Story of Place

Anchoring this work in a ‘story of place’ is central to the success of We Are Avon:

…ancient stories of this place that relate to our indigeneity e.g. our celtic & druidic roots. These ancestral lands were stewarded by the Dubonni people, a peaceful tribe of farmers and craftspeople.

…old stories of place in our region e.g Bath as sacred City of Water, market garden town, food sufficient, abundant orchards and largely wooded valley

…dominant stories of place e.g. colonization, industrial era, then modernization and ‘financialization of place’ (and its waters/lands)

… Emerging stories of place, Avon Bioregion as leader in regeneration, pioneering re-localisation of food systems, Bioregional transformation, circular economies of care

Our Roots

Where have the seeds of this project emerged from?

Why are the soil conditions right for this to emerge now?

What is the potential of this vision and collaboration?

Root 1: we need creative & collaborative solutions to the climate and nature crisis, bringing these into real action in our places. The fragility and unsustainability in our current food systems regionally and globally is both the greatest driver of this crisis and the most potent solution.

Root 2: Lived experience immersed in local food growing & movements, living the barriers to the emergence of regenerative food and land systems. We Are Avon as a solution to overcome these challenges together.

Root 3: Learning from successes and challenges of previous waves of local food action. Foundations for emergence in this new context and time for action.

Root 4: Hope & vision for a bioregion coming back to life. We can build better food systems and we can have autonomy at the regional level to create these systems from the ground up, re-engaging people as regenerators of the nature around us.

Weekend Market

Our Mission

To Enable, Facilitate and Catalyse the regeneration of our Avon bioregion and its communities at every scale, from gardens to cities to landscapes.

This vision is realized through the offering of regenerative services to our communities and lands, drawing upon a diverse team of skilled Regenerators and Advisors collaborating for an impactful web of change in collaboration with our natural bodies.

Aims

Our Fundamental aim is to support the regeneration of life and communities together, starting with this place here and now.

1) Water

Creating a pledge map (see Wealdtowaves.co.uk for example) to highlight all the actions small and large to regenerate Avon.
Monitoring, protecting and regenerating our River Avon through citizen science and regular measurements of pollution to hold authorities accountable.
Organise an annual River Avon Pilgrimage from source to mouth, engaging communities, landowners and organisations along the route. Delivering the charter to each town council and holding them accountable each year.
Support projects by Wiltshire & Avon Wildlife Trust and BART to restore habitats and reintroduce species such as Beaver, Salmon and Otter to our waterways
Achieve Designated Bathing Rights for multiple sites such as Warleigh Weir along the Avon
Creating a River Charter for Avon (see https://bioregion.org.uk/ example) and bring this to the authorities at annual River action days in each town of the region.

2) Land

Creating a wildlife corridor of nature, food & fibre abundance 1km wide the length of the Avon, working with landowners and supporting Bristol Avon River Trusts restoration projects at scale.
Creating an Avon Regeneration 'cluster group' working with farmers to transition to river-friendly agriculture with free support, advice, trees and project budgets. Working with and supporting West of England Nature Recovery Strategy.
Riparian Restoration: Planting over 20,000 trees in suitable areas along the river banks working with existing and new landowner relationships.
Create a regional Producers Co-operative to uplift sustainable farming in the catchment area whilst allowing people to access quality local food. Develop a community owned Food and Land Hub for the region to distribute food boxes to homes, schools and local businesses, creating real community resilience.
In the long term create a Community Land Trust that can secure available land for restoration, sustainable food production and community access.

3) People

Host monthly movement drop in sessions for community input, river discussions and river actions days e.g. litter picking, Avon pilgrimages, river therapy, creative actions e.g critical mass nude swim to raise river awareness
Organise an annual celebration of our River Avon and a day to come together as a regional force for river regeneration at AvonFest.
Hire a part-time coordinator role to implement, organise and drive the above mission with support from partner organisations, advisory board and community input at the core, via monthly drop in sessions.
The role, alongside the partnership board will also be mandated to secure funds for the next part of the vision - widening this model to UK-wide regeneration of our rivers and landscapes weaving with other successful regional examples.

Towards Community Resilience

From our work in regional food system,s on the ground, we have identified 3 core community needs (and many more!) that this project has been designed to address

3 community needs addressed:

1. A requirement for local, affordable, healthy food which does not come at a cost to the environment upon which we depend. An easier way for communities to access, procure and receive a range of these regenerative foods with accountability and source knowledge.

2. A yearning for purposeful livelihoods and the necessary training and land access to pursue this healthy choice. A need for the wider enabling/systemic conditions to be more favorable, inclusive and encouraging.

3. A need for a clean and healthy river for all stakeholders. Thousands of users enjoy and depend upon the river Avon from which is currently polluted largely by unsustainable agricultural practices and profit-based water companies. From boaters to fishermen to swimmers and walkers, there is a stronger than ever momentous call to protect our Avon.