Description: Please join us for a 1.5hr walk along the River Don, where we will explore what it means to collectively build an agreement for stewarding the ecosystem.

How we care for the ecosystem is a collective responsibility and an opportunity for collaboration. In order to be responsible stewards, we must first understand how we and all other actors in the ecosystem are in relationship with each other, including humans and non-humans. These relationships are often reciprocal, based on mutual care, and collectively nurture conditions that allow us all to thrive.

During the walk, we will reflect on how actors have different ‘conditions to thrive’ (such as how the River Don needs to be clean to thrive), and how in turn these are created by other actors’ ‘commitments to care’ (such as water companies stopping sewage dumping). We hope this will inspire meaningful reflections on what the ecosystem provides for us, and in turn, what should be our commitments to the ecosystem, in order to create a thriving society and ecosystem.

You will be able to explore a new tool that Dark Matter Labs has been developing to help us understand the ecosystem in this way, our place in it, and how the tool can support us to realise our commitments to steward for the ecosystem. During the walk, Don Catchment Rivers Trust will be highlighting different ecosystem relationships, and how we can start to record these into a ‘living stewardship agreement’.

Come join us for a fun way of reconnecting with nature, as we are all part of it!

Meeting point: Ball Street Bridge, 31 Ball St, Neepsend, Sheffield S3 8SH
Near Kelham Island to start the walk.

The workshop and river walk will take place along the south side of the River Don, starting at the Ball Street Bridge and ending at where the River Sheaf joins the River Don at Castlegate. Please meet us at the Ball Street Bridge. If you have any trouble finding it, feel free to contact Alban (details in confirmation email) for assistance.

Who is this event for: This event is for anyone interested in learning about the conditions needed for a thriving ecosystem, as well as the care we can provide to support it. We'll also discuss how to organise a relationship of reciprocity with the River Don ecosystem. Feel free to bring your kids along!

What to Bring: To participate in this event, you must have a smartphone, internet access, and a Google or GitHub account. Please ensure that you bring a fully charged smartphone that can access the website for creating stewardship agreements with the river ecosystem. Remember to have your Google or GitHub account email address and password ready to log onto the website.

Agenda:

9:45-10:00 am - Arrival

10:00-10:05am - Welcome the River Dôn Project

10:05-10:15am - Introduction to agreement-making with the Ecosystem

10:15-10:25am - Introduction to the river walk

10:25-11:00am - Creating stewardship agreements along the river

11:00-11:25am - Reflections and discussion

11:25-11:30am - Closing remarks and next steps