Marvel at OCH! Discover private reserves with WWF Poland
Discover with us the beauty of Polish nature, get to know the inhabitants of meadows, experience beauty with all your senses. Feel close to nature no matter where you live or what you do. Marvel at the OCh! Delight Obszarami Chdrowned. Marvel at how easily you can protect nature!
Hear?
We are a natural part of nature. The world is changing, and with it, so is nature. Thousands of years of evolution and the slow adaptation of animals to new habitats is insufficient at the current rate of change. Populations of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles have declined by 68% since 1970 (Living Planet Report 2020). It is not only the beauty of nature that should mobilize us to protect it. Above all, it is a full package of ecosystem services, that is, real benefits that nature “works out” for us.
The video we recorded with Natalia Przybysz, Was established on the territory of privately protected area in Owczary in Lubuskie. Thanks to this, we were able to show up close the uniqueness of this place, what it protects and what beautiful things we can see there. They have occurred among other things: cuddle blight (Orobanche caryophyllacea), field myotis (Eryngium campestre), Jana ostnica (Stipa joannis), orchid pineapple(Euphorbia cyparissias).
Listen to unique musical landscapes from Poland!
Close your eyes and immerse yourself in unique sounds straight from the world of wildlife. Strain your hearing and feel the singing of birds, the chirping of insects and the hum of grasses. Give yourself a moment to relax and listen to the soothing sounds that nature has composed.
See?
From the sandy bottom of the Baltic Sea to the peaks of the Tatra Mountains, from the Bialowieza Forest to the Oder River itself, Poland’s picturesque and natural places stretch out. Forests, rivers, lakes, meadows, mountains, marshes. Many of these places are of high natural value. The highest form of nature protection in Poland are national parks and reserves. The former covers 1% of the Polish territory, the latter is another 0.5%. However, the natural potential of Poland is much greater. Do you know where you can see privately protected areas – reserves in the hands of individuals, organizations or companies?
- Owczary
In Owczary you will find 30 hectares of privately protected area of the Naturalists Club, covering a mosaic of natural habitats – mainly xerothermic grasslands with rare plant and animal species, m.in. John’s spurge, hairy spurge, lilac arachnid, thyme blight, ribbed snail. There are also meadows, thickets and thermophilic slope forests. The club runs a Meadow Museum with a botanical garden here, and an educational path is marked out on the grasslands.
- Karsiborska Kępa
This reserve is almost 200 hectares of social reserve created and managed by the National Society for the Protection of Birds. It was established primarily to protect the aquatic warbler – Europe’s most endangered representative of passerines! In addition to nature protection, the reserve also fulfills other goals: the development of ties and cooperation between the local community and the reserve, the development of nature-friendly tourism and good cooperation with local authorities.
- Gnojna Ponds Reserve im. Bielecki families
This is the first state reserve in Poland established on the initiative of private owners, which is located entirely on private land. The protection covers 19.35 hectares a of land comprising the fish ponds that used to be there and also the adjacent meadows. Forty-three species of wetland birds and passerines associated with the aquatic environment have been found in the reserve. You’ll also encounter plants and animals under strict protection, including the whiskers, tree frog, and the carnation of the delicious.
- Gubinskie Mokradła
Although a state reserve, it was created on the initiative of a private individual and on private land. This is nearly 100 hectares of land where almost 50 of the more than 100 identified bird species are endangered or rare and deserve special protection. Here we meet m.in. batalion, white-tailed sea eagle, black stork, greenfinch, red-backed shrike, barred warbler, black tern or kingfisher.
You know? Feel?
On the WWF Poland website you will find a lot of educational materials, information on how each of us can help create private nature reserves, as well as information on the ongoing contest. We encourage you to visit the site:
- WWF Poland – Marvel at the OCh! Marvel at Obszarami Chronionymi
Information WWF Poland
This year, OM’s editorial staff has started cooperation with the WWF Poland organization. We wrote about private nature reserves together in 18. issue of Outdoor Magazine, as part of our Green page.
OM #18 (photo. outdoormagazine.pl)
