Our River
The River of the Bells is a Brazilian river located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul:
The river rises in the hills of the city Caraá and runs trough 190km and empty in the delta of Jacuí, at the city of Canoas. It has three tributary rivers and sixty five streams, the area of the watershed is of about 4000km² e covers 32 municipalities, including Novo Hamburgo, city where our school is located and focuses our actions.
The River of the Bells strongly contributed for the region's development after the arrival of German settlers in 1824, because it connected the valley with the state's capital, and supported the transport of cargo and people. Today, the region of the valley of the Bells homes two million people, and the river is threatened by the great water consumption and by the pollution with industrial and household waste. In 2006, the river ended in national and international news, with the pictures of tonnes of dead fishes.
The GISA project seeks to raise awareness about the importance of keeping the River of the Bells healthy, trough actions such as removing trash from the river and the re-composition of riparian zones in the tributary Pampa Stream, in Novo Hamburgo.
