Celebrating water, rivers and Nature: love your Mother Earth

River Hope’s “The Gathering: For Water and Nature” is an informative, thought-provoking, inspiring and collaborative programme celebrating water, rivers and their ecosystems across South Warwickshire.

Running from Friday 6 to Sunday 15 March 2026 and including the International Day of Action for Rivers on Saturday 14 March, The Gathering brings together science, activism, creative arts, ceremony, celebration, and pledges for advocacy and practical action.

Whether you are a local resident, activist, policymaker, land manager, artist, or simply someone who cares about water and Nature, this event is for you.

Join us at the Crowne Plaza on Sunday 15 March from 12:00 noon to 6pm for a day of celebration, inspiration and love for water, rivers and Nature. This event is the finale of River Hope’s “The Gathering for water and Nature”, running from March 6-15 2026, in and around Stratford-Upon-Avon.

From midday in the hotel’s ballroom, watch new films showing underwater life and ecosystems of British rivers. Hear from the film maker Mark Barrow on why freshwater ecosystems matter, what is happening to them and what we all need to do to restore them to health and thriving life.

Other films will be screened in the ballroom during the lunch break, including “Remember to remember” (2025), “How water makes climate” animation (2025) and a compilation of still photos by local photographers.

The afternoon will begin with a cross-cultural and historical talk from Veronica Strang, an Oxford University anthropologist, about water beings past and present, near and far, drawing from her book ‘Waterbeings: from nature worship to the environmental crisis’ (2023).

Mrs Meg Avon, river bride, will then let her water magic flow, with performance poetry about her local river, weaving stories of water, memory and the relationship between people, place and Nature.

We will end the day in a joyous ceremony witnessing the birth of Ondine ‘spirit of the river’ - a wicker art installation being co-created in an adjoining room by commissioned and local artists. There will be drama, music and dance to mark her arrival and pledges to help launch her on the start of her Odyssey through communities along the River Avon to Tewkesbury during the summer.

We hope this final day of celebration and reconnection to water, rivers and Nature through the different creative arts will catalyse ripples and waves of positive action throughout our communities. This day will demonstrate how much we love and care for our freshwater ecosystems and their role in the web of life and our very existence as part of Mother Earth.

Free entry but pre-registration required

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