On World Water Day (22 March), exceptional kayaking took place on the Senne in Wallonia during our campaign. A unique experience for all participants that could continue with the support from the Life Belini project and its partners. In addition, during our campaign you could also cycle and walk in several places and in Beersel you could even spot aquatic animals.
Contrat de Rivière Senne organised this 8km kayaking trip on the Senne between Rebecq and Tubize. This was the first time the event was organised for the general public. The stretch of river, which is not normally navigable, was given temporary permission by the Walloon Region to allow kayaks there.
After some project partners had already explored the route on Friday, 60 lucky pre-registered participants were able to enjoy the experience on Saturday 22 March and rediscover the river from a completely different perspective. This part of the Senne has a poor ecological status. Therefore, this activity was very important to give citizens a positive experience and reconnect them with their environment and make them aware of biodiversity, waste and wastewater discharges.
Despite strong urbanisation, the Woluwe river still largely flows in the open air in Brussels along many green areas. During the morning walk from Hof ter Musschen to the Parc des Sources, you learned a lot more about the river and many concrete projects that contribute to the revitalisation of this exceptional corner of Brussels, such as the opening up of the river, interventions to better capture rainwater and various restoration works.
In the afternoon, there was plenty of cycling along the Woluwe through Brussels and Flanders. The river often flows above ground but in many places also hidden underground. This guided bike tour showed the river’s difficult but beautiful trajectory in both regions and passed many concrete projects and plans for revitalisation, such as the Red Monastery and the various parks along the Woluwe. With a nice informative stopover at parc Malou!
In the Alsembergse Beemd nature park, the Flemish Land Agency together with several partners carried out a lot of development work for the nature and experience of the park. A new canal was created between the Molenbeek and the Leuzebeek. New pools were also created for amphibians and dragonflies. That is why on Sunday 23 March we went looking for aquatic animals, you could join a real quest, watch a beautiful documentary about the Molenbeek and enjoy all this natural beauty.
Besides these activities, there was of course a lot more to enjoy such as our (audio) walks along Dijle, Demer and Molenbeek, educational activities on flooding and a visit to one of our flood plains on the Zenne. It was once again plenty of enjoyment of water during our campaign days!
