Last week I was privileged to attend a talk and an event that are inspiring examples of endeavour by spirited individuals working in the natural world.
On Wednesday eveningI watched a film presentation by Marek Borkowski, a man who during the last fifty years has managed to save and preserve ancient wetlands in the Biebrza marshes and Białowieża Forest in north east Poland.
The Biebrza Marshes are one of Europe’s last natural lowland river valleys. They cover an area of over 1000 km2 of wetlands, peat bogs and bog forests in the far north-east of Poland. The Białowieża Forest is the last remaining primeval forest in lowland Europe. It covers an area of over 1500 km2 in a tranquil corner of Poland and Belarus. Saved from logging, this forest has become the undisturbed home for hundreds of rare species of birds, insects and mushrooms. Most importantly, it is the world’s last refuge for European bison – the largest land mammal on our continent. Centuries old trees grow here in a tremendous variety of habitats. Thankfully, it is now recognised by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site.
Marek started his life’s mission by buying up tracts of land in exchange for goods that were in very short supply in what was still a communist country, items like washing machines and other hard to find consumer goods. Wildlife conservation was not on the radar in communist Poland at the time. The country was poor and very backward compared to European standards.
I visited Poland in 1992 on business and was astonished at the poverty and dilapidated infrastructure – horse draw ploughs, filthy rivers, ancient buses billowing black smoke, and food shops with empty shelves.
Set against this background it makes the results of Marek’s endeavours even more extraordinary. Through his ingenuity and tenacity he managed to prevent the marshes being drained by non-intensive local farmers. He saved these fragile habitats that are home for hundreds of rare species of birds, insects and plants, many that are now difficult to see anywhere else in Europe.
This area also holds a huge population of elk, European beavers as well as a few packs of wolves and lynx. After the fall of communism he has funded his conservation work by running wild life tours (www.wildlifepoland.pl) and is supported by his three sons. He lives in a traditional timber built house in the middle of the reserve, surrounded by rare woodpeckers, hoopoe, red squirrels, great snipe, owls and eagles and myriad water birds. Without his vision much of this land would have been lost; he has been described as the David Attenborough of Poland.
Marek is living proof of what one man’s vision, hard work and determination can achieve.
As a trustee of the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust (www.ydrt.org.uk) I attended a conference of the five Rivers Trusts in Yorkshire (Aire, Calder, Don, East Yorkshire, and Yorkshire Dales Rivers).
Many of these organisations were started by conservation minded, unpaid, volunteers, decades ago. They have grown from tenuous, fledgling beginnings into effective organisations doing vital work in helping to conserve and enhance our Yorkshire river networks. Their many activities include liaising with landowners and farmers on improving soil health and alleviating chemical run-off into rivers, installing fish passes for migratory salmon and trout, seeking methods to prevent flooding, removing redundant weirs and cleaning spoil heaps from ancient mine works that still leach toxic substances into headwaters.
Their large project work has been funded by lottery grants, water companies, government environmental bodies, corporate and private giving. However, many of their activities are undertaken by hundreds of citizen science volunteers. This army of committed individuals check pollution levels and monitor fish and invertebrate health, undertake bank restoration work, clear invasive species, and plant trees and hedgerows to alleviate water run off.
Again, it was the visionary individuals who took the first steps in recognising the need and took action to clean, conserve and improve water quality in our neglected, polluted rivers. Even in post industrial times, still some Yorkshire rivers ran yellow with toxic discharges and white foam from industrial cleansing substances. Today migratory fish have returned where no fish could be found not very long ago. These important ecological improvements have been boosted by a wider public awareness of the importance of clean water and its relationship with the natural world. In addition, the pressure on water companies and industry to stop pollution and flooding events has put water high up the political agenda.
This work is ongoing and relies on like-minded, committed individuals, who care deeply about the environment, and who give up their time and expertise freely, and the Government regulators that insure necessary investments are made in water treatment and distribution infrastructure.