Press Release – Apr. 29th, 2019
Amsterdam visitors help clean up the canal after King’s Day
29 April 2019, AMSTERDAM
Locals and visitors alike joined forces in Amsterdam on Monday to help scoop up litter along the iconic canals of Amsterdam.
The initiative was organised by local walking tour company SANDEMANs NEW Europe, in collaboration with Starboard Boats, who provided the boat, the captain and even breakfast.
Around 25 people from across the world took part, and to say thank you, Starboard also gave participants a souvenir made from recycled plastic that had been previously fished out of the canal.
For these visitors, it was a chance to give back to the city and meet some of the local residents, who had impressed them on their travels.
The youngest participant, seven-year-old Davinia from Murcia, Spain, got her whole family to join the clean up because her parents have always told her “to be aware of how damaging trash can be”.
It was not just the initiative that the participants had praise for, as many also expressed how much they were enjoying Amsterdam itself. Josefin Haß, a visitor from Berlin, Germany said of Amsterdam, ”everyone is so nice here and I would love to come back!”, while Rebeca Alday from Guatemala praised Amsterdam for being a “beautiful city” that is so much more than just drugs and prostitution.
Although the clean up saw guests from as far afield as Serbia taking part, it was the support of the local community that really made this event a success. Local Sophie Verleer joined the clean up because she has a passion for sustainability and wanted to encourage visitors to keep her hometown beautiful so everyone can continue enjoying it.
SANDEMANs Chief Partnerships and Communications Officer Stephanie Taylor-Carrillo said, “we now operate in 20 cities and are always looking for interesting ways to not only show love for the city, but also to nurture a genuine commitment to sustainable tourism in travelers who join our tours. With the city celebrating King’s Day, we thought the clean up was a timely way to give back to Amsterdam.
“Starboard Boats has been very accommodating, and we are very grateful to them for collaborating with us on this project.” she added.
SANDEMANs will be holding a similar clean ups in Edinburgh and Berlin in the coming months, and is hoping to make the Amsterdam clean up a regular programme to get visitors to the city involved in more community-minded projects.
