As part of the Styrian spring cleaning this year's annual Mur river bank cleaning by the local Environment Agency and the Holding Graz will take place on Saturday, April 9th.

There are a number of different ways to get involved this year: all helping hands are welcome, whether you are running or walking.
For the first time this year, committed paddlers are also supporting us from the water and collecting litter. 
Interested, experienced paddlers with their own equipment please come directly Philip Moser arrange.

All hard-working collectors are best dressed in comfortable, sporty clothing. We also recommend sturdy shoes.

Garbage bags and gloves for picking up garbage are provided on site. For all those who feel like it, there is a warm-up together with a professional trainer in the morning.

Sign up desired until April 8th at abfallwirtschaft@stadt.graz.at or by phone at 0316-872 4365.

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Be considerate of other water sports enthusiasts, boats and animals on the water, and personal property. Keep your distance from wild animals, especially when they have young. They may see you as a threat to their offspring. Also, do not feed any animals, fish or waterfowl.

And most importantly, don't pollute nature! It is best to take the rubbish home with you and dispose of it there.

In and of itself, stand-up paddling is an environmentally friendly sport as you don't create any unnecessary emissions or pollution. However, the SUP board is usually not very environmentally friendly as it is made from materials such as fiberglass, carbon fiber or PVC. So far, there are hardly any more sustainable variants on the market.

The UTOPIA team has put together a small selection for you – you can read about it at utopia.de.

Link tip:
utopia.de

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Overall, 82.8 percent of the 22,276 bathing sites surveyed across Europe in 2020 had “excellent” water quality, while 92.6 percent met the minimum standard of “fair”.

Those numbers are about two percentage points down from 2019, the EEA said, attributing this to a larger number of beaches where no data was collected over the past year due to the pandemic.

The lack of data mainly affected Poland and the UK, which is still included in the 2020 report despite Brexit.

Water quality continues to improve in Europe

Just 1.3 percent of sites report "poor" water quality, compared to 1.4 percent in 2019 and almost 2 percent in 2013.

Under EU rules, bathing waters that have been rated as 'poor' for five consecutive years will be subject to a permanent ban.

Cyprus was the only country to achieve a perfect score in the 2020 ranking. 100 percent of the bathing spots had an "excellent" water quality, ahead of Austria (97.7 percent), Greece (97.1 percent), Malta (96.6 percent) and Croatia (95.1 percent).

Germany (89.9 %), Italy (88.6 %), Spain (88.5 %), Belgium (79.7 %) and France (77.5 %) followed.

About two thirds of bathing areas in the EU are on the sea coasts, which are generally cleaner, and one third is inland.

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Spring and early summer are the most sensitive times of the year in various protected areas: it is the breeding season for numerous rare bird species. Water sports enthusiasts and visitors should therefore follow the rules in the protected areas, especially during this time.

SUP unfamiliar to wildlife

Stand-up board sales and rentals have skyrocketed, leading to more people on the water. But for many animals, stand-up paddlers are unfamiliar. A scientific study by the National Association for the Protection of Birds has shown that SUP has particular negative effects on migratory birds.

Rare and endangered birds under threat

Rare and endangered birds breed especially in the shore area. When people approach the breeding sites or nests, the animals that are nesting in the reeds there are disturbed. This can cause them to leave their nests.

Find out about the waters beforehand

Environmentalists advise keeping enough distance and finding out about local regulations in advance. Basically, water sports should only be practiced within the permitted limits. Naturally, the nature protection zones must be respected. The World Wide Fund (WWF) also advises against paddling the stand-up board too close to the shore, as the birds need rest with their newly hatched offspring.

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