Lesson video

Hello there.

My name is Mr. Robertson, and I'd like to welcome you to our RE lesson today.

Today's lesson is a really fascinating lesson.

We are thinking about our big inquiry question, personhood, what does it mean to be alive?

And in this lesson, we're going to be asking this big question, is a river alive?

We're gonna be drawing together our learning and thinking about the idea of rivers, mountains.

Can we say that these can have sentience?

And if we can, how might we seek to protect them?

Let's get started, shall we?

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to reflect on the idea of personhood for rivers and the difference that this might make to their protection.

So we have four keywords in our learning today.

Our first word is personhood, and that means the state or fact of being considered a person, such as having awareness or consciousness.

Our second words are rights of nature.

These are legal and a philosophical movement which recognizes rivers and forests, et cetera, as right-bearing entities and not just property.

And then we have the word indigenous, which means from a particular place or culture that lived prior to European colonization.

And our final word is guardian, which in this context means someone who takes on the role of protecting an entity, such as a river.

So this lesson has three parts to it.

And in the first part of this lesson, we're going to be thinking about this question, who are your rivers?

Now, if we look at this photograph, I wonder what you would say that you could see.

I wonder how you would describe that scene.

I wonder if, like me, you could see a beautiful river cutting through a valley with trees on either side.

And you might describe this scene as perhaps noisy.

Maybe there are Torrance of water crashing about.

We might say it's pristine.

It looks unspoiled, doesn't it?

The water looks beautifully clear.

And we can imagine there are birds in the sky and animals that rely and live within this river.

So this is one example of a river, but why might we say that rivers are important?

I wonder how rivers might be important, either for you or for the world at large.

You might want to pause the video here and think about that question.

I wonder what ideas you came up with.

So how are we as human beings connected to rivers?

Well, many cities, such as London, grew up on rivers.

The River Thames run through the middle of London.

Paris has the River Seine running through it.

Many cities have rivers connected to them.

Rivers can be used for trade, transport, and to help generate power as well.

So they're incredibly useful to us.

And of course they're used for drinking water as well as for agriculture.

So rivers are really central to our world and to our existence.

And I wonder what rivers there are close to you.

I wonder if you've ever been on a kayak or a canoe.

Well, rivers are also used for leisure, sport, and enjoyment.

And many people of course find peace or calm by them.

Rivers have also influenced many stories and songs.

You have "The Wind in the Willows" as a classic story of riverbank life for children and songs such as Adele's "River Lea" talk about her roots, where she comes from, and a river close to her in London.

I wonder what songs, books, or films featuring river that you can name yourselves.

Which of these is not a use for rivers, thinking about what we've done so far?

A, building towns or cities nearby, B, writing a song about a river, C, extracting water for drinking or agriculture, D, transporting goods and materials.

Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent.

It's B, writing a song about a river.

You might be inspired by rivers, but we use rivers and have used rivers in other ways as well.

So I'd like you to think about any rivers close to you.

And we're gonna answer this question, who are your rivers?

Because in order to really understand rivers, we need to understand how they link and connect to us.

So I want you to think about two things.

Firstly, I'd like you to think, what is the nearest river that flows near your home or your school?

Can you name it?

Perhaps you might need to look at a map to find it.

Where does it come from?

Where is its source?

Where does it flow to?

Is this a large river?

Is it a small river?

Is it a small stream where you are, or has it grown to a larger river?

So the first thing I want you to do is find out a little bit about that river that's closest to you.

And then secondly, I'd like you to think about any memories you have of rivers as you've grown up.

Maybe you live near a river.

Have you been on a holiday close to a river?

And that might be in the UK, it might be abroad.

I'd like you to think about any memories you have of either a local river or one you visited.

How are you connected to it?

What did you do?

Why might it have been important to you?

Are rivers places you like to visit or be close to?

So take some time to share with a person next to you or someone else, thinking about who are your rivers.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

So obviously, your answer is going to be very personal to you.

I've given an example here.

It says, "I live near the River Avon in Bristol.

It rises in Acton Turville in Gloucestershire, flows through the city and out into the Seven Estuary.

" So I've described a river, I've described where it sources, it rises, and where it flows out to.

Then I've gone on to say, "I grew up near a river in Norfolk when I was young.

It was the River Wensum.

I enjoyed fishing, swimming, and kayaking on it with my friends.

I feel connected to rivers.

They're a great place to go when I need space and time away from my busy mind.

" I wonder what rivers were that were close to you.

Could you find them?

Did you know them already?

How important are rivers to you?

Are they important?

Are they places that you have memories connected with them?

For the next part of this lesson, we're going to be thinking about this question, how can rivers be protected?

I'd like you to meet someone.

This is Robert MacFarlane, and he says, "I am a writer, academic and activist.

In 2025, I wrote a book called, 'Is a river alive?

' To my youngest son, the answer was obvious, it's clearly alive.

The book is about my journey to consider this question and the state of rivers today.

" And you can see an image of Robert MacFarlane there.

And he wears in this image a yellow salmon as a pin badge to remind him of the importance of rivers to him and a particular river that he journeyed on.

I wonder how you would respond to this question, is a river alive?

What do you think might be the answer to this question, and why might you think that?

So MacFarlane thinks about how to answer this question, and he uses an interesting thought experiment.

He thinks it might be difficult or complex for us to answer the question, is a river alive?

But it might be perhaps much easier to answer the question about what a dead river might be like.

You might want to pause the video at this moment and turn to the person next to you.

What might a river that is dead be like?

How might you describe it?

How would you know it was dead?

So maybe that feels slightly easier to describe.

You might think of a river that's filled with pollution, like the image in the photograph here.

You might think of a river where there's no wildlife, no fish, no birds.

You might think of a river that smells, that might have chemicals into it.

Perhaps we could imagine rivers like that.

We may even have seen images of rivers like that.

So one of the things that Robert MacFarlane does is he talks about the state of rivers in the UK today.

And his central concern is that as humans, we've come to see rivers as objects rather than anything else.

They are things that we can just use and we don't really need to think about the impact.

For example, he says that only 14% of rivers in the UK are considered to be in good environmental health.

And that's really shocking, isn't it?

Only 14% of rivers.

Some rivers, such as the River Wye, which flows down through Wales and Herefordshire, have become severely polluted by runoff from chicken farms that have grown up along the banks.

Other things mean the over-abstraction for agriculture, removing water for irrigation, dumping of raw sewage.

You may have heard news stories about sewage being dumped in rivers.

And runoff from farms, which is when chemicals and fertilizers run into rivers, and that creates pollution and growth of algae.

All of these different factors means that our rivers in the UK are really in a terribly degraded condition.

Thinking about what I've just said, which three of the following are threats to rivers today?

A, overfishing, B, dumping of raw sewage, C, abstracting water for agriculture, D, runoff from agriculture, such as chicken farms.

You might want to pause the video and have a think.

Excellent.

We talked about the dumping of raw sewage into rivers, taking water, abstracting water for agriculture, and runoff as well, such as chicken farms and other agricultural products.

Now, Robert MacFarlane has a really great experience, and one of the things that has built his experience and his argument is listening to indigenous worldviews.

He says, "I traveled to Ecuador, India, and Canada to meet people who have fought for the rights of rivers.

I met extraordinary people.

The philosophical heritage builds from indigenous worldviews that see rivers not as a resource for humans to use, but as living beings with personhood.

" And so Robert MacFarlane has been really influenced and impressed by the indigenous people, that is, people from native tribes, from places in Ecuador, India, and Canada, and their worldview which sees rivers as living beings and not as simply resources.

Here we have an artistic representation of an indigenous worldview.

MacFarlane says, "In places like Canada and Ecuador, I met indigenous activists who argue that nature is interconnected.

It's a complex web of life.

Animals, rivers, humans, plants are all seen to be in a relationship of gift.

We have been given rivers as a gift.

Our role is to protect them.

We are responsible on behalf of the future.

" In that image, you could see human beings, fish, ducks, deer, the trees, the rivers are all interconnected with each other.

Something that happens to one affects the other.

And another key idea here is that the world we have, this beautiful natural world, isn't just there for us to take from, but it's a gift.

It's something we have been given and we have to care for to pass that gift on.

And so we have responsibility.

And all of these ideas have become part of Robert MacFarlane's argument in his book about why rivers need protection.

So this photograph relates to the Magpie River in Canada.

And in 2021, this river was granted legal personhood, and other rivers elsewhere in the world such as New Zealand have also been granted similar rights.

Now, the reason this river was granted personhood was as a direct result of First Nations indigenous peoples who argued the river was not a resource but a living being.

Now, if we can accept the idea that a river is a living being, that means it's granted particular rights.

And that is really important in terms of ensuring that it can be protected, 'cause we move from seeing the river simply as a resource to do what we like with to actually having legal rights.

So this story about the protection of the Magpie River is connected to a bigger movement which is growing up around the world, and it's called the rights of nature movement.

And it has certain aims about rivers.

It wants to recognize rivers as living entities.

And this means they can have legal personhood.

So in terms of the law, they count as a person, and that gives them certain rights, such as the right to exist, the right to flow from their source out into the sea.

It gives them a right to be free from pollution.

It gives them a right to be represented in court if its rights are violated.

So the river can actually take people to court if people try to pollute it or dam it or cause it harm.

And of course you might be thinking, "Well, how on earth can a river take people to court?

" But this is the clever bit of the rights of nature movement.

It gives the river the right to have guardians to represent its interests and allow it to heal, which means that certain humans become guardians of the river, and they can represent the river in court and also they can allow it to heal.

Because one of the things we know about rivers is that if we do care for them and we give them the right conditions, that rivers can heal and can come back from being incredibly polluted.

Let's just check our understanding.

If a river is given legal personhood, it can take someone to court if it's polluted.

Is that true or false?

Think about what we've just been saying.

Excellent.

It's true, isn't it?

And because part of the rights of nature that applies to rivers is to allow river guardians to represent the river in court if its rights are violated.

So granting a river legal personhood means that people can be taken to court if they pollute it.

Brilliant if you got that right.

Robert MacFarlane describes what he calls a worldview shift.

He says, "The rights of nature movement changes the way we see the world.

It springs from indigenous traditions.

We're not individuals, but we live in relation to other people, animals, and natural entities such as rivers.

Granting personhood to rivers is a way of showing this understanding.

" I wonder what you can see in this photograph, and I wonder if you might be able to make a connection to the rights of nature movement.

I wonder what you've said.

Perhaps you can see a huge figure in a elaborate dress and with long hair standing at the banks of a river.

So this artwork is called the "Goddess of the River Wye," and it's been created by the artist and activist Kim Kaos.

It's extraordinary, beautiful piece of artwork, isn't it?

So Kim created this artwork in response to the pollution that we mentioned earlier of the River Wye.

The River Wye is one of the most important rivers in our country, and recently it's become incredibly polluted, which is absolutely terrible because it was a pristine river.

And so Kim wanted to do something to raise awareness about the pollution that was going on in the River Wye.

He made this goddess of the River Wye using salvaged materials, i.

e.

stuff that he found, and he made it with a group of campaigners as well.

It aims to show the anger of the river and inspire those who act as river guardians.

So it almost represents the spirit of the river arising because of the pollution, seeking to show itself and try and persuade people that the river needs to be cleaned up and cared for.

Kim says that a river is big and it's hard to see it as a whole.

Think about it, rivers are enormous.

We might look at a section of it, but we can't see the whole thing.

So he created this goddess artwork with a face, 'cause it draws attention to the plight of the rivers.

We see the face of the River Wye, we see the river is suffering, and that might inspire us to want to help it.

Now, people do act as river guardians for the River Wye.

They're really passionate.

They want to make a difference.

People give up their time and volunteer to measure pollution levels, see what's happening, and campaign to give the River Wye legal personhood in the same way that the Magpie River has in Canada and rivers have in New Zealand.

Let's see what we've understood.

I wonder if you could finish Laura's sentence here.

"People who seek to protect rivers and campaign for rights are known as.

.

" river guardians, river protectors, river advocates.

Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent.

It's river guardians, isn't it?

Brilliant if you got that right.

So for the next thing, I'd like you to think about this incredible artwork, "The Goddess of the River Wye," by Kim Kaos.

I'd like you to think about the work he's doing to raise awareness of what is going on with the River Wye.

I wonder if you could say, how would giving legal personhood to the River Wye help protect it?

What rights would the river gain if it was given legal personhood?

Think back to what we said about the Magpie River.

What rights has that gained, and how could they be applied in the UK to the River Wye?

Pause the video.

Have a think.

Look forward to seeing what you've come up with.

So you might have said a number of things.

You may have said that granting legal personhood to the River Wye would mean it gained rights.

That would protect it.

You might have noted that the Magpie River in Canada has this status.

The river would gain a right not to be polluted, to flow freely, and to be represented in court.

River guardians could act in the interest of the river if it became polluted.

And this status would help the campaign to clean up the River Wye because if it had the status, potentially the river would be able to be protected and then it would be able to heal.

For the final part of this lesson, we're going to be considering this question, is a river alive?

Now, these are photographs of the River Avon near Bristol.

The one on the left is close to the source of the River Avon, where we see it's a small river.

But as the river flows down around through Bath and into Bristol, it becomes a much bigger river, until eventually it flows out into the River Severn.

Now, sadly, the River Avon has become polluted by sewage releases into it.

I have a scenario here that I'd like you to take on.

A group of people who swim in the Avon have had enough of the pollution.

These are a group of people who like to swim in the river.

However, the pollution has meant that they're getting sick and ill and are really struggling to swim in it.

They believe that granting the Avon personhood will help protect it.

They've asked you to speak at a meeting of Bristol Council.

So in this scenario, you are going to be using your learning to help assist the campaigners for the River Avon.

You're going to need to build your case for this.

So when you outline your arguments to Bristol Council, you're drawing on various forms of evidence.

And to do that, you're going to need to answer this question, is a river alive?

You might want to draw on the work of Robin Wall Kimmerer, who is an indigenous activist.

She argues that nature is a gift.

She argues that the gifts we receive from nature create an obligation on humans.

We have to be a giver and share and protect nature.

I wonder how her ideas of nature as a gift and the responsibilities that gives to us humans might be helpful in your case.

You may also want to refer again to indigenous worldviews.

You might want to think about a worldview that sees nature as something to be exploited, which you might say is a traditional Western worldview, compared to an alternative worldview where humans and nature are interconnected, which sees rivers as living beings that are part of our story and the web of life.

I wonder how that could be helpful to your case.

Could you make an argument using this idea of a worldview arguing about if we see the world in a different way, we may see rivers differently?

Let's check our understanding to help us build our case.

Robin Wall Kimmerer argues that nature is, A, a resource to be utilized, B, a gift that we receive with no responsibility, C, a gift that creates in us the responsibility to give back, or C, a beautiful place we should enjoy and leave as it is?

Which of these is closest to what we've been saying?

Excellent.

It's the idea of C, that nature is a gift that creates in us the responsibility to give back.

Brilliant if you got that right.

To continue building our case, you want to refer to the rights of nature.

You might want to use the example we looked at of the Magpie River or the Whanganui river of New Zealand.

Both of these were granted legal personhood, Canada in 2021 and New Zealand in 2017.

Now, this granting of rights means that the rivers are seen as living entities and they could be represented in court by guardians.

I wonder how that could be useful to your case to act on behalf of the Avon.

How could you use the idea of legal personhood to make your case strongly?

And finally, you might want to refer to the idea of river guardians.

Kim Kaos's amazing "Goddess of the River Wye" shows that people in the UK see rivers as more than just resources.

We know that people care deeply about them.

They see them as living entities and want to protect them.

People act as river guardians already to monitor pollution and campaign.

I wonder how that could be helpful to your case as well.

How could you use the example of what's already happening to argue for protection for the River Avon?

So your final task is this.

Your scenario is that you're giving a speech to Bristol Council on behalf of the Avon swimmers.

You have to answer the question, is a river alive, and should the Avon be given legal personhood?

I'd like you to create a short speech to present, and I'd like you to use some of the evidence from the case studies that we've looked at to support your view.

And you might want to consider the question of personhood.

Is that something which only applies to conscious things, such as human beings?

Or can we extend that idea of personhood to include entities such as rivers?

I'm really looking forward to seeing what you come up with and the speech that you manage to create.

Good luck.

Wow, what a lot of amazing thinking you have done.

Now, I'm sure your speeches are all going to be looking very different.

I pulled together some ideas, and you may want to see how yours compare.

So I've said, "I'm here to argue for granting legal personhood to the River Avon.

The Avon used to be a beautiful river where people could swim, but it's now become polluted by sewage and is dying.

To me, it's clear that a river is alive.

Imagine a dead river.

We all know what that looks like.

But rivers are not resources for us to pollute and extract.

Robin Wall Kimmerer talks about nature as gift.

She argues the earth gives us what we need for free.

But gifts give us responsibility.

The River Avon gives us water that should flow with wildlife.

Instead of protecting it, we fill it with sewage.

The rights of nature movement has shown what happens if a river is given legal personhood.

Both the Magpie River in Canada and the Whanganui in New Zealand now have rights.

They've been informed by indigenous worldviews that see rivers as legal entities.

If the Avon was given personhood, it would have rights, the right to flow without pollution, the right to clean and allow itself to heal.

We could appoint guardians who could take a company to court if they release sewage into it.

It would heal and become a clean and swimmable river again.

I urge you to consider granting personhood to the Avon.

For now and the future, we can have a relationship with nature of connection and not exploitation.

" I wonder what you put in your speeches.

Did you draw on some of the worldviews that we've looked at?

Did you mention anything about the rights of nature movement?

Did you talk about having river guardians?

Did you talk about how we might see nature as a river less as a resource and rather something that could be connected to?

I hope you enjoyed writing that speech and hoped that's made you think more deeply about what we've been learning today.

So in summary, we've learned that rivers in the UK and around the world are under threat.

We've learned that the writer and academic Robert MacFarlane asks the question, "Is a river alive?

" And to answer this, he looks at indigenous worldviews that see all nature, including rivers, as living entities and not resources to be extracted.

Humans are part of nature and not separate.

We've learned about the rights of nature movement, which campaigns the rivers to be ascribed personhood and given rights.

And we've also learned that some people act as river guardians and can represent a river in court if its rights are violated.

I hope you've enjoyed learning this today, and I hope it's made you think more deeply about things.

And I wonder where you stand on this question of, is a river alive?

I look forward to seeing you in another lesson soon.

Thank you.