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Dominik

Polish primitive horses join the project

Our flock of sheep has increased its size by ….. two mares. Tysa and Karaska are Polish primitive horses, which will join the herd grazed in the thermophilous oak tree forest in Młodzawy. It is a primitive breed, which has been bred in Poland since 1923. Polish ponies are resistant to difficult conditions (they do not require stable breeding), are not nutritionally demanding, have high adaptation abilities, and at the same time are mild mannered and persistent. They are of a small height, of a stocky build, have a mouse-gray color and have a black streak on their back and streaks on their limbs. For the time being, both mares are in quarantine and pick grass on the meadow in Krzyżanowice, but when they are joined by a young stallion, whom we plan to buy, they will live in the forest with the whole horde, just like their ancestors – the tarpans.

Flowering Dictamnus albus

Hot and dry May was the right time for our plants, which grow on the project’s plantation. Our seed-bred Dictamnus albus blossomed beautifully. It is a long-lived perennial plant of the Rutaceae family , very rare and in danger of extinction in Poland.
The plant is covered with numerous glandular hairs that gives off flammable essential oils with a lemon aroma, especially before the fruit is ripe. In a hot climate, these essential oils can ignite spontaneously, hence the common name of the plant: the „fire bush” or the „burning Moses bush”. In her book „Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”, J. K. Rowling described the diptamus potion as having the ability to close up wounds. Indeed, its powdered roots and leaves have healing properties that also speed up wound healing. It should be remembered, however, that this plant is completely protected in Poland, so we can only use herbs from crops in countries where it is common.

Meeting of the Steering Committee

Yesterday, on the 15th of May 2018, the last meeting of the Steering Committee took place. It was also attended by sheep breeders, members of the ZŚiNPK council and Tadeusz Kowalczyk – the Vice-Chairman of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Assembly and Mieczysław Sas – the Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, Water Management and Environmental Protection of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Assembly.
The plenary part was hosted by the Local Government Cultural Institution „Kasztelania” in Kije. The meeting began with a welcome by Krystyna Wójcik-Daniluk, deputy director of the Park Complex, and Tadeusz Kowalczyk. The status of implementation of the LIFE project was presented in the presentation by Wojciech Sołtysiak – project manager.
The participants saw the areas covered by the active protection measures in Stawiany in the Kije Commune, where sheep have been grazed since 2015. The site covers several nearby elevations of the land, on slopes of which patches of xerothermic turfs and thermophilic sand based turfs have developed, as described by Tomasz Hałatkiewicz, the Director of the Park Complex.
Another area was the so-called Serpentyny (Zigzags) – a fragment of the Garb Pińczowski, where, in a picturesque scenery, Prof. Czesław Nowak, PhD, Eng., gave a very interesting lecture, widely discussing natural values in the economic development of rural areas on the example of Ponidzie, and Edyta Molik PhD presented the issues related to sheep grazing as a form of management in accordance with the principles of sustainable development.
The participants of the session also visited the unique area of sheep grazing conducted on the grounds of the National Forests of the Pińczów Forest Inspectorate (Co-beneficiary of the project) in the village of Młodzawy. The meeting of the Steering Committee was concluded with a discussion on the quality of thermophilous oak forest habitats and refreshments at the National Forest Tree Nursery – Michałów Forest Inspectorate.

Educational workshops

The four-day educational workshop started on May 8th. Every day, a group of young people from schools in the region took part in field activities: they visited xerothermic turfs on the Garb Pińczowski, a thermophilous oak forest in Młodzawy and our plantation in Krzyżanowice, where the Dictamnus albus has just began to bloom. All groups, from first to eighth grade pupils, participated in the practical activities attentively. They eagerly listened to the geological history of Ponidzie, the curiosities regarding the Nida, the narrow-gauge railway leading to the Garb Pińczowski and the benefits of sheep grazing on the turfs. There was also time for manual work: making models of carlinas and pompons and bracelets made of colored wool. The weather was good and all the groups were leaving Krzyżanowice with smiles on their faces and a solemn assurance that they would surely come back to Ponidzie.

A networking meeting in Greece

Networking with other LIFE projects is an activity which has been defined as mandatory by the European Commission. Inter-institutional cooperation, exchange of experience and information is aimed at acquiring valuable factual and practical knowledge, helping the beneficiaries to effectively implement the planned activities. Networking concerns not only domestic but also foreign projects. As a result, between 16th and 20th April 2018, LIFE project staff took part in a working trip to Greece, where they were introduced to the effects of two LIFE projects: ForOpenForests
and LIFE Natura Themis.
The destination of the visit was Athens, where the headquarters of the Beneficiary coordinating the two projects is located: the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature. It is a nationwide association, operating since 1951, whose main objective is to protect the Greek natural environment through environmental interventions, nature conservation projects, environmental education through an educational network approved by the Ministry of Education, and to increase the natural awareness of the Greek community.
The main objective of the ForOpenForests project is to implement effective management of forests and open spaces in order to preserve species, habitat and landscape biodiversity in two Natura 2000 areas (near Lamia): „Ethnikos Drymos Oitis” (GR2440003) and „Oros Kallidromo” (GR2440006).
The aim of the LIFE Natura Themis project is to raise awareness of the damage caused by human activities to wild species and the biodiversity of the island, among the inhabitants of Crete. It also aims to familiarize the public with the concept of „responsibility for the environment” and relevant European regulations governing the human-nature relationship, in particular in Natura 2000 protected areas.
The first meeting with ForOpenForests project manager Christos Georgias took place on the 17th of April. It concerned the introduction to the project assumptions and the specifics of the Coordinating Beneficiary’s functioning. The basic issues related to its implementation so far, the successes, the failures as well as common denominators of the legislation of Poland and Greece were discussed.
On April 18th the main meeting with the teams implementing the above projects took place with the participation of representatives of the ZŚiNPK, HSPN, the Institute for Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems (IMFE) and the University of Athens (UoA). It began with a presentation of the activities of the ZŚiNPK and then the implementation of the LIFE13 NAT/PL/000038 project (Wojciech Sołtysiak) was discussed in detail. Subsequently, Chrostos Georgiadas, the Project Manager of the LIFE11 NAT/GR/1014 project, and Michalis Probonas, the Project Manager of the LIFE14 GIE/GR/0000026 LIFE Natura THEMIS project, shed some light on the issues related to the Greek projects. Additionally, natural education programmes implemented by the HSPN were presented. After the presentation, a discussion began concerning in particular the issues of protection of the habitat *6210 and joint activities and cooperation in the field of ecological education, as well as widely understood cooperation
and exchange of know-how and know-what.
The plan for the next day was to go on an off-road trip to the „Ethnikos Drymos Oitis” (GR2440003) and „Oros Kallidromo” (GR2440006) Natura 2000 areas. Unfortunately, due to spring melts and the location of the areas covered by the project on almost 2000 m above sea level, it was not possible to reach them. In addition, the tour included a visit to a tourist information point with elements of natural education ( Ipati), established as a part of the project, and a visit to the Center for Ecological Education in Stilida, where we got acquainted with the forms of natural education being implemented.

A conference closing the LIFE Warsaw Vistula project

On 16th and 17th March we participated in the conference „Protection of biodiversity in the cities” organized by the Capital City of Warsaw as part of the project „Protection of key bird species habitats in the Central Vistula Valley under intense pressure from the Warsaw agglomeration”.
Twenty presentations were focused on various aspects of nature conservation in urban space. We could find out about examples of beavers’ adaptation to life in cities, ways to protect endangered breeding grounds of waterfowl by building artificial islands in Żerań in Warsaw, or breeding towers for hedgehogs in Toruń, as well as examples of designing parks „friendly” to wild animals.
Another topic presented at the conference was various aspects of the expansion of invasive plant species of foreign origin: from ornamental plants, which find their way from house gardens to the Kampinos National Park, to species such as: the Canadian goldenrod, the maple ash, or the giant hogweed, which force out native species from meadows throughout the country. On the second day of the conference there was a field trip around Warsaw, during which we got acquainted with educational paths, floodplains, on which an educational pavilion is to be built, and artificial floating islands, which are used as breeding places by waterfowl.

Night of Biologists

The sheep with two seven-week lambs was an unquestionable attraction of the Night of Biologists organized on 12th January by the Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce. It was difficult to get to it at times. No wonder. Everyone wanted to touch, stroke, take a picture. The sheep bravely endured this interest and attempts to feed them.
For the LIFE team, it was another opportunity to inform about our project and the role of sheep and goats in the protection of the xerothermic turfs of Ponidzie.

Już po raz czwarty w Samsonowie odbył się „Orszak Trzech Króli”

Już po raz czwarty w Samsonowie odbył się „Orszak Trzech Króli”, w którym wzięło udział kilkuset mieszkańców gminy Zagnańsk. Po mszy świętej w kościele Najświętszej Marii Panny  orszak przeszedł ulicami Samsonowa do huty Józef. Trzy orszaki reprezentowały trzy kontynenty: zielony Azję, czerwony Europę i niebieski Afrykę. Przed orszakami Trzech Króli szły dzieci przebrane za  owieczki. Na prośbę organizatorów przygotowaliśmy wzorem roku ubiegłego „żywą szopkę”. Nasze czarnogłówki ze stada Piotra Midera z Młodzaw jak zawsze budziły zainteresowanie nie tylko najmłodszych. Były nieco onieśmielone, może dlatego, że na co dzień pasą się w świetlistej dąbrowie i nie mają kontaktu z tak licznym audytorium. Dobrze jednak zniosły gościnne występy i szczęśliwie wróciły do owczarni.

The Cavalcade of Magi took place in Samsonów for the fourth time

It was the fourth time that the „Cavalcade of Magi” took place in Samsonów, attended by several hundred inhabitants of the Zagnańsk commune. After the mass at the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a procession passed the streets of Samsonów and went to the Józef Steelworks. The three processions represented three continents: the green one represented Asia, the red one represented Europe and the blue one represented Africa. Children dressed as sheep walked in front of the Cavalcades of Magi. At the request of the organizers we have prepared a „live nativity scene” as in the previous year. As always, our blackhead sheep from Piotr Mider’s flock from Młodzawy attracted the interest of not only the youngest. They were a bit intimidated, maybe because of the fact that they graze in the thermophilous oak tree forest on a daily basis and do not have contact with such a large audience. However, they endured the guest performances well and happily returned to the fold.

Carlina onopordifolia

Our carlinas, planted on the plantation, fruited. The fruit themselves may not be very spectacular, because they are what botanists call „achenes”, i.e. fruit that do not crack, containing a single seed, having a leathery or woody pericarp, loosely surrounding the seed.
However, the amount of fruit that one flower produces is impressive, and each fruit is decorated with a delicate down of regular shapes. The radially arranged individual fibers form a sort of an umbrella. It is a pappus, which is a kind of a aeriform apparatus that allows the fruit to be carried by the wind over long distances. In nature, however, only a few seeds reach places where new plants can grow.
The carlina grows only on shallow rendsinas formed on the slopes of carbonate hills which face south-west. So we help nature. The collected seeds will be used to grow young seedlings under greenhouse conditions, which will be planted in natural places to ensure the survival of this rare and protected plant in Ponidzie.