Clean rivers campaigner to visit on walk

A CAMPAIGNER for clean rivers will be walking through Henley.

Li An Phoa, 42, aims to walk the length of the River Thames from source to sea.

Ms Phoa, who is from the Netherlands, founded Drinkable Rivers in 2016 to highlight the state of the world’s rivers.

Since then, she has walked 18,000km following three rivers from their source to the sea, taking water samples and measuring other indicators of river health along the way.

She will begin her 220-mile Thames walk tomorrow (Saturday) in the Cotswolds with her partner, Maarten van der Schaaf.

On Friday, September 29 the couple will be walking from Reading to Henley and they are inviting anyone to join them and take part in their citizen science testing of the river’s water quality.

On the following day, Ms Phoa will host a free event at the River & Rowing Museum in conjunction with charity Thames21, which is applying for bathing water status in the River Thames in Henley.

An 18-minute film called Long Walk for Drinkable Rivers will be screened, followed by a question and answer session and debate.

Those attending will then be invited to take part in water sampling on the river outside the museum.

Ms Phoa said that her inspiration to make the world’s rivers drinkable was inspired by an experience she had in her twenties.

She said: “In 2005, I canoed a river in Canada, the Rupert, and drank directly from the river. It was a beautiful experience and brought me to tears.

“This is what our ancestors did and I had forgotten it. That was normal then and it should be normal now.

“When I returned there three years later you could not drink from the river any more. There had been a lot of development there, first forestry and then silver mining. The changes and the mercury had altered the dynamic of the ecosystem.

“That brought another tear, this time of sadness, and frustration that the lines that care for us, we need to care for them. That became my personal compass.

“Walking is what makes my heart sing so I will follow the river from source to sea, meeting people, farmers, mayors and children.”

The couple have just published a book, Drinkable Rivers, about Ms Phoa’s experiences and the evolution of the campaign.

Her organisation has developed a citizen science toolkit, which is now used by 60 organisations across the world to help standardise and improve water quality testing by local communities.

During her walks, Ms Phoa stays in the homes of local people along the way.

She will be staying with two families in Henley during the course of her stay.

She said: “It’s so touching. Even though we don’t know each other, we have that connection. We hope it will create a momentum for the community to take action.”

To join the event on Saturday, September 30 at 1pm, register at https://book.
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Data from the Thames river sampling will be published online at https://drinkablerivers.org