Help Restore the Warwickshire River Avon with Arts & Culture
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Every river has a story, and every story begins with a relationship.
In summer 2026, Moving Souls Dance (MSD) launched Ondine’s Odyssey, a journey down the River Avon to connect local communities with the river and its pollution issues through participatory arts and culture activities.
Ondine, a willow sculpture designed by Heidi Luker and made by Emma Parkins, came to represent the Spirit of the River Avon, and has brought traditional dance, youth theater, and musical performances to communities in 6 River Festivals, reaching 2,000 people and engaging directly with over 250 participants.
But her journey is not yet complete. As the MP for Stratford-on-Avon Dr. Manuela Perteghella said:
“In our most recent history, the river has become a place where we can dump our sewage, cause pollution with our plastics and litter. Ondine’s Odyssey is helping us to recognise how our ancestors had a relationship with the river and to think of this river as a living being, a sentient being.’
With your help, we can complete the first year of Ondine’s Odyssey and directly fund:
- “World Rivers Day” arts engagement event at Tewkesbury Abbey on 27th September 2026, bringing together partners, arts & culture organisations from communities along the river
- Arts Education workshops in Primary Schools to increase knowledge about the pollution in the River Avon and its impact on wildlife along the river
- Training and support of local River Guardians, who can work with local communities to help build a Charter of Rights for the River Avon, including the right to be free from pollution
Dragonfly: £10 will support artists to attend World Rivers Day event at Tewkesbury Abbey
Trout: £25 will support educational workshops in Primary Schools during Autumn Term
Otter: £50 will support River Guardian training to advocate for a River Charter to recognise the Rights of the River Avon
MSD are working in partnership with many organisations, from Citizen Science groups to environmental charities and Wildlife Trusts, to highlight the high pollution levels of nitrates, phosphates and ammonia in the river as recorded by local organisations like SafeAvon. As concerned citizens we can work together to bring change and restore our River Avon.
We have received some funding from the National Lottery Community Fund and Stratford Town Trust, but need your help to complete the project! We are asking for a further £7500 to undertake these initiatives – which is possible if 150 people donate £50! No giveaways, prizes or promotions are offered in exchange for any donations.
With your help, we can make an impact by building a strong arts & culture community around the river and facilitate arts education workshops in local schools.
Make a commitment to support Ondine’s Odyssey. As Dragonfly says:
‘Every promise will help the river sing again!’
Moving Souls Dance is a CiC Company (Registered 10676036) set up in 2017. Our website gives details of the Ondine’s Odyssey on this link: https://movingsouls.dance/artful-migration-midlands-ondine/
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