For the last nine years Friends of the Earth Belgium (Wallonia and Brussels)/les Amis de la Terre Belgique has participated and supported the annual Big Jump, a European initiative to clean Europe’s rivers and fresh water reserves.
The concept is simple: on the same day, at the same time, citizens across Europe jump into rivers and lakes to demonstrate their commitment to clean water. This year the Namur authorities closed the city’s only public beach due to concerns about water pollution levels and due to maintenance costs. Friends of the Earth Belgium mobilised the local population and media to meet at the beach and jump together – showing local support for a clean public beach, accessible to everyone. The benefits of clean water should be enjoyed irrespective of the cost.
The same volunteers jumped earlier in the day, at the Wépion and Eau d’Heure lakes. People jumped together into the local rivers in front of journalists and politicians.
– a Big Jump from 2009
Volunteers manned an info stand with public displays raising awareness of the rarity of drinkable water worldwide, and providing information on how to save water at home, source ecological cleaning products, harvest drinkable rainwater, and create dry toilets.
Friends of the Earth Belgium has a long history of working on water, acting as an information hub to orientate volunteers to help harvest rainwater and build dry toilets.
The Big Jump also aims to demonstrate support for management plans that improve the ecological status of rivers, and it embodies citizen awareness and support for the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive.
