Anya GleizerRiver Thames

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I have been campaigning for ecological protections for the Thames for the last 3 years with the Oxford Clean Rivers Initiative, Friends of the Thames, River Action, EarthWatch Oxford, and Thames21. The Thames first welcomed me to this country when I first arrived to do an interview in Oxford. I have felt indebted to this river – it supplies life and waters to all of Oxfordshire and greater London, gives life to these institutions we so value, and washes away all our dirty secrets and sins (ahem ThamesWater). I love the river as a kayaker, a rower, a wild swimmer. I love it too as an ecologist, as an artist. Having lived here for 7 years, about 75% of my body is it’s waters, and so is yours, most likely if you have lived in Oxford or London awhile.

The river gives us visceral reminders of our interference with the climate. It lulls us in summer and connects us to the broader ecology of the British Isles. It links us to the sea. It quietly swallows everything we throw in it – our trash, our sewage, our fears and anxieties, and cleanses our dirty society into something worth fighting for. It is also sick – the Thames watershed is under severe pressure from water usage, agricultural runoff, sewage spillage, climate change and irresponsible management. Like a relative who is ill, the Thames must be cared for all the more at this time.