Some great expeditions on the canal last week, each of them deserve a word to share!

Wednesday evening of their staycation, friends-for-life Bart and Claire took up the nets to paddle with a purpose. Supercool to take them and my girlfriend Ellen on this tropical evening session. After an hour of waste hunting, we finished with a couple of proper Belgian beers till the last call at Place St. Cath. Yes, the bag from bpost visible on one of the pictures was taken out of the canal …

Saturday afternoon we had the pleasure to welcome 14 (!) New Kids. We started with a bubble of 4 subscribed by Lidewij. Soci-, ecologic- and culturally engaged youngsters who came to the Akenkaai by bike to help cleaning the canal with a smile. (yes, we have a good parking spot for your precious bikes). The amount of floating waste wasn’t enough the fill up the buckets, but that would change later on that day …

Up next the youngest star of the day. Marcel, without fear this 3 year old New Kid took his position in the kayak and commanded his friend Chloé with his great enthusiasm to keep on paddling. Sporty Chloé had to come up with creative solutions when Marcel first picked-up a dead fish and later on a “dirty balloon” 😊. Special thanks to his parents to trust us with their boy.

Next up was Kathérine who came with her friend to join a kayak session and support Canal It Up. They managed to get in and out of the water completely independent. Natural talents! The other kayak was powered by Avi – an American who followed his heart to Belgium 3 years ago – and Fatima – who recently moved from the countryside east of Leuven to the northern region of Brussels and is now exploring the region like a real scout.

The last group of the day had without a doubt the most heroic scene to work in. Team Agnieska took of with a sunny breeze, but ended up in heavy rain showers – thunder and lightning included –  seeking shelter underneath the bridges. Under the lead of Agnieska this group of Polish and German friends got back safe and went to enjoy a beer afterwards with a good story in their pockets and a smile on their faces.

After the rainfall, the sewage system filled up the canal with waste again. Job-o’clock for the Sunday crew and once again a reminder that the problem of the overflows of the sewage system has to be tackled if we ever want to see a canal with acceptable water quality.

It was a great pleasure to welcome all of these motivated social spirits in our community! Quite sure we’ll meet again. Thank You all for joining and sharing your motivation!

#StaycationBXL