Our Mighty Meandering River Tees

For decades Stockton town centre has had its back turned to the Tees – a dark, polluted, and foul-smelling industrial river, but now Stockton is opening up again to the riverside and welcoming the Tees back into the heart of our town.

This gives us the perfect opportunity to celebrate our river and learn how to protect and enhance its beauty, its biodiversity, its opportunities for low-carbon transport, community cycling, walking, and its provision of cooling green space.

Our Mighty Meandering Tees is a project, funded by ARC Stockton’s Pizza and Pitches fund, with an aim to spark imagination, love, and knowledge about our River. Pupils from Tilery Primary school became experts in their River, learning about the River’s habitat, what is being done, and what more could be done to help the River adapt to changes and thrive in the future.

We travelled back in time to discover how the River has changed over the centuries, how it brought industry and wealth to the town, but also how industry damaged and polluted the river creating an almost dead river. We investigated the river today and how its biodiversity has been brought back to life, and we learned about the fascinating eels of the river Tees.

Local children’s author Lisette Auton helped us create the story of our Mighty Tees from its murky past to what we think it might look like in the future – would it be good news?

Project delivered by Drake the Bookshop.

Work created by Tilery Primary School pupils, supported by Lisette Auton.