Friends of the River Medway (FORM) is a group that wishes to restore the health and vitality of the River Medway, focusing first on our local catchment area: the Upper Medway. The group’s activities are part of a wider movement to transform humanity’s relationship to the world’s precious rivers and the wildlife that lives within them.
Our work is driven by the fact that our rivers are not receiving the protection they need. All rivers In England failed their most pollution tests and only 14% were considered ecologically good. The Environment Agency, the group set up to monitor the health of rivers, has seen its funding cut by 75% in the past decade, meaning that testing and action is at an all time low. For now, it is up to passionate people like ourselves to monitor and protect the River Medway, for the sake of all.
FORM dream of a world where all rivers are drinkable, as they were for the vast majority of our ancestors. Until then, we are doing our best to ensure that they are safe to swim and bathe in, but also to protect the water sources that do still provide clean water. Given that our mission is to connect people back to the waters, we feel it is vital to continue encouraging (and facilitating) people to collect their own water, as it offers a continual reminder as to where our water comes from. With this in mind, we would like to test one of the most popular sites of water collection in Forest Row - the Lion Spring.
People come - near and far - to collect water from the Lion Spring on a daily basis, giving offers and expressions of gratitude in return. Yet there is still some concern as to whether the water is actually clean and safe to drink. Last year, a sign popped up instructing people not to drink from the spring, raising serious questions.
We would like to test the water quality of the Lion Spring to give everyone assurance that the water is actually safe to drink. The test costs £128.91; any surplus donations will go towards our future water tests.
A river is made from tributaries; a movement by its contributaries: Empower our work with a donation here.