WHU Students Remove Trash from the Rhine

Garbage. It moves along the river and gets stuck at the delta, damages ecosystems, and threatens the quality of the water and the animals for whom the water is their habitat. To show its concern for the environment, over 50 students from WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management gathered this past Friday to remove plastics and other trash from the delta of the Rhine River as well as from the Niederwerth island. They spent roughly two hours working along the riverbanks as part of the RhineCleanUp initiative, a national project initiated back in 2018 that now organizes actions on 29 different rivers across the country. 

“It just feels great to do something good for the environment, together,” said Paula Bornemann (BSc 2027), General Manager of WHUSH – WHU Students Help e.V., at the end of the physically intense, yet rewarding day. “This is a way for us to help keep our part of the Rhine clean and livable.” Residents of the town of Vallendar, particularly those of the older set, thanked the student volunteers for their efforts, which were organized by WHUSH together with SensAbility – The WHU Impact Summit.

“At our annual SensAbility conference, we steer attention toward global challenges and global solutions,” said Max Hartlep (BSc 2027), General Manager of SensAbility. “But it’s just as important that we don’t let local initiatives slip out of our view, as even a small step at home can make a big difference.” This environmental effort inspired many volunteers to get involved, with even the school’s international students joining the cause and getting to know a whole other side to Vallendar.

In addition to their passion for the environment, WHU’s students also volunteer elsewhere: They tutor school children, host job skill workshops, and organize charity drives.