The ARISE Riverfly project

Estuary Festival has commissioned four contemporary writers to work alongside local Riverfly Monitoring groups in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent, creating new creative works inspired by the biodiversity discovered along our waterways.

The programme forms part of ARISE (Advancing Resilience and Innovation for a Sustainable Environment), a major research initiative exploring how coastal communities can respond to environmental change and build resilience for the future. Through collaboration between researchers, communities, artists and environmental organisations, ARISE is developing new approaches to understanding and caring for our coastlines.

Meet the writers

Four commissioned writers will be embedded within Riverfly Monitoring groups at Coldfair Green & Knodishall in Suffolk, Mayland, Essex, Minster, Kent and Ingoldisthorpe, Norfolk. You can find out more about the writers below.

Each writer will follow the project, documenting observations, conversations and discoveries, responding creatively to the changing ecology of these freshwater environments. Their commissioned texts will celebrate and reveal the biodiversity uncovered through the project and will be published together in a specially designed online publication. The project has been rescheduled to begin in May 2027 due to drought conditions across the region.

Why are we doing this?

Bringing writers into a citizen science project offers a unique opportunity to connect scientific understanding with creativity, storytelling and place. Through both environmental monitoring and artistic response, the project will create new ways of understanding the health, biodiversity and future resilience of our coastal landscapes.

What is Riverfly Monitoring?

The Riverfly Monitoring Initiative is a nationwide citizen science programme that trains volunteers to monitor river health by recording freshwater invertebrates such as mayflies, caddisflies and stoneflies. Because these species are highly sensitive to pollution, they provide an important indicator of water quality and ecosystem health. Monitoring data can help identify environmental issues early and contribute to the protection of local waterways.

Get Involved

Residents with a connection to the local area are invited to join a free Riverfly Monitoring training day.  Find out more and register using the links provided.