Listening to the River

Listening to the River

If the river had a voice, what would it say?

  • The river has a voice! Always had a vocabulary and has recently given us all a lecture, I sometimes wonder what it will take? We need to listen - binung!

    Uncle AJ | Kyogle

  • Kill the carp AND make riparian restoration mandatory

    Phil, local bush regenerator | Dunoon

  • Bring your children and families to my banks and see that I’m still teeming with life. The plants might not be the mighty rainforest trees and the fish not the cod, perch and eel, but I am still flowing and will run clear again. When the people repair the land with trees, shrubs and grasses and hold the soil in place, and keep their livestock and poisons away from my creeks and floodplains, I will be clean and the children can swim in my waterholes once again

    Vanessa | Lismore

  • My language is slow, too slow for you to hear let alone comprehend. I’ve been singing the same song for millions of years; since the first patter of rain started the first rill on the slopes of a roaring volcano. My blood; the blood of the world; is drawn from the ground that filters every fluid that strikes the surface of this place. Nothing you do is unknown to me. Though it is of little consequence.

    Laurie | Lismore

  • The river's voice is a multitude. It's song is a chorus of water's story- of every interconnected molecule from a stream on the flanks of Wollumbin across vast oceans to the shores of an Alaskan bay. It tells us of connection, of dispersal. It tells us of deep history and unfathomable change. It reminds us that we must think not only of the present, but upstream and downstream in time and place- for we cannot affect one without affecting all.

    Hannah | Clunes

  • My language is slow, too slow for you to hear let alone comprehend. I’ve been singing the same song for millions of years; since the first patter of rain started the first rill on the slopes of a roaring volcano. My blood; the blood of the world; is drawn from the ground that filters every fluid that strikes the surface of this place. Nothing you do is unknown to me. Though it is of little consequence.

    Laurie | Lismore

Listen to the river, and tell us - what does it say?

We’re asking community members what the river would say if it had a voice.

2022 Riverkeeper Forum

In June 2022 we brought together Custodians, thinkers and doers from across the Richmond River catchment to foster connectedness across those interested in being a voice for the Richmond catchment rivers, come together as the activators of the Richmond Riverkeeper Network and explore the possibilities for Riverkeeper programs from simple projects and events through to ideas for longer term change.

At the forum we did an activity that really brought the group together. We were asked to form a human map of the catchment and stand “where your heart lies on the river.”

From the Border Ranges, Julgumbun (Mount Lindesay) and Toonumbar all the way down to Wardell & Ballina, people shared the story of their intimate relationship with the river. It was a powerful activity and helped remind us all how much the river connects us; the flowing water being our common thread.

The Yarra Riverkeeper, Charlotte, welcoming everyone to the event

Collaboration for Catchment Health