Volunteers became salmon, deer and earthworms.
ASRA and the University of the West of England ran a six-month project in which about 30 people on Somerset's River Tone explored river risk through the perspectives of five animal species.
A project called Risks Beyond Human Eyes tested a different way of assessing risk on the River Tone in Somerset, UK. People from across the catchment, from the river's source to its mouth, examined systemic risk through the lives, senses and dependencies of five species: otter, Atlantic salmon, earthworm, kestrel and red deer.
The project ran from January to June 2026. It was a collaboration between ASRA and the University West of England (UWE), delivered with Friends of Longrun Meadow at French Wier and Somerset Wildlife Trust. Funding came from the Ecological Citizen(s) Network + (EPSRC/UKRI). Around 30 people took part in a series of structured gatherings, drawn from communities including Elworthy, Burrowbridge, Luxhay and West Bagborough.
Each participant worked from the perspective of one of the animals. They considered what pollution, physical barriers, noise, land-use change and changing water levels could mean for that species. The work combined facilitated discussion with fieldwork in places where the animals live. Participants looked at where an animal moves, what it depends on, what it can sense, and how pressures in one part of the catchment can cause consequences elsewhere.
The organizers set clear limits on the method. No one claimed to speak for the animals, and the perspectives were described as partial and carefully qualified. They were used alongside ecological, scientific and local knowledge rather than in place of it. The project treated another life as a disciplined way of asking different questions about the system.
The team listed several initial observations. These included that the bioregion is the best system boundary for nature-centric risk work, that animal-centred fieldwork changes how people perceive risk, and that treating residents as local ecological knowledge holders changes their relationship to place and risk. The team also found that 3D geospatial representation of systemic risk is technically challenging but promising.
To support the work, ASRA built the NCA Demonstrator, an interactive 3D map of the River Tone bioregion that gathers the project's data, evidence and methods. According to the page, it is meant for exploration and further development, not to offer definitive conclusions or recommendations. The project builds on ASRA's STEER tool and UWE's More-Than-Human Lens Toolkit, and the team describes it as a replicable model other bioregions can adapt.
Note: The headline says volunteers "became" animals. The page says about 30 participants worked from the perspective of one species and that no one claimed to speak for the animals. It also names otter and kestrel among the five species.
At a Glance
- The project ran from January to June 2026 on the River Tone in Somerset, UK.
- Around 30 people from catchment communities took part in the structured gatherings.
- The five species were otter, Atlantic salmon, earthworm, kestrel and red deer.
- ASRA built the NCA Demonstrator, an interactive 3D map of the River Tone bioregion.
- Partners were UWE, Friends of Longrun Meadow and Somerset Wildlife Trust; funding came from EPSRC/UKRI.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.