September/October 2026
Hexham Climate Cafe workshop
On 26 September Love our Tyne held a very successful workshop at the popular Hexham Climate Cafe which takes place monthly on the 4th Saturday of the month at 11am in Hexham Library. After an introduction to Love our Tyne and the session, Malcolm Green, who holds and devises our stories, told a wonderful story which called into question the relationship of modernity with the river, which is very much one of ownership and utility. We finished with a 20 minute brainstorming session where participants called out what they thought the ‘rights’ or ‘freedoms’ of the river might be if we looked beyond and through this relationship to one which gave the river an intrinsic value
The resulting list was fascinating as you can see. As well as identifying basic rights there was an overwhelming recognition of the interconnected and regenerative nature of the river. Also very noticeable was the sense of movement, dynamism and life referenced throughout
Love our Tyne is developing this approach into a 2hr workshop which we hope to be able to offer to community groups who wish to explore a Rights of Rivers approach
Regeneration
- To provide life for others
- To be regenerative
- To be recognised as a living system
- To exist symbiotically
- To be connected / interdependent
- To be a living balanced ecosystem
Movement
- To change
- To fall dramatically
- Freedom to divide
- To bring chaos, disruption and creativity
- To flow
- To meander
- To flood
- To dry up
Interconnectedness
- To be recognised as part of the commons
- To host swimmers
- To be recognised as more than a ‘thing’ – a verb not a noun
- To be mythic
- To be a teacher and guide
- To be listened to and to be heard
Basic rights
- To be protected
- To not be exploited
- The freedom to be autonomous and valued. Not to be defined by others
- To have its scale recognised
- Freedom from pollution
- Freedom to be healthy and have integrity
Clean Tyne & Beaches Community Meeting
Our friends on the Coast organised this important meeting which took place on 5 October at King St Social Club, North Shields
The meeting was a follow up to the Nurdle crisis and associated community clean up attempt and covered the following areas:
- They heard from councillors about the Clean Tyne motions going through North-East Councils
- They discussed potential community legal action over damage to our beaches
- They shared learning on how to better support, inform and engage with volunteers
- They talked about community priorities and what comes next in the nurdle spill cleanup
- They raised the question of what to do next and how to connect with others who want to take action too
This is intended to be a regular event, every few weeks /months and Love Our Tyne hopes to present to the next one.
Haydon Bridge Nature Club talk
Haydon Bridge Nature Club holds alternate Thursday meetings from October to March at 7:15 pm in the The Methodist Hall on Church Street, Haydon Bridge. On 10 December our own Ceri Gibson will be delivering a talk on ‘Reconnecting with the River.’ You can find further details here: https://haydon-bridge.co.uk/community-groups/nature-club/
Save the Date – FLOW Festival
On 9 May 2027 Love our Tyne is hosting a community picnic and festival at Riverside Park in Hexham. Planning is still in its early stages but expect science, art, story, poetry, dance and music. Just bring yourselves and a picnic. We hope to have talks and other activities and to collect more ideas for potential river rights from the local community. If you are interested in having a stall or taking part in the event then please email connect@loveourtyne.org
