take walkers on a unique wander along the Winterbourne Stream’s route, with poetry readings along the way. The poetry was inspired by this rare and ethereal chalk stream that weaves a watery songline through Lewes.
Charting the Course
We’ve spent the past three months resting, consolidating, and planning for the future. With so many exciting project ideas emerging from our efforts so far, there’s a lifetime’s work ahead to improve the state of the Ouse. We’re carefully considering priorities and resources to match our momentum, ambition, and needs with our capacity.
We’re delighted to welcome two new Directors, Josh Levene and Sandra Manning-Jones, who have been volunteering with us on our steering group for over a year.
Josh has a background in anthropology and ecological design, with over 25 years of experience working with river-based communities in Africa, South Asia, and the UK.
Sandra is a river ecologist and charity manager with 15 years of experience in the water NGO sector across Sussex, including the River Ouse catchment. We’re already reaping the benefits of their skills, expertise, passion, and good humour!
Love Our Ouse is a small, not-for-profit Community Interest Company that relies on funding and donations to continue its work in the community. We’re knee-deep in developing a funding strategy and submitting applications for core funding to sustain the organisation and projects over the next three years. It’s a huge challenge, and we welcome offers of support to help sustain what we believe is a vital and valuable service locally.
Donations, big or small, are also much appreciated. Details are at the bottom of this newsletter.
We’re currently developing a suite of projects to explore how we might best represent the river, uphold its rights, and expand citizen science opportunities in close partnership with the Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust and other partners.
We also love celebrating our waterways and have exciting news in the pipeline. Watch this space!
Thank you to everyone who has been on this journey with us so far. But the biggest thanks goes to the River Ouse for being the vital blue thread that weaves us together.
Ideas, like large rivers, never have just one source. – Willy Ley