The meeting of the waters

In The Meeting of the Waters, Anjuli Grantham describes ‘The Gathering’ a coalition of grassroots environmental campaigners from the North of Ireland, including activists in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland organised under the Derry-based circular economy group, ‘Zero Waste North West.’ It acts as a platform for autonomous organising to counter ecological destruction. Among other things, the Gathering advances the rights of nature, advocating for eco-jurisprudence within institutions while alsotesting how individuals might shift from an anthropocentric to an ecocentric worldview and ways of living. In 2021, activists from the Gathering successfully lobbied for the passage of municipal motions on the rights of nature in three council areas, becoming the first councils in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland to do so. Since then, members have drafted the Rights of the Foyle, which is devoted to conserving a cross-border river and lough system.