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Rhineland Sponsorships– A Matter of the Heart


The River Rhine. Home for numerous species of fish, waterfowls and amphibians, vendor of drinking water, carrier of goods, giver of life from its sparkling springs in the Swiss canton Graubünden to its estuary at the Dutch North Sea coast.

Hiking trails line its borders, lead us out of grey cities and into landscapes of beautiful romanticism, like the central Rhineland with its castles, the cherry blossom season, its legends and myths. All of this is well known – just like the fact that the Rhine cannot defend itself forever against the things we do to it. Poisonous sewerage, dirt and garbage are being dumped into the brown flood, kill its inhabitants and return into our drinking water pipelines via purification plants.

And there is more bad news: the shores are being more and more polluted. Odds and ends of food, cigarette stubs, defect fridges and even entire loads of used car tires pile up on and next to the trails along the Rhine. Headlessly thrown away. Devil-may-care!

I often take a walk along the river, and in recent times, I have a roll of garbage bags with me. Mother Nature gives me the strength and inspiration for my work as an artist, and I can see her suffering. That is why I have started to collect rubbish on my ways.

But a single person cannot save the environment, no matter how deep the desire to do so. Hence I’ve decided to found an initiative: Herzenssache R(h)einland – A Matter of the Heart. I am now looking for supporters great and small, who cherish the nature along the River Rhine and would be willing to „adopt“ one kilometre of riverside near their place of residence. I am counting on the willingness of all of you to visit your „godchild“ regularly and clean the path, the green boundaries and the bank of its back-breaking, dowdy layer of garbage.

The reward for this commitment is more than having done a good deed. Imagine how good it feels looking through the window, walking along the River Rhine or seeing your selfmade pictures on the Internet showing a landscape which is clean and blooming thanks to your helping hands! We shall provide further details in the near future. We plan, for example, to hand out pocket ashtrays to our supporters which they can offer smokers to prevent them from throwing away their cigarettes stubs any longer. We are also considering the issue of garbage bags and a certificate. Stay interested, and visit our website again! Another interesting project: Memorial 666 – A perfect match