Love Your River: A Day of Action

Calling all Yorkshire river lovers, users and campaigners...

We're working with Right to Roam and Ouse It or Lose It to co-host a day of action for Yorkshire's Rivers in York on Sunday the 18th October, 2026. 

Join us in York for a joyful day of action celebrating the rivers that connect us - and standing up for their future. Through movement, music, poetry, ceremony and the creation of a bold new Charter for action and accountability, we’ll come together to celebrate the rivers we love, make some noise about the threats they face and build a shared vision for healthier, wilder waterways in Yorkshire.

What's Happening?
 

Love Your Rivers Movement Session

Event Room, SPARK, Piccadilly, York, 1pm - 3pm

Led by Maddy Winter: a joyful and passional no-experience-needed movement session celebrating the Ouse and Foss with collaborative exercises inspired by their biology, hydrology and folklore.

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The Confluence of the Rivers

On the banks of the River Ouse, Tower Gardens, 3pm - 4pm

Dress up in celebration of rivers and bring if you can a small sample of your home river or beck (no more than 100ml) for a ceremonial blending of the waters. The gathering will then make a short procession to the centre of York. The idea is to create a bit of a public spectacle and catch the eye of the press to help raise awareness about the state of Yorkshire's rivers.

No booking necessary, just turn up!

A Charter for Yorkshire's Rivers

By invitation only, 4pm - 6pm

A facilitated session for guardians and other invited representatives of local rivers to draft a Charter for Yorkshire Rivers, along the lines of that already ratified for the Afon Gwy (River Wye). The finished Charter will be presented to councils, businesses and organisations, inviting them to become signatories and champions of its vision. As a lasting symbol of this shared commitment, water collected from Yorkshire's rivers during the Confluence will be transformed into natural ink and used by a professional calligrapher to handwrite the final Charter, transforming it into a beautiful and enduring declaration of our collective promise to Yorkshire's rivers.

This session is by private invitation only.

Love Your River Bardic Session

Event Room, SPARK, Piccadilly, York, 6pm - 8:30pm

Join us for an evening of words, music and poetry celebrating rivers. Led by writer and campaigner Amy-Jane Beer and poet Daniel Grimston.

Cash bar available.

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All Love Your River events are free but donations will be welcome to help cover event costs and support the development of the Charter for Yorkshire's Rivers

Our Day of Action is a part of York Environment Festival 2026