Always on
This project successfully funded on 1st October 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
Supporting Avona, a river spirit puppet
Bristol, United Kingdom
Aim
To support Avona: the puppet that embodies the spirit of the Bristol River Avon to raise awareness of river pollution and community action
Our Rivers Are Alive!
How can we propel the rights of nature movement into public consciousness?
Can You Help Support Avona?
A community-led movement of Bristol river campaigners have created a puppet to represent the Bristol Avon.
Currently, only 3% of rivers are accessible to the public in England and Wales. Avona is one example of a way to bring the spirit of the river out to the people, so that more people can build relationship with rivers.
- Spread the word! You can help raise the profile of this project by sending this to river guardians, friends and family.
More information below.
Our Vision:
The Bristol Avon is suffering from pollution and decision-makers are not responding with the sense of urgency we feel to protect it. We believe rivers are alive and should have the right to thrive. To represent this to decision-makers and the community we will create a wrathful and beautiful goddess persona, Avona.
Our campaign movement is working towards asking for the Bristol Avon to have the river's rights recogised by Bristol Council. For example: that the river is given a human representative at council meetings. See Citizen Scientists Conham Bathing's Thriving Avon Charter here for more river rights. Until then, Avona will represent the river at campaign moments and reach out to the general public in Bristol and beyond.
Avona will travel to local and national events to share stories and raise awareness, inspiring and maintaining momentum. By enabling people to interact with Avona in a meaningful way, she will encourage guardians to take responsibility for natural entities, including rivers, streams and their ecologies. What better way to engage and manage your relationship with ecology than to ‘become’ it, and recognise that we are it?
Avona will be operated by a community of puppeteer volunteers and activists.
The issue of UK river pollution exists at the intersection of legal rights, scientific evidence and political persuasion for both local and national policy. We believe that art is a vital mechanism for moving this complicated and pertinent issue forward.
As stated by Kim Kaos the creator and puppeteer of the Goddess of the River Wye (above):
"The Goddess of the Wye has the ability to reach hearts, imaginations, and news reports, in a way that few other things can.
Everything we are is stories, and a giant puppet is a great place to weave the big tales around. Tales about the spirits of the waters rising, of how they loved and lamented the sorry state of their domain, and how the people came together, remembered gratitude and thanks, and their human role as guardians.
And how we rose to that challenge, and how we won.
With a great big puppet at the front of the charge, filled with love and outrage!”
Our Actions:
- In July and August 2025 we ran series of creative workshops to create Avona at The Puppet Place on Bristol Harbourside.
- Avona was ceremonially 'birthed' from the river on 13/8/25 with support from local singers and swimmers
- A short film has been commissioned by Rivers Of Film Festival with National Lottery Funding to document the making of Avona and her ‘birth’ out of the River Avon in late August.
- Avona appeared in a procession at Green Man Festival in August alongside the Goddess of the Wye puppet, the River Bride and other Water Guardians.
- On World Rivers Day (September 28th 2025), Avona will appear at the Bristol Aquarium to open a free public exhibition of artwork put together by Avonas inspired by the River Avon, followed by a screening of Rave on for the Avon.
- We are certain that there will be many opportunities in the future for Avona to appear at, and for members of The Avona art collective to continue to animate the puppet.
- With the necessary funding, we can reinforce Avona after her excursions into and up and down the rivers and help other local communities to allow their own rivers to rise in puppet form.
How can I get involved?
Be Our Cheerleader
We welcome all support for Avona. The easiest way to get involved is by following our socials and signing up to our newsletter. Find how to sign up through our website.
We’ll keep you updated on our progress and you’ll be the first to hear about upcoming events and appearances.
Donate To Help Us Cover Costs
Donating any extra to our Crowdfunder campaign will help fund the creation of Avona, including the cost of materials, the puppet making workshops and for the World Rivers day exhibition.
Our History:
Rights of Nature is one of the fastest growing legal movements in the world. For the last three years, our Bristol collective of citizen scientists, creative and activists has been galvanising momentum by campaigning for the rights of the River Avon through:
- Conham Bathing’s Citizen Science initiative testing the water and reporting the results to the local community.
- Bringing together the river’s loving communities at the wedding of Mrs Meg Avon
- Sharing Bristol’s unique connection to the Bristol Avon and joyful activism captured by Rave On For The Avon documentary film screenings across the country.
We have now formed a creative collective; The Avonas, to continue this creative advocacy for our precious river.
Cost Breakdown:
Performance facilitator - £1,000
- £150 per event. Ceremony holder, event specific
Puppet workshop support for rural community groups- £1,000
- Materials, advice and workshops, travel, supporting local artists.
Puppet Maintenance - £2000
- for time and materials pre and post every event to maintain Avona
Filming and editing Avona's journey - £1000
Social Media Support - £1000 (£80 a month)
(travel, catering, accommodation, consultancy, first aid)
Below are some images from our workshops!
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made