We have become used to thinking of rivers as resources. We seldom ask what a river might need from us. Legal scholar César Rodríguez-Garavito asks what changes when rivers, forests and ecosystems are recognised not as property, but as living entities with rights of their own. His work develops legal frameworks for Rights of Nature. But changing the law is only part of the question. What would it take for people to relate differently to the rivers they live alongside? Emergence Trust supports a collaboration between César and Robert Macfarlane, author of Is a River Alive? Together, they are working with emerging Rights of Rivers initiatives in the UK and developing RiverSongs: a cultural practice for connecting people with their rivers.