A Confluence of River Lovers with Drinkable Thames!

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Li An & Maarten have walked many rivers in Europe, meeting communities and starting up networks of citizen scientists. Please bring some food & drinks to eat and share. Over our meal we will hear their story, have a chance to express our frustrations and fears, and work out our own actions to demand a clean River Thames.

Not so long ago, most of our rivers were drinkable. But not anymore. We work to make our rivers drinkable again. 

Walking is what makes our heart sing. Walking along rivers to engage with people and activate them to care for rivers. We go step by step, river by river, engaging people and activating them to care for a world with drinkable rivers. Experience, love, care. That’s what we believe in.

In 2005 Li An Phoa canoed the full length of a river in Canada, the Rupert. All along the way, she could drink water straight from the river. Three years later, Li An came back and she could not drink from the Rupert anymore. The river was polluted as a result of dams and mining. Fish died, people got ill. The delicate balance in the ecosystem was destroyed.

Li An realised that drinkable rivers are an indicator of healthy living. Indeed, when we can drink from our rivers, it means that a whole ecosystem is healthy and in balance. Rivers can only be drinkable when all actions and relations in an entire watershed contribute.

You can read more on their website here https://drinkablerivers.org/ and watch Li An's story at TEDx https://youtu.be/PPeRXbEta1Y (15 mins)