Photo retrieved from TV2 Bornholm. Photo credit: Tonny Nybirk.
In September, Chad Boda, Associate Professor of Environmental Science and research coordinator for the Green and Just Cities theme at IUR, joined volunteer anglers, city representatives and an enthusiastic group of schoolchildren to implement a river restoration project in Byå, located in the center of Rønne, the capital of the Island of Bornholm. Together they were able to restore a 300-meter section of this highly degraded urban water course, including three new spawning beds for sea trout and more habitat for fish, eels, crawfish, and other aquatic life. The project was spearheaded by the organization Vandpleje which advocates for the restoration of water courses across Bornholm. Chad has been working with groups like Vandpleje to better understand how civil society organizations build alliances and develop strategies to help them overcome persistent barriers to environmental restoration, both locally and across the landscape as a whole. The project demonstrates the under-appreciated potential of civil society initiatives to address long-neglected environmental harms and the urgent need for more state and public support for organizations like Vandpleje.
This initiative was featured by TV2 Bornholm – check out the article here and the video clip here (in Danish)!
