Festival of Debate: How Can the River Don Ask for Help?

Join The River Dôn Project team to explore why the agency and voice of critical commons like the River Don has important implications for addressing climate breakdown and biodiversity loss in South Yorkshire.  

This innovative project aims to demonstrate the future rights of nature through multi-disciplinary approaches, from arts and culture, to movement building, to machine learning and artificial intelligence.  

Join us for this engaging session bringing together live demonstrations, group conversation and the opportunity to ask questions and get involved.  

How can the river ask for help? The River Dôn Project believes that establishing an extensive Internet of Things sensor network combined with citizen science projects, campaigning, arts and cultural interventions, and asset-based community development can create the first-ever real-time interface between the River Dôn, organisations, communities and citizens in its catchment area.  

Hearing the river's voice nurtures the opportunity for hundreds of unique stewardship relationships to emerge with citizens and organisations in the catchment area. In doing so, it further nurtures the shift to a mutuality with nature that humans will require over the next decade. 

“We are the first generation to know the scale of the challenges created by human activity on the planet, and we are one of the last that can sincerely do something about it. It is now about how we collectively harness that: working boldly enough, whilst being legitimate enough and doing so with care; demonstrate systemically, work in ecologies, and with a thoughtful urgency.” - Civic Square.