Who cares about the Lower Itchen and her potential to be something other than a boat navigation strip or industrial waste dump? We at Southampton National Park City do! That's why together with Friends of the Itchen Estuary supported by the Maritime Volunteer Service , we set about mapping the riverbank to spot opportunities for interventions that would encourage biodiversity. Drawing upon local knowledge of the history of the Itchen navigation and the expertise of our trust

Lately, the Friends of Itchen Estuary have been exploring the idea of the 'rights of nature'. The campaigning group have been pushing back against many of the challenges that the river has been facing - namely, the amount of pollution and effluent that enters the river, caused by industry overexploitation. By conducting water testing and monitoring what planning applications affect the River Itchen and its subsidiaries, the group keeps a keen eye on how the river quality is s

It gave me immense satisfaction to have helped organise such a project.