GET READY because we had a full day of HAPPY Canal It Uppers!

Gislaine and Vincent were the first to brave the cold winds and gather as much plastic as they could find! They live in the neighborhood, close to the canal and were therefor very keen to do something about the ever-present pollution.

Next up were Tinne and Stefano who heard about our project through a friend who already navigated the Brussels’ waters. They were both super motivated and stayed a long time on the water, determined to see it cleaned properly.

They brought out a full bin of plastic with a big smile and we can’t help smiling along when you realize that all that plastic won’t end up in our oceans!

The third group of kayakers consisted of James and Alexandra: James works on an urban farm and loves his job, so he knows his way around nature. They biked to our rendez-vous spot, quickly jumped into the kayak and left without a fishing net, but that didn’t stop them from fishing out plastic with their own (gloved) hands! True eco warriors!

After came Lore and Anton: Lore is also a neighborhood kid who wants to make a change where she lives. Anton participated as part of a project for his bachelor’s degree at Sint Lukas.

Then came Joanna and Audrey: Joanna is a known face at Canal It Up. This time she brought Audrey, who seemed super happy to hit the water! So eager, they were off before they had life jackets on! Although they were the fifth group on the water, they also came back with a good amount of plastic.

Our second to last group were Tine and Koen: they too came by bike and were well prepared! Tine and Koen brought back a full blue bin and we discussed the project once they were out of the water. They felt it was kind of frustrating to see how much trash there is in our canal and how it can seem futile to fish it out when you see how much there’s still left.

Totaly true! Canal it Up aims to make people aware of the problem, but we can’t handle it alone. That’s why we’re proposing and asking the local politicians for durable solutions to keep the plastic out of our water, keep the water clean and make the canal a place full of life.