What's a river to you?

After cyclone Alfred crossed Australia's East Coast earlier this year, tens of thousands of fish died in our local river, Dave got a persistent staph infection and our community tousled with a question: what's wrong with our river? And what can we do about it ?

How does change happen when we, and the world, seem stuck in our ways?

We’re curious about how change happens – and what people are doing on the ground, in our community, to create the causal pathways to shift social and environmental ideas, norms, and policy.

The first episode heard from organisers and attendees of the 2025 Waterwomen Camp Out put on by the NGO Surfers for Climate.

In today's episode, we head to Richmond River Fest 2025, a month-long celebration of the rivers, cultures, and communities of the Northern Rivers put on by Richmond Riverkeeper.

We hear from marine scientist Liz Hawkins, who reveals how our resident Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins use the Richmond as a kitchen and nursery. She connects river health to coastal resilience.

Then, lifelong commercial fisher Mark lays down hard truths about the Teven/Tuckean barrage and failed floodgates. The fix is practical and proven.

Revive The Northern Rivers founder Tom Wolff speaks of his seventh generation connection to the river and gives Dave a guiding question that fills his sails.

Dave shares the story behind one of his projects this year, The Rivers Run. It's a 50-kilometer run–paddle–swim designed to recruit surfers, divers, and sailors into tree-planting, mangrove restoration, and on-the-ground river care with OzFish and Revive the Northern Rivers.

Along the Cape Byron Marine Park and a UNESCO-recognized Hope Spot, we remember why this coastline still inspires—and what it demands in return.

Send us a text

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Listen with Lauren L. Hill & Dave Rastovich

Sound + Video Engineer: Ben J Alexander

Theme song: Shannon Sol Carroll

Additional music by Kai Mcgilvray + Ben J Alexander

Join the conversation: @Waterpeoplepodcast

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Thanks to our generous sponsors this season:

Patagonia Australia

Alkaway

The Sunglass Fix

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