Debenham River Festival Recap

Community engagement remains an incredibly important activity when it comes to caring for our rivers, the important habitats that they support, and how we as communities interact with our waterways.

A WEEK OF RIVER THEMED ACTIVITIES

Debenham had a busy start to the month of June with the launch of River Week, a festival presented by the Debenham Green Team, Debenham Parish Council and the Upper Deben Owners Group. A week of multiple events from Monday 1st June to Saturday 6th June focused on the love of the River Deben including a showing of the Life on the Deben film, evening educational talks and workshops and the launch of the Upper Deben Owners Group (UDOG) on Friday 5th June. UDOG is a new group, backed by experts to shape the response to changing climates and pressures along the Deben.

DEBENHAM RIVER FESTIVAL FINALE

The festival concluded with a morning event in St Mary’s Church on Saturday 6th June, which included the stalls and engagement activities of multiple organisations invested in the care of the river to allow for a flow of information and communication to celebrate the River Deben and the efforts of its restoration and recovery.

Photos of some of the stalls at the event and special guest Yellow Fish

Organisations attending the Saturday morning included the Environment Agency, Anglian Water, the Deben Climate Centre, the Essex and Suffolk Rivers Trust on behalf of the Recovering the Deben Project, the Debenham Green Team, the Upper Deben Owners Group, and special guest Yellow Fish from Groundwork and partners'  “Only Rain Down the Drain” campaign. Local choir members also treated festival attendees to songs of the river, a fantastic backing track to the morning’s activities.

We would like to thank festival organisers for the invite to the festival, it was thoroughly enjoyed and resulted in a morning of fantastic conversations about the River Deben and the important ongoing work in the catchment.