.png)
We Are The Riverkeepers
What if every river - no matter where you traveled - was clean enough to swim in, drink from, and sustain life?
We Are The Riverkeepers is a powerful new podcast dedicated to protecting and celebrating the world’s waterways. Created with Richmond Riverkeeper Association and hosted by Presenter, Author and Storyteller Mel Bampton, this series dives into the essential role rivers play - not just in our ecosystems, but in our lives, our stories, and our survival.
Through thorough conversations with environmentalists, scientists, Indigenous leaders, artists, and activists, we explore both the beauty and the urgency of river protection. From the tributaries of the Richmond River to the great arteries of the world, we ask:
If the rivers could speak, what would they say?
This podcast goes beyond environmentalism to reveal how the health of our rivers is deeply connected to our emotional, social, physical, and cultural well-being. Clean rivers support biodiversity, secure drinking water, food supply, recreation, and climate resilience. They also offer something more intangible: a sense of place, purpose, and spiritual connection.
In a world facing ecological crisis, We Are The Riverkeepers brings hope, action, and connection. We’re amplifying the voices of those on the front lines of river protection and inviting everyone - you included - to join us in the riverkeeping revolution.
You, me, We Are The Riverkeepers.
Join us:
Listen, Rate, Review and Subscribe.
Follow @RichmondRiverkeeper
Follow @melbampton_
This podcast has been made possible with support from the Australian Government through the Emergency Response Fund, administered by NSW Reconstruction Authority's Northern Rivers Recovery and Resilience Program 2022-23. Delivered by North Coast Regional Landcare Network through the Caring for Catchments project.
Let’s work together, to make rivers swimmable, fishable and drinkable, worldwide. You, me, We Are The Riverkeepers
We Are The Riverkeepers
What Role Does Ceremony Play In River Health with Saundi McClain-Kloeckener and Tess Eckert
Saundi is a member of the Native Women's Care Circle, a grassroots prayer group based in what is now known as St. Louis, Mo. She is of Cherokee and African American descent. Saundi has taken part in many prayer walks and has supported traditional water blessings for many years. Saundi is a jingle dancer as well as an educator, educational consultant, storyteller and a rock climber. Saundi joins us today from her homelands in Missouri, in the United States.
Tess Eckert is an independent movement artist and facilitator, creatively exploring the relationship between inner and outer landscapes via contemporary dance, poetry, sound, and mixed-media. Tess utilises the language of movement and the somatic arts for community building, healing, and social justice. Eckert is descended on her mother’s line from the Chickasaw Tribe of Oklahoma (US First Nations) with connections to the Mississippi river, as well as Swedish ancestors, and from German ancestry on her father’s line. Having migrated to the Bundjalung Nation in Australia 13 years ago from the Rocky Mountains of North America, central to Eckert’s collaborations is an investigation of how to create a sense of belonging. Tess has been working as a spaceweaver in the natural disaster recovery space, and is passionate about the vital link between the health of waters and lands and the well-being of our communities. Tess joins us from Widjabul Wia-bal Country in Northern NSW Australia
Saundi McClain-Kloeckener and Tess Eckert are from long-lines of waterkeepers, connected to their ancestors through the waterways that sustained life, culture and knowledge for many generations before colonised boundaries dissected rivers and people from continuums of custodial care, something they are devoting their lives, in different ways, to restoring through the knowledge that was passed down to them, and between them.
Support the Native Women's Circle and learn about the prayer walks at https://www.nibiwalk.org/
And if you'd like to contribute to Crossing The Water, you can support the coming together of global waterkeepers here.
🌱 Follow Richmond Riverkeepers
🌱 Follow host Mel Bampton
Follow, Rate and Review We Are The Riverkeepers on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts
This podcast has been made possible with support from the Australian Government through the Emergency Response Fund, administered by NSW Reconstruction Authority's Northern Rivers Recovery and Resilience Program 2022-23. Delivered by North Coast Regional Landcare Network through the Caring for Catchments project. Let’s work together, to make rivers swimmable, fishable and drinkable, worldwide. You, me, We Are The Riverkeepers