Inundated with news reports about the terrible state of England's rivers the author discovers that only fifty-eight Salmon have been counted in the River Dart in the last year, a more than 99% decline. Pollution by sewage, chemicals and fertiliser has led to huge declines in the wildlife that rely on our watery ecosystems. He decides to find out what has happened to this famous Devon river and embarks on a pilgrimage exploring the wildlife, landscapes and history surrounding the river as it descends from the high granite tors of Dartmoor through the lowlands before becoming an estuary and reaching the ocean 47 miles later.
We visit ancient woodlands, peat bogs, waterfalls and marshes and learn about the insects, birds, fish and other threatened wildlife the river supports. On the way we discover the amazing histories the river has created over thousands of years, with tales of scientists, seafarers, artists and philosophers who have left their mark on the river whilst having global impacts which have profoundly influenced 21st century thought.
During the journey he asks how we fell out of love with our rivers and allowed their decline? Can we reconnect with our waterways and the nature they support and somehow save them? We meet some of the local people working to raise awareness of the problems and develop the solutions that will make a difference. The author has spent a decade managing the historic Sharpham Estate on the banks of the river, rewilding the land and offering meditation retreats centred on cultivating mindfulness and nature connection as antidotes to the mental health crisis and the catastrophic decline in our wildlife. The story of the Dart is both unique and symbolic of all our rivers and our relationship with the world around us. By integrating mindfulness and rewilding the land we can forge a new and positive future for our rivers and all our nature which includes all humanity.
This book is an attempt to tell the story of a river through a personal pilgrimage and in doing so explore the challenges that not only our rivers are facing but that society as a whole is wrestling with: climate change, the loss of our wildlife and our declining mental health. All these crises are negatively impacting our rivers but our rivers can also be part of the solution if we can come together to care for them. The story of the Dart encompasses: history, archaeology, natural history, politics, colonialism, agriculture, literature and art as it flows through the centuries. The book sets out to tell these stories in an accessible way whilst weaving a narrative that links them to the major environmental and political developments that the river has witnessed.
The author has spent two years exploring this unique Devon river and has created the River Dart Partnership bringing together government agencies, community groups and landowners to work together to improve the state of the river. In 2025 the partners have launched an action plan for the river and are now working on securing major funding to implement it. At the same time his day job is running a charity The Sharpham Trust whose mission is to re-connect people to the natural world so that they care for it and improve their mental health in the process. Over 3,000 people attend retreats at Sharpham annually and in recent years the Trust has been focused on rewilding the land and through this the people on retreat.
Becoming the Ocean comes at a timely moment when interest in our rivers has never been higher. The public are outraged at stories of sewage being dumped and the water companies making huge profits. A citizen army has taken up the cause and the River Dart is at the forefront of these voluntary groups working to hold the powers that be to account.
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