Cleaning up the banks of the Salaca

At the beginning of May, a pleasant and much-needed event took place near Salacgrīva – a clean-up of the banks of the Salaca River, organised by the association “Fishing Club SALACKRASTI” in cooperation with the Svētupe Protection Society. This year the clean-up took place on 9 May, and both club members and other active volunteers took part. Over the years, this initiative has become a lovely tradition, attracting more and more participants who want to clean up and care for the surroundings of the Salaca River. The clean-up covered a wide area – from the “Atpūtas” recreation site in the Ainaži rural area all the way to the port area in Salacgrīva.

On the morning of the clean-up, volunteers big and small, from near and far, gathered at Lašlejas in Vecsalaca. After a short briefing, morning coffee and receiving work gloves and rubbish bags, everyone set off – some volunteers cleaned up the banks of the Salaca on their own, while others were driven or went to specific sections of the river.

To keep the work moving smoothly and evenly, the river was divided into eight sections on both banks, with small groups of volunteers working in each. The sunny, warm weather made it possible to enjoy nature, have a good walk and do the work in a good mood and with genuine satisfaction. The bags of collected litter were left on the riverbanks, and later the men from the fishing club took them to collection points by boat. More than 40 volunteers took part that day. Among them were LIFE IS SALACA project partners from the Nature Conservation Agency, the Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LEGMC), the Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment BIOR and the association “Fishing Club “SALACKRASTI””.

After a job well done, the volunteers were met on the bank of the Salaca with a warm soup, conversations and a chance to take part in a draw for a gift card from the shop “Eholotes.lv”.

A heartfelt thank you to every volunteer for coming, for caring for nature and for the work you put in! Thanks to the organisers – the fishing club “Salackrasti” and the Svētupe Protection Society – for their initiative, drive and the opportunity to work together to make the banks of the Salaca cleaner and more beautiful.

The clean-up was organised by the fishing club “Salackrasti” and supported by the LIFE IS SALACA project.