With the “ÖkoKajaks” from the rental company “Die Zugvögel” you can paddle through the countryside around Stuttgart and collect garbage.

Have Fun and Do Something GoodKayaking and Litter Picking on the Enz River

2.2.20246 min. read timeby Hirsch & Greif

With the free “ÖkoKajaks”, you can paddle through the countryside around Stuttgart and collect garbage. We tried it out and were out and about on the River Enz.

BW Story - CMREco-Kayaking - an Outdoor Experience for the Whole Family

Paddle around the countryside around Stuttgart picking up litter on the rivers in one of the free ‘ÖkoKajaks’ (eco-kayaks) you can hire from ‘Die Zugvögel’, a water sports equipment rental run by Anna Bröll.

Life jackets are compulsory for young paddlers on water excursions.

Boy collects garbage in river with eco-kayak

Life jackets are compulsory for young paddlers on water excursions.

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Litter Picking with an Eco-Kayak

It is not easy to catch a ball with a litter picker. It dances stubbornly between the branches hanging over the banks of the Enz River, but little Greta doesn’t give up. It is the beginning of a cheerful chase. The green eco-kayak called Lubi, which looks like a baby crocodile, floats into the bushes with Greta, peals of laughter ringing out as she paddles away. It is the first time the primary school girl has steered one of these boats on her own, and she is clearly proud of how well she is doing. Finally, she manages to get within touching distance of the red ball, grabs it with a smile and hauls it into the boat. There is a round of applause from the rest of the family. Litter picking can be fun after all!Greta is out and about with her little brother Henri and their parents around the viaduct in Bietigheim-Bissingen. The four of them are exploring the nature and picking up litter from the water. They do not find much - a couple of plastic bottles, a paddling pool, some packaging and the ball – but that is as it should be. The Enz River in Bietigheim-Bissingen is pretty clean, and the water sports equipment rental company ‘Die Zugvögel’ makes even cleaner. At three of the seven rental stations along the Enz, Neckar and Rems Rivers, you can hire an eco-kayak free of charge and set off with a long litter picker and a collecting bucket. They do not take reservations, so it is best to call up and ask whether the eco-kayak happens to be available in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Weinstadt-Endersbach or Ludwigsburg. If it is a family trip, you simply hire some normal canoes at the same time. It was just a lucky coincidence that two of the green canoes were in Bietigheim-Bissingen today.

For People with and without DisabilitiesInclusive SUP Experience

“It’s an ongoing project. We often organise clean-ups along the Neckar in the spring and they are always well received,” explains Anna Bröll, head of ‘Die Zugvögel’. “But we also wanted to give families and individual paddlers the chance to go out litter picking on their own.” Bröll took over the traditional medium-sized company a few years ago after working there as a canoe guide for many years, earning part of her living while studying for her master’s degree in Tourism Management. Later, Anna Bröll worked for the State Tourist Board of Southwest Germany, where she gained further thus practical experience. Experiencing things together is also to the motto of ‘Die Zugvögel’, which offers both courses and guided tours. And even though ‘Die Zugvögel’ has been around for 40 years, thanks to Anna Bröll’s innovative ideas, it still feels like a start-up. For example, they recently opened a shop for new and used SUPs and accessories in Bietigheim-Bissingen. You can then head straight to the water to test the new equipment.

Within her own company, Bröll likes to experiment with special offers. So don’t be surprised if you see a water bike on one of the region’s rivers, or the giant, accessible SUP under the prominent railway viaduct in Bietigheim. It carries up to four wheelchairs and still leaving enough space for ‘standing passengers’, so there really are no limits to enjoying sports on the water together. The tourism expert explains: “We are delighted to be the first water sports equipment rental company in Baden-Württemberg to use this SUP developed by the German Wheelchair Association. The great thing about the giant SUP is that people with and without disabilities can do sports together”.

Wheelchairs can be strapped onto the giant SUP before heading out onto the water together.

Wheelchairs can be strapped onto the giant SUP before heading out on the water together.

Keep Our Rivers CleanExcursion with a Learning Effect

The Green Jungle of the Enz River

Meanwhile, Greta and her family is meandering its way through the green jungle of the Enz River, which starts just south of the viaduct. It is great fun, as apart from a few other canoes and a couple of duck families, there is nobody else on the water. At first, they are paddling against the gentle current and it is getting quieter by the minute. A freight train had just thundered over the viaduct, but now, all you can hear is the chirping of birds and the sound of paddles cutting through the water. Henri successfully fishes for a bottle, with dad Marco skilfully manoeuvring the boy towards his treasure. Greta and her mum are taking a little girl’s break, paddling side to side and chatting.

„“Even when I was a student, I was almost always on the water in my canoe – if I wasn’t in the library studying.” “

Anna Bröll, 'Die Zugvögel'

In some places, the banks of the Enz River resemble a green jungle.

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Crazy Finds

“It is always surprising what you can find on and along the Enz River – especially in spring, after the high water levels during winter,” says Anna Bröll. She counts on her fingers: bicycles, car tyres, a car battery. Not everything is deliberately thrown into the Enz River, some things are simply picked up from the banks or the wind blows plastic packaging and bottles into the water. Fortunately, Greta’s family finds so little that it becomes a real competition! Henri and his father pull a dilapidated children’s paddling pool out of the bushes and into the eco-kayak. And Henri, of course, is wondering how the paddling pool ended up there ...

The children are enthusiastic about the family outing in the eco-kayak.

The children love the the family trip in the eco-kayak.

A Great Family Day

After about two hours, the children’s arms are starting to get tired. So, it is time to head back with the current to the viaduct. Crocodile Lubi has the red ball in the litter trailer. Coxswain Greta moors at the little stone steps, as if she had never done anything else on her afternoons off. Henri counts the plastic bottles in the bin. And the parents have had a good day out with their kids.On the shore, the family hands over the litter they have collected. Except for the ball. It is a little deflated, but when they get home, Greta is going to see if it is suitable for playing with when it is properly inflated. It would be a great souvenir of the day - and a nice second life for the red ball.