Following last week's announcement by the NSW government of a new Richmond River Coordinator, a gathering at Swan Bay heard from Julie McLellan, CEO of Healthy Land & Water, southeast Queensland's natural resource management organisation, about the practicalities of restoring rivers.

Richmond River champions Graeme Gibson and Steve Posselt have written an open letter to Kyogle and Richmond Valley Councils, urging action to protect the river.

Since taking their beautifully decorated tinnie up the Richmond, from Ballina almost to Kyogle, Steve Posselt and Graeme Gibson have appeared at a series of forums to share what they've learned and to continue the community conversation about what needs to happen next.

On Sunday afternoon, Steve Posselt and Graeme Gibson will set out in a small tinnie from Ballina to travel as far upstream as they can go, beyond Kyogle. The idea is to highlight the shocking state of the Richmond and Wilson Rivers, and spark community conversations to demand change.