Bruns Riverkeepers Launch - 11 days by the river

We invite you to be part of a movement to care for and restore the beautiful Brunswick - Durrumbil- River.  From it's source in the cliff faces of Mt Jeruslem to the sea,  we can each take action to contribute to the health of our river

The Bruns Riverkeepers launch "11 days by the river" brings together diverse opportunities to find your way as a riverkeeper and contemporary custodian of the waters by (and in ) which we work, live and play! 

Byron Community College Community Arts Hub will be a home for 11 days to the many and diverse projects, activities and ways of connecting, caring for and celebrating the river. 

Over the 11 days we will share our emerging vision and call to action for the river, while bringing together and showcasing key projects and organisation already active including Brunswick Valley Landcare, Wild BnB, Ozfish, Reforest Now, Byron Shire Council, Luminous Youth, Living Labs and more to be announced. 

All events are free but please register to assist us with catering and managing capacity at the venue <3

KEY EVENTS

•   Wednesday 16th of October 5-7.30 pm: Opening and Launch of Bruns Riverkeepers Alliance - feat Emily Lubvitz and the Main Arm Valley Choir
•   Friday 25th October 4-7pm: "Living with water" a special Green Drinks cohosted by Living Lab Northern Rivers - with guest speaker Joshua Lewis (New Orleans) in conversation with Riverkeepers Kristin and Techa 
•   Saturday 26th October 12noon -6pm:  River Celebration - an afternoon of connection, care and celebration for the river, bring a picnic and join us for workshops, music, deep listening and conversations by the river 

Drop in over the 11 days the Arts Hub,  Monday to Friday from 9am-5pm for an interactive and immersive journey into riverkeeping featuring: 

* "We are all riverkeepers creative activation" - A unique journey map will be available to guide you in a walk (or paddle) along the riverside in Mullumbimby with the invitation to practice deep listen to the voice of the river ecosystem. From this space we invite you to write yourself a letter or poem from the river and contribute it to our creative space

*  film, archival footage and multimedia projections booth

* hands on installations including habitat boxes, macroinvertebrate 

 *  'worst weeds of the river' competition

*  an interactive map for you to leave references to your current missions, visions, sacred places, hopes, and concerns for the river to help us better understand and prioritise missions

* heaps of information on the various organisation and ways you can connect into and care for the river

* we are all riverkeepers - explore the diversity of the "keepers of the river"  human and non human

FURTHER INFORMATION ON EVENTS BELOW- WITH MORE PROGRAMMING ANNOUNCEMENTS COMING SOON
 

ABOUT BRUNS RIVERKEEPERS

 The Brunswick River is a much-loved entity that flows through many of the major towns and villages of the Byron Shire. It’s hard to imagine a local person who isn’t touched by and doesn’t love this river. Our initiative has emerged from the need for collective and catchment level action and caretaking to address the state of the river and the impacts of the 2022 floods.

Collaboration and coordinated action is key to our vision, as we see local landowners, indigenous custodians, scientists, council and other government agencies, environmental groups, local businesses, school children, and all who love and care for the river each playing a role. Building on some excellent initiatives already active in improving river health, andr  im custodianship of the First peoples of our region, we seek to be guided by traditional knowledge as well as the best available science, and are developing a call to action to address key threats and negative impacts on the rivers health.
We are currently planning an inaugural gathering to launch this initiative and would love to hear from you.
To express interest in joining the alliance, and stay abreast of the evolving program, go to our website and complete this form.

The word ‘alliance’ is key- we want to build momentum through the collaboration of all relevant actors. It's time to build a cohesive and coordinated alliance that can successfully work together to heal and restore the river. Join us in our mission !

Wednesday 16th of October 5-7.30 pm: Opening and Launch of Bruns Riverkeepers Alliance 

Join us for the offical opening of our creative activation "we are all riverkeepers' that will take place in the Community Arts Hub for 11 days. 

As well as an introduction to the vision and intentions of the Bruns Riverkeepers movement, we will launch our logo, created by local Arakwal artist Nickolla Clarke along with our webisite, and Riverkeeper vision and calls to action. The Main Arm Valley Choir will sing some songs for the river, warming up for some musical treats from their choir leader, the fabulous folk queen Emily Lubitz (lead vocalist of Tin Pan Orange) with lush sonic serenades.

Friday 25th October 4-7pm "Living the water" a special green drinks cohosted with Living Labs-  A COMMUNITY CONVERSATION WITH JOSHUA LEWIS, KRISTIN DEN EXTER AND TECHA BEAUMONT
Living With Water: The promise and peril of nature-based solutions  

As we grapple with a changing climate and the negative impacts of historical land uses, what opportunities exist to work with nature rather than against it, and if we take this approach, what is at stake? What can we learn from Louisiana’s Mississippi Delta about implementing nature-based solutions that allow our waterways to flourish?

Join us for an evening with New Orleans-based Professor of River and Coastal Studies, Dr. Joshua Lewis, Richmond Riverkeepers co-founder Dr Kristin den Exter and Bruns Riverkeepers co-founder Techa Beaumont. Together they’ll share local and international perspectives on using nature-based solutions to tackle big environmental challenges along our waterways.

From wetland restoration to river management, coastal Louisiana has seen everyone – from passionate environmental advocates to large industries – embrace nature-based solutions. But for those of us living in Northern Rivers, how do we sift through these ideas? Which projects really represent a shift toward a sustainable future, and which ones are just “business as usual” with a green label?

Joshua will share valuable lessons from over 20 years of experience in Louisiana’s Mississippi Delta, helping us to critically examine nature-based infrastructure proposals. It’s an exciting space, but also complex, and this conversation will offer a helpful framework for understanding what’s working, what’s not, and how we can apply these insights to our own region.

Josh will share highlights from his work with nature-based solutions around the Mississippi Delta and will then be joined by Kristin and Techa for a discussion exploring the opportunities locally to use this knowledge to live harmoniously with our waterways.  

This event is a special Green Drinks as part of the Bruns Riverkeepers Launch program. Hosted by Mullum SEED, Living Lab Northern Rivers, Bruns & Richmond Riverkeepers. Joshua Lewis is visiting Australia at the invitation of Living Lab Northern Rivers in partnership with Sydney University’s Henry Halloran Research Trust.

(Please RSVP, Snacks provided, drinks available for purchase)

  Saturday 26th October 12noon -6pm:  River Celebration - an afternoon of connection, care and celebration, bring a picnic and join workshops, music and conversations by the river in this family friendly event, showcasing the 11 days of creativity, connection and care for the river

feat workshops, talks and performances with an array of riverkeepers including Ella Noah Bancroft, Luminous Youth, the River all stars band led by Simon Jankelson and more to be announced soon