My name is Larissa, I'm 15 years old and a student of the King Albert I CEFFA (family farm school). I will tell the story of the Clean River project, which was created in 1998 by former student and current teacher of the Institute ´Dirceu Tardem´.

He saw in that time a need to start the project because, in times of heavy rains and floods, a great amount of pesticide containers were moved around by the water and tended to accumulate as garbage in the area. The project was created to raise awareness within the community, so that inhabitants wouldn´t throw garbage on the streets or on the banks of springs; that could result in future water pollution in the region.

We must reflect on this, because this water is not only used for drinking, also it is also needed for the irrigation of agricultural crops grown by communities in the area.

Once every year, we students, organized by communities, participate actively in garbage collection together with the teachers. We also have the opportunity to create designs, the best of them being selected to be printed on T-shirts. After the implementation of the Project, we see a very satisfactory improvement, as there are no more pesticide containers in rivers, and actions such as selective waste collection started in the community.

This initiative has proved to be working out and every year students participate in environmental education classes, allowing them to spread the word about the importance of preservation and care for the environment. This year our theme will be: “The 17th CLEAN RIVER FOR A BETTER WORLD” and we will have a full week of work with lectures and presentations, recovery of springs, preservation of riparian forests, among others.

SO, SHALL WE GET INVOLVED?