Through creating a river diary with environmental artist James Aldridge, I reflected on the ways water has influenced and shaped my own life.

From water’s pivotal role within our bodies, to its way of shaping our history and creating memories of people and places-this activity illuminated how important, interlinked, and ever-present water is. I was able to express gratitude for these blue spaces, and reflected on how these spaces need to be protected and also accessible in order to continue building beneficial and symbiotic connections with water. I reflected on how despite water and blue spaces often being presented as a ‘free resource’, its access and uptake is by no means equal. Getting involved with the work of charities such as Open Minds Active and the Jubilee Sailing Trust, who endeavour to give marginalised groups the opportunity to participate in blue activities, allowed me to learn how connecting people with nature not only improves wellbeing, but also encourages people to want to protect these blue spaces.

 I learnt how each of us have a unique and diverse relationship with water, affecting wellbeing and identity in a host of different ways. Therefore, I hoped that this artwork and haiku would allow me to express how water is innately a part of all of us, not only as the building block of our bodies, but as a connecting and unifying force shaping who we are and how we relate to the world around us.

Izzy Saunders, medical student on the UoB Year 3 Blue Health research elective 2023