The Stream at the Bottom of My Valley

The start of my life could be described as rather unconventional. I grew up in a bus hidden away in the hills of mid Wales, experiencing a connection to land that not many else seemed to be blessed with. In the spring and autumn, it was muddy, the winters would be mounds of snow and ice coupled with an endlessly lit wood burner, but the summers were pure heaven. I remember weaving pathways through the forests of mint, skipping over hazel coppiced hedges and eventually ending up in the precious little stream at the bottom of my valley. 

This little river connected to the River Severn at the end of my road, and the beautiful town I went to school is famous for being the first town on the longest river in the UK, the Severn, in which I spent the first 20 years swimming about it.

Growing up without the luxury of running water makes you acutely aware of how precious it is, how it must not be wasted, the importance of it being clean and in a lot of cases drinkable. Naturally the mental assault that is growing up provided me with all the nasty knowledge of how our planet is being destroyed, not for need but for greed. My burning question was how can I stop this and make the biggest change possible with just the efforts of my own two hands and brain? The decision I landed on was to study the law, domestic and international.

Now nearing the completion of my master’s the lesson I have learned is to get involved. The importance of communication and awareness between effected communities, policy makers, lawyers, scientists and companies cannot go understated. Beholden to this, when I met Claire and she told me about the River Summit I was desperate to be a part of it which landed me with the epic opportunity to assist in the organisation and to work closely with her on this major passion project.

The River Summit has too many wonderful aspects to look forward to that cater for all manners of entertainment, education and asking questions. However, if I had to pick one (or two) they would be the Future of Regulation panel and the talk on ‘Do rivers have rights?’ by Monica Feria-Tinta held on the Friday.

I am thoroughly excited to see what this summit can achieve and create and to come away with a feeling of inspiration that change is indeed possible.