Armed with a waste squeezer, dozens of walkers walk the second day of the Wandel4daagse in Alkmaar. At the start at the Grote Kerk, walkers can take a waste squeezer and a garbage bag with them to clean up litter. “We are about an hour later over the finish, but we are happy to do that,” said a group of enthusiastic walkers.
“The idea behind it is that hikers ultimately leave the route cleaner than they found it,” says Jeroen Wouda of organizer Le Champion. Incidentally, it is not the only measure to ensure that the event becomes more sustainable: “We also try to produce as little printed matter as possible. That is why we have also developed an app that lists all routes.”
And speaking of sustainability, today a route through the City of the Sun in Heerhugowaard was on the program. This urban area on the south side of Heerhugowaard gained national fame, as the sustainable neighborhood was way ahead of its time. In 1994 the planning process started to realize the CO2-neutral new housing estate. And this at a time when few people were concerned with sustainability. It is a special environment, where building inspiration is still being gained.
cheese cookies
Also today the weather was very warm for the walkers and in addition to extra water taps, there were also residents along the route who handed out water. According to Jeroen Wouda of Le Champion, this was very much appreciated by the walkers and the hope is that more residents will want to participate tomorrow. “The temperature will rise a lot tomorrow as we walk through Heiloo, Limmen and the Egmonden. If residents want to hand out water and salty snacks such as chips, cheese biscuits or licorice, that would be very nice.”
NH Nieuws reports on the Wandel4daagse throughout the week. Curious how the second day went? View the images below: