Save the Renaico River Social Collective
The social collective known as Save the Renaico River is a social-environmental organization founded on December 22, 2013 in the administrative district of Renaico, in southern Chile. It was legally incorporated on January 5, 2015. It is a group of mostly young people who came together, in the spirit of environmental activism and community organizing, to confront a series of challenges affecting the Renaico River. These challenges include drought and pollution, as well as the possibility of a hydroelectric dam being built there.
The main objective of the organization is to protect the entire Renaico River basin.
Since its inception, the organization has taken on different tasks and multiple commitments, including: community education, with appearances at local community gatherings and schools in the town of Renaico and surrounding communities; research, writing reports making presentations, and disseminating information about local issues; activism, creating spaces for local community members to express their dissatisfaction with the current situation of their local environment; arts and culture, with historical and passion projects in the local area and throughout the country; and legal actions against polluters.
The group has offered environmental education courses, recycling workshops, and cultural events, in community spaces, schools, and universities all over Chile. The collective celebrates Renaico River Day every December 22, the anniversary of its founding, with cultural events that artists from all over the country participate in.
