Kayak Session Magazine – December 01, 2019

ENVIRO

RIVIÈRESESSENTIELLESDOCUMENTARYPROJECT

Anykayakerwhohasbeenchasingwhitewaterforlongenoughcanundoubtedlysaytheyhavewitnessedchangesto

freshwaterresources.Asthesechangescandirectlyimpactkayakers,it begsthequestion,“Whatroledoesthekayaking

communityplayin theconservationof theriversagainstglobalwarming?”TwoFrenchpaddlersaretryingto answerthis

question:MarlèneDevillez,ViceWorldChampionin freestylekayakingandNicolasCaussanel,Europeanchampionin

extremekayakracing.Bothworkprofessionallywithrivers.Marlèneis a hydrogeologistin chargeofwaterconservation

andNicolasa riverguide.Theybelieveif enoughpeoplegainawarenessabouthowglobalwarmingis changingrivers

aroundtheworld,thescalesmaytipintherightdirection.Tomotivatethisshift,theyhaveundertakena newproject:

creatinga documentaryabouthowtheriversrespondtoglobalwarming.Themovieaimstoshowhowkayakers

experiencechangesin waterways.It alsoseeksto explaintheimpactofglobalwarmingonthosedependentonrivers,

whomustadapttoitsever-changingstate.Thedocumentaryhighlightsthebeautyoftherivers,thegrandlandscapes

youcanseeonlyfroma kayak.Bymixingfootageofthefaunaandfloraaroundtheriverwithinterviewsfromscientists

andlocals,theyaimto showhowfragilethebalancebetweeneverythingis. Theirultimategoalis to broadenawareness

ofthecurrentissuessurroundingriverhealthandtoremindviewersthatsolutionsareavailable.Manyarealready

workingtirelessto defendrivers,solet’sstandupandsupportthecause.Thedocumentaryshouldbereadyin January

2020.If youwanthelpandmakethisprojectsuccess, share or follow them on their web site:riviereslessentinelles.fr

Report and photography: Marlène Devillez

PADDLEPEAKINITIATIVE,PEAKDISTRICT,UK

PeteAstlesofPeakUKhasrecentlysetupthePaddlePeakinitiativetohelptopromotepaddlesportsinthePeak

DistrictareaoftheUK.Theinitiativeaimstomeeta widerangeofobjectives,includingaccess,inspire,care,share,

andpromote.Byengagingthelocalcommunities,Peteis hopingthatmoreaccesscanbegrantedtothemultitude

ofriversinthearea,allowingmorepaddlesportstohappen.Astleshopestoencourageeveryonetotakepartin

caringfortheriver;toinspirethemtopickuprubbishinsteadofpretendingit is someoneelse'sproblem.However,

hedoesn’twantto dothisalone.Byreachingoutto localanglerclubs,businesses,andcommunities,Astleshopesto

haveeveryoneinvolvedin sharingresponsibilityfortheriverandsharingitsuse.Withthiscomesthelongtermgoalof

inspiringfuturegenerationsintogettingoutontotheriversandenjoyingthemforalltheirnaturalbeauty.Launching

theinitiativewasa grandevent.InMay 2019 Petehosteda launchpartyattheComfortMill,thefirst-everwater-

poweredmillusedforfabricintheUK!A hostoflocalbusinesses,councilors,andpaddlersattended.Championed

byOlympicGoldMedalistsEtienneStottandJoeClarke,thelaunchwasa bigsuccess.Therewasevena flatwater

freestyledemofrom 2011 WorldChampionJames‘Pringle’BebbingtonandTeamGB’sIslayCrosbie.Pete'sideawas

wellreceived.It certainlyseemslikeit hasmomentum,andcouldinspiremoreareastofollow suit! To find out more

aboutPaddlePeak,andhowyouhelpout,headtothewebsite:www.paddlepeak.org.

Report: James Ibbotson | Photography: Peak UK

STUDENTSFORRIVERSCAMP, SOCA VALLEY,

SLOVENIA,JULY 2019

ThebanksoftheSocaRiverweretheplaygroundofthefirst-everStudentsforRiversCampduringthefourthBalkan

RiversTour.Twenty-eightstudentsandmorethanfifteenspeakersfrom 20 differentnationsgatheredwithonecommon

motivation;tousetheirbrainstoprotectthelastremainingwildriversofEurope.Asa teammemberofBalkanRiver

Defence,Veracamewiththeideato involvemorestudentsin researchthatshowsthevalueof free-flowingrivers.The

ideagota name- RiverIntellectuals- andoneyearlater,theStudentforRiversCampservedastheofficialkick-off

forthisnetwork.Students,professors,NGOrepresentatives,riverdefenders,andkayakers,allgatheredto learnabout

theriversystem,theimpactsofhydropowerdevelopment,thedriversbehindthisdevelopmentandhowactionis

takenonthegroundto counterthisdevelopment.Expertlecturersexplainedhowhydropowerdevelopmentimpacts

riversystems.Througha seriousgame,studentsgota feelingofhowcorruptioncanplaya role.Discussionrounds

broughtin a widerangeofperspectivesfromthediversegroupofstudents.Throughouttheweek,thestudentstook

theopportunitytodevelopideasandpitchedseveninspiringprojectstoeachother,theSocavalleylocalsandthe

wholeBalkanRiversTourcrew.ThankstotheFreeRiversFund,thetwomostpromisingprojectsgota smallgrantto

kickstarttheirprojects.Judgingfromtheirmotivation(ortheamountof schnappsdrunkto celebrate),wecanexpect

somecoolactivitiesnextyear,whichwillbringscienceto thepeopleandviceversa.Theweek'shighlightwasa river

trip,whichwasthefirsttimeonthewaterforsomeoftheparticipants.Don’tbesurprisedif youencountersome

brainsonyourriversoon,asmanystudentsmentionedtheynowwantto buya kayak!TheRiverIntellectualsNetwork

aimstobringtogethertheworldsofacademiaandriverconservation.It challengesresearcherstospeakuponthe

impactof hydropowerdevelopment,andit encouragesstudentsandyoungresearcherto choosetopicsthatareclose

to theirheart.If youhavea projectideaorneedscientificammunitionto fightyourbattle,havea look at our website

balkanriverdefence.org/intellectuals, andgetin touch [email protected]. 

Report: Vera Knook | Photography: Katja Pokorn

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