In this book, Nick Hayes sets out to explore landownership in England while also documenting his own experiences of trespass. Chapter 10 invites us to examine the ownership of rivers as Hayes explores the Rivers Kennet and Thames in his kayak. We are introduced to Riparian Rights, where the Crown owns the water in the river. At the same time, the landowner holds the rights to the riverbank (and -bed extending halfway across the river) and to Navigation Acts, giving people free passage along rivers. Various stakeholders in the river are considered, including The Angling Trust, the Environment Agency, kayakers such as Hayes himself and riverside homeowners. Hayes questions why such a large amount of riverbank is in private hands and tells of a visit to Richard Benyon MP to discuss why less than 4% of rivers in England and Wales have public access. An extremely readable chapter for teachers and older students who are likely to be inspired to jump into their own kayaks and get exploring!

The Environment Agency is responsible for a range of areas in England, including water quality and resources, fisheries, inland river navigation, conservation and ecology and managing the risk of flooding from main rivers, reservoirs, estuaries and the sea. Their priorities include working with organisations to manage the use of resources, increasing resilience to risks of flooding and coastal erosion, protecting and improving water, land and biodiversity and working as a regulator to support sustainable growth. The EA2025 report details the Agency’s ambitious plans from 2020–2025: ‘We need to take bold and transformative action to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we found it while supporting a sustainable, fair and healthy recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.’ This beautifully presented and readable report may inspire young people to work in the EA and related organisations. It would be interesting to take the tables on pages 20–23 and consider the barriers that could get in the way of achieving these goals and how they could be overcome.

Will the 21st Century be the ‘era of restoration in ecology’? Pearce starts this chapter with this quote from E. O. Wilson, going on to suggest that the EU has strong political will to achieve this goal and that water engineers believe that ‘more natural rivers will not just be good for ecology, they will be better for humans too – less vulnerable to both floods and droughts, and better able to absorb pollution’. Different definitions and approaches to river restoration are considered, with examples of projects from across the continent. Mistakes made in over-engineering rivers to turn them into pipes to transport waste to the sea, transport routeways and sources of power are discussed alongside more recent plans to remove concrete banks and revive natural floodplains. However, people now inhabit much of this land, making restoration a complex process. You could set groups of students a challenge to investigate how and why rivers mentioned in this chapter have been managed in the past and how approaches are changing.

CPiL partners include the Environment Agency, London Wildlife Trust, Greater London Authority, Zoological Society London and more, making this report a great example of what can be achieved when different organisations work together. The 600+km of rivers in the capital have faced many challenges as the city developed, often being seen as a hazard rather than bringing environmental benefits. This project operates at a catchment scale, involving communities and stakeholders in restoring their local rivers. 111 projects have been carried out and case studies of projects tackling flood risk management, climate change resilience, access to nature, urban greening and biodiversity are given (with accompanying photographs). Teachers and students will gain many ideas from this report and may wish to participate in projects along their local rivers.

Simon reeve visits the Tana Delta, the point where Kenya's longest river flows into the Ibndian Ocean, and interviews local people over land and river exploitation disputes.