Bigbury Net Zero Assembly 2025

Thursday 13 March 2025

Location: Burgh Island, Bigbury-upon-sea, Devon

Thursday, 13 March 2025    I    Burgh Island, Bigbury-upon-sea, Devon

Experts, policymakers, and community leaders will gather at Burgh Island to address the pressing issue of water pollution on Devon’s rivers. 

PML’s Professor Pennie Lindeque, Professor Andy Rees and Dr Frances Hopkins will be taking part, and joining discussions centered on local and national strategies for improving water quality.

Monty Halls, the renowned marine biologist, conservationist, and broadcaster – best known for his work on the BBC, Channel 4 and National Geographic – will deliver the keynote address, highlighting the urgent threat of water pollution and its impact on local communities and the environment.

The Assembly, hosted by Avon River Champions and Bigbury Net Zero will feature a distinguished line-up of speakers, including Caroline Voaden, MP for South Devon, Guy Singh Waston, Founder of Riverford, Nick Bruce-White CEO of Devon Wildlife Trust, Katrina Walker, Solicitor World Wildlife Fund Gary Jolliffe, CEO of Force4Nature, and Simon Browning, Technical Lead at The Rivers Trust.

Louise Wainwright, Chair of Avon River Champions, will present the BluePrint Project, which champions the formation of River Water Quality Groups linking up parish councils along the river valleys and the communities that live there. This is a call to action urging environment organisations and local communities to consider the practical solutions to pollution and take immediate local steps to protect Devon’s waterways. The BluePrint Project includes a pledge to achieve ‘good’ ecological status across Devon’s rivers by 2027, by achieving this on a myriad of small catchments across Devon. The primary goal is to fully-fund farmers to install Nature-based Solutions to both agricultural pollution and sewage overspills. Reed-beds, leaky dams, river buffer zones are amongst the many easy-to-install practical solutions to pollution which also bring local communities together as they support local farmers to get this done.

The Devon Rivers Manifesto will also be presented as a blueprint for national action on the UK’s rivers. The Manisfesto will challenge elected MPs to use their mandate to restore the budgets needed for farmers to afford to undertake Catchment Sensitive Farming, and for the Environment Agency to control the excesses of water companies and ensure they comply with their Discharge Permit.