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Youth for Rivers
building new generations of river defenders in Montenegro
After four years of organizing educational and adventure camps along the Komarnica River, which successfully contributed to strengthening the river protection movement and mobilizing a large number of enthusiasts, nature lovers, scientists and many other professionals, and the outdoor community, this year we decided to take a step further, toward targeted youth education and building new generations of river defenders in Montenegro.
Youth environmental movements in the region, particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, are strong and inspiring examples of what young people can achieve. In Montenegro, this energy is still asleep, both among young people and in society more broadly. With this camp, we made a contribution to changing that, and we are confident that the young people we met during these days are only at the beginning of their journey as river defenders.
That is why, as part of the Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign and the Save Komarnica initiative, the Montenegrin Ecologists Society (MES), with the support of Balkan Expedition and KayaKtive Montenegro, organized the first Youth for Rivers camp. This was a new step in our approach, not just raising awareness, but directly empowering young people to become active actors in the fight for river conservation.
Ten young participants were selected based on a motivational video in which they presented their relationship with rivers and their reasons for wanting to be part of this experience. The camp ran from May 20 to 25, 2026 and unfolded across some of Montenegro's most remarkable waterways, beginning on the Mediterranean river Cijevna, moving to the Morača, the river that flows through the heart of the capital, then to the enchanting lowland Zeta, known as the Montenegrin Amazon, and finally to Šavnik, where the Pridvorica meets the Komarnica and where the camp concluded with a final descent.
Each day on the water was accompanied by conversation, learning, and the exchange of experiences about the threats these rivers face. The program combined a whitewater kayak and packraft course lead by licensed and very experienced kayak guides with workshops on freshwater ecosystem and biodiversity lead by MES, helping participants understand the unique ecosystems they were paddling through and why protecting them matters.
Alongside river skills, the camp included a fly-fishing workshop, sessions on mental ecology and the restorative power of time spent in nature, and an astrophotography workshop that invited participants to discover the night sky above Montenegro's wild valleys. Evenings were spent around the camp, sharing meals, watching environmental films from the region, exchanging ideas, and building friendships that extended well beyond the water.
What made this first edition particularly special was the diversity of the people around the campfire. Among the ten participants were artists, geographers, biologists, IT professionals and outdoor enthusiasts, each bringing their own perspective, skills, and language to the same rivers. A biologist saw a living ecosystem where an artist saw light and texture; a geographer read the landscape where an IT specialist imagined tools for monitoring and mapping and beyond. This diversity was not incidental, it was the point. The protection of rivers is not the task of any single discipline, and the conversations that emerged from these differences were among the most valuable moments of the camp.
More than a paddling camp, Youth for Rivers was designed to inspire a new generation of ambassadors for Montenegro's wild, clean, and free-flowing rivers. The first edition exceeded all expectations and confirmed what we had long believed: connecting young people with rivers is one of the strongest foundations for their long-term protection. We are confident that the participants we met during these six days are only at the beginning of their journey, and we intend to walk that path alongside them.
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