We Are The Riverkeepers

About 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

Publisher

Richmond Riverkeepers inconjunction with Mel Bampton

Category

science · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

9 Apr 2025

Latest episode

16 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

10 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   16 Jul 2026

   Collaboration For River Rights with Kristin den Exter

   Some people come into the role of riverkeeper as they grow, others are born to it. There are few people in deeper proactive relationship with the catchments of the northern rivers than Kristin den Exter. Landcare, Richmond Riverkeeper, Jagun Alliance, Kristin’s motto is collaboration for resilience – ecological resilience, social resilience, relational resilience – things that at the end of the day, are all one in the same, serving the same purpose, to heal and to prosper. Kristin is an...

2. 

   7 May 2026

   How We Ended Up Here with Adele Wessell

   Associate Professor of History, Adele Wessell approaches the river a little differently. Having lived in the Northern Rivers for 30 years and teaching history at Southern Cross University over that time, she’s developed a multi-layered relationship with the Richmond in Northern NSW on Widjabal Wia-bal Country. Hers is personal, as well as professional and steeped in stories of the past – Indigenous and Colonial. She is a founding member of Richmond Riverkeeper as well as the Richmond River Hi...

3. 

   26 Mar 2026

   Connect To Protect with Marc Yaggi

   Marc Yaggi is a man brimming with stories. As the Chief Executive Officer of Waterkeeper Alliance, an organisation based in New York but with members and allies all over the globe, Marc serves as a leading voice for a global movement dedicated to securing clean, healthy, and abundant water for all people and the planet. He is connected to hundreds of people around the world doing extraordinary things and his connections, connects them all. His commitment to environmental advocacy, is un...

4. 

   26 Feb 2026

   The River Runs Through Your Veins with Mitch King

   Mitch King is a Yaegl Bundjalung multi-disciplinary artist with deep connections to the rivers that grew him and his ancestors up. As a story teller he has translated this thread of connection – the rivers that run through his homelands, the creation stories that make clear - and heed the warnings - of the importance of looking after the waterways – through dance, hip hop and contemporary overlays of multimedia onto indoor and outdoor stages, that have at the centre of his work a deep sense o...

5. 

   24 Oct 2025

   Following The River Home with Ella Bancroft

   Ella Bancroft, a Bundjalung poet and activist, explores the profound connection between human well-being and the health of ancestral waterways in this interview.

6. 

   11 Sept 2025

   Living with Risk: Life Beside The River with Elly Bird

   Elly Bird, former Lismore City Councillor and Executive Director of Resilient Lismore, discusses how communities rebuild emotionally after catastrophic flooding, revealing our deepest relationship with rivers.

7. 

   14 Aug 2025

   Ocean Lovers, Why It's Time To Look Upstream with Zoe White

   Host [Host Name] interviews ocean advocate Zoe White about how a love for the ocean reveals critical upstream river health issues.

8. 

   20 Jun 2025

   What Role Does Ceremony Play In River Health with Saundi McClain-Kloeckener and Tess Eckert

   Saundi McClain-Kloeckener and Tess Eckert explore the role of ceremony in maintaining river health, highlighting indigenous perspectives and practices in this interview.

9. 

   16 May 2025

   How Rivers Connect Us To Past, Present And Each Other with Rhoda Roberts

   Rhoda Roberts is from a long-line of patient, powerful First Nations people, innovators and advocates, who have created newspapers, radio, cultural and healing hubs, spaces and services to overcome the profound and ongoing impacts of colonisation. Rhoda holds was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the performing arts, leadership, advocacy and promoting contemporary Indigenous culture. She holds too many awards to mention here. Rhoda was the found...

10. 

    9 Apr 2025

    What The Richmond River Can Teach Us with Prof. Amanda Reichelt-Brushett

    When humans harm the rivers, how does that in turn harm humans? What can we do to turn the tides on unhealthy rivers and make them places again to play, fish, work and enjoy? Prof. Amanda Reichelt-Brushett has spent 3 decades studying one of the most significant waterways in NSW, a river with a unique geomorphology that sees the river behave in extraordinary ways during large rain events - the Richmond River. In this episode, we talk about: 💧What place does compassion play in improving river...

Who has been a guest on We Are The Riverkeepers

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Ella Bancroft
• Elly Bird
• Zoe White
• Saundi McClain-Kloeckener
• Tess Eckert

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 12 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

25

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

Contact We Are The Riverkeepers

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.