News / rivers
Festival of Nature and UWE explore river health and human efforts
Rivers took centre stage at a special collaboration event between Festival of Nature and the Bristol Distinguished Address Series at the Watershed last week.
Moderated by UWE Bristol pro vice-chancellor, professor Darren Reynolds, the all-female panel featured cold water swimmer Mehbooba Ferdoush, University of Plymouth river pollution research fellow Dr Eva Perrin – also a founding member of the Conham Bathing campaign group – Emma Brisdion of the Rivers Trust and Hedvig Lyche, chief sustainability officer at river health tech company Additive Catchments.
An all-female panel discussed the cultural importance of rivers and why they are so often overlooked in conversations about nature – photo: Medha Ghosh
“Watching the connection between the Ganges and the people while travelling in India struck me,” said Reynolds, setting the tone of the evening’s discussion on how rivers are instrumental to both people and communities.
is needed now More than ever
Building on this, Mehbooba Ferdoush shared her deeply personal relationship with rivers and swimming, recounting how the water has played a key role in her healing journey from trauma and illness.
“I learned to swim in 2021 due to my health issues, and I found it so calming — especially when I was coming out of an abusive relationship,” said Mehbooba.
Dr Eva Perrin reflected on her childhood in North Wales and how her academic journey deepened her understanding of river pollution.
“Growing up in North Wales, swimming was all there was to do, but I never thought of pollution until rivers became an empirical subject to me through academia.”
Waterways play a big role in our cultural life: Conham River Park is a favourite place for swimming in Bristol, despite pollution issues raised by the Conham Bathing campaign group – photo: Conham Bathing
The panel’s reflections highlighted the essential role rivers play in both ecosystems and human well-being. Yet a common question lingered: why are rivers so often missing from conversations about nature?
“There’s a breakdown in communication on how our rivers need to be celebrated,” said Brisdion. “We often fail to connect our actions on land with their impact on rivers. When we throw litter in the street, we rarely consider how that affects waterways.”
She further addressed how modern urban planning restricts rivers: “Historically we’ve always lived near rivers, depended on them for survival and travel — but we’ve never let them breathe. We’ve channelled them tightly, prevented them from flooding on natural floodplains.”
Brisdion praised community efforts over recent years that have helped spotlight rivers and the need for a symbiotic relationship between humans and waterways.
When Professor Reynolds asked the panel whether they worry about pollution while swimming, Ferdoush offered a sobering answer: “I swim at Conham, and pollution is frustrating because I can’t dip my face and head,” highlighting how polluted rivers can hamper crucial steps towards both human and natural wellbeing.
Lyche observed: “Rivers have become a product, a commodity we use, rather than an ally…. Indigenous people viewed rivers as living beings. We need to understand that we’re all interconnected… Rivers are like veins in our bodies. If we clog the flows, how do we live?”
The Rave on for the Avon project is an ongoing call for Bristol river clean-ups that includes creative elements, the marriage of poet Meg Trump to the river and a critically acclaimed film, currently on tour nationally – photo: Charley Williams
The panel also discussed the systemic challenges facing river conservation.
“The way rivers are monitored doesn’t include citizen science or local communities in any official framework,” said Perrin.
“Despite local charities galvanising support, we still don’t understand what a healthy river looks like due to a lack of consistent monitoring.”
The event brought together diverse voices from science, advocacy, data and personal experience to form a cohesive vision for protecting rivers.
“From a scientific perspective, rivers are critical in regulating global nutrient cycles, but they’re treated like black boxes in global models. They’re massively overlooked,” added Perrin.
Lyche noted how Additive Catchments is using data to hold stakeholders such as water companies accountable for better decision-making.
Finally, the panel offered practical advice:
“The scope of what to do is massive,” Perrin explained. “There’s the individual side — applying for Bathing Water status so rivers get monitored regularly for harmful pathogens, and contributing to citizen science initiatives.”
The Festival of Nature’s 2025 theme of ‘water’ is a timely and vital focus.
Main image: Festival of Nature
Read next:
Our newsletters emailed directly to you
