The Tilling Green Community Centre in Rye was buzzing with activity when Love Our Rother 2025 was hosted by Strandliners. It was the third year this event has taken place, this time focusing on water, community and citizen science, with over 100 people attending.
Cllr Andy Stuart, Mayor of Rye, Cllr Richard Thomas, chair of Rother District Council, and Gonzalo Alvares, Chair of the United Nations Association Climate and Oceans, offered a warm welcome to all the community groups present, who are encouraging people to show some love for their environment. Once perhaps thought of as cranks, we are now leading the way!
Strandliners engages with volunteers from all communities to learn more about our environment. Andy Dinsdale was on hand to explain what they do and why they do it. In what has become the norm for this event, there was a grand unveiling of rubbish collected from the banks of the River Rother by a small group covering a distance of 300 metres in just one hour. The rubbish was sorted, identified and recorded, and the data will be sent to The Rivers Trust as evidence to lobby for change. It is only through evidence that we have schemes such as the plastic bag tax and the ban on certain single-use items.
We also use our data to respond to government consultations, including the deposit return scheme (DRS). During our short pick, we collected 99 drinking bottles and cans. Countries that have a DRS, such as Germany, have seen a reduction of 90% in this type of waste left in the environment. A UK scheme has finally been approved and is expected to commence in October 2027.
People came clutching water samples from their local ditch, stream or river. The Strandliners team of citizen scientists tested samples for ammonia and phosphate, two of the most common polluting nutrients, and indicators of organic waste. If you brought a sample for testing, you will be emailed the results. Strandliners will be continuing the Community River Watch project in the Rother catchment this year. If you have signed up for the Community River Watch newsletters, they will be starting again soon.
Did you see the humpback whale recently? There were screenings from the Sussex Dolphin Project, who captured the event, and Sussex Underwater, who provided a window beneath the waves and explained what we can do to help. Other short films included Young Strandliners, RSPCA Mallydams Wood and Climate Oxney.
There were many groups and organisations represented in the room, including the Tilling Green Residents Association, Sussex Underwater, Southern Water, Rother District Council, Rother Voluntary Action, Rye Repair Café, Community Composting Solutions, Sussex Greenways, RSPCA Mallydams Wood, Young Strandliners, and artists Ruth Hallgarten, WaterWeek and Climate Oxney.
Many thanks to all the volunteers who made the event such a success, including the Rother Green Party, who ran the refreshments.
What did people think?
“It was wonderful to meet so many people concerned about our environment and find out what we can do to protect it – particularly local organisations.”
“Highly visual and well thought through displays which genuinely interrelated – and it was a treat to see the films dramatizing the concerns of everyone who Loves Our Rother.”
“It is only thanks to Love our Rother that the Repair Café got off the ground last year. We feel sure that new connections will have been made this year too, strengthening our communities and the care for the world we live in, even if sometimes it feels against all odds.”