Rok founded Balkan River Defence (BRD) and the Leeway Collective NGO, which he describes as “the confluence of sport, river conservation, film production and common sense”. The collective promotes protecting the last remaining wild places of Europe, and challenges the perspective that hydroelectricity is green and sustainable energy – “A river is worth more than just the power it can produce spinning a turbine.” BRD is currently resisting new dams in Slovenia’s Sava River, one of the better-preserved rivers in Europe, the largest tributary of the Danube River (in terms of flow), and the longest Slovenian river, running 221 km from its source in Zelenci near the Italian border to the Croatian border. This hotspot of European biodiversity is home to 250 species of nesting birds; the collective is currently producing documentaries and gathering wildlife data to be used in the courtroom.

Learn more on the website, where you can also watch the documentary of Rok’s trip down the Sava river.