In Feb 2024 Herefordshire Council broke new ground with a Ceremony for the River Wye, welcoming her into the Council, acknowledging the pivotal role she plays in the life of the county and pledging to remember her in their deliberations and decision making. Councillors read out poems dedicated to the River Wye and her tributaries and filled glass vials with river water to carry with them on their everyday business, reminding them of their duty to the river. Paul Powlesland from Lawyers for Nature spoke about the importance of transforming our relationship to nature, to a sacred context, and following through into our legal, political, economic and social systems. A choir of local river guardians sang ‘For Her Speak’ by MaMuse, adapted for the Wye and a 3m high River Goddess puppet presided over the proceedings.
Councillor Elissa Swinglehurst, Cabinet lead member for environment, said, “The ecological health of our rivers and countryside is an essential part of the quality of life and well-being of Herefordshire’s residents – a healthy ecology also supports a healthy economy. Bringing the River Wye into the building where we make our decisions is a reminder of the importance of the health of our rivers. The protection and restoration of our rivers should be central to our thinking, discussions and decision making.”
The Ceremony was facilitated by members of Save The Wye. Catcher Media used an iPhone 12 to film the event in a low-key way without lots of equipment. The featured video (above) is a 5-min version edited by Vey Straker. The video (below) is the song-only edit. Watch the full-length video on the Save The Wye website: https://youtu.be/UosLXfFbl5w.