It is a natural resource whose waters and meadows have provided food. As a navigable waterway from Lechlade to the North Sea it has provided the means of transporting this food, as well as minerals, such as coal and iron, and manufactured goods along its length.

It has attracted the construction of great architecture, large and small, along its banks and spanning its waters: the dreaming spires of Oxford, Windsor Castle, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, St Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, London's regenerated docklands, Greenwich, the Thames Barrier, the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge at Dartford...the list is endless.s.

Much of England's culture, high and low, has been developed on its banks, schools and universities, theatres, concert halls, music halls, opera houses, gambling dens, opium dens. The first poem in modern English, Sumer is icumen in, was composed in Reading Abbey.

The Thames has attracted people from all over the world who have in turn contributed and enriched its and our heritage, Huguenot, Jewish, Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, African and Caribbean communities ‑ and many others ‑ have settled on its banks. The Thames at Oxford hosts annual Bangladeshi boat races.

Sport has flourished both on and alongside the Thames, boat racing and fishing, horse racing and dog racing, football and rugby, prizefighting and boxing. Much of the 2012 Olympic Games will be centred on or close by the Thames.

This is an ancient but living heritage that has depended and will depend on generation handing it on to generation. The Thames Heritage Tapestry will play its part in passing it on to today's schoolchildren.n.

And the tapestry itself may well itself become a part of the Thames’ heritage. 

The Wetland Centre in Barnes and the Rainham Marshes are just two reserves of massive importance, which those of you living near them or lucky enough to have visited them will know. And most importantly of all, the present generation of schoolchildren is more aware of the importance of caring for the environment and more responsible than any other before. Can we look after the Thames?

 The Thames is very resilient. But over more than two millennia people have placed great strains on its ability to sustain not just its varied habitats for nature and wildlife but the health and livelihoods of the eleven million people who live along its banks and the millions more who depend on it more indirectly.

 There are many large-scale issues that Government and local planning authorities must always deal with, but there are many things that all of us can do individually that together will make a real difference in helping the Thames flourish. We can make sure we dispose of rubbish in litter bins or take it home with us so it doesn’t end up in or near the river. We should only use as much water as we need to and get leaking taps fixed and don’t leave them running when you don’t need to. This way we’ll keep the river level where it should be, which is the level that suits wildlife and ourselves the best.

 And by recycling and reducing our ‘carbon footprint’, we can help reduce the global warming that is changing our climate, causing more floods and droughts and ultimately making the sea level rise. All of which is the worst possible news for the Thames and every other river and indeed everything else in the world.

Can we look after the Thames? Can we stave off global warming? Yes we can!