After organizing clean-up actions along the Ina River in Goleniów (PL) and planting trees on its banks in Sowno, the Rewilding Oder Delta (ROD) team participated in another river clean-up combined with a kayaking trip. This event happened in the framework of the European Sustainable Development Week and was initiated by ROD’s partner Łukasz Sikora, who promotes nature-based recreation through his enterprise “Kayaking on the Ina”.
In a world of damming environmental news and the ever-looming threat of climate change, we could all do with a bit of hope. Host of the “Rewild” podcast, James Shooter, teams up with Rewilding Europe to shine a light on the passionate people and inspiring initiatives fighting back for nature. With monthly stories of nature recovery from Rewilding Europe’s pioneering Landscapes and European Rewilding Network, this summer the show covered the story of the Oder Delta.
Rewilding connects multifaceted nature conservation and community engagement through education, events, and supporting entrepreneurship. The activities in the Ina River basin are a perfect example of these principles in action. The summer months saw various restoration measures carried out on the Ina River tributaries, accompanied by the installation of five informational boards. To mark this occasion, the Rewilding Oder Delta team organized a bike tour on July 13, 2024, to showcase recent field activities and share the successes with partners and friends from the region.
Upon invitation of Rewilding Oder Delta (ROD), around 30 representatives of various stakeholder groups such as Bauernverband Ostvorpommern and Tourismusverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, state authorities from Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as federal authorities met on July 9th and 10th 2024 in Stralsund to talk about the restoration and benefits of salt marshes.
In the Oder Delta many rivers have been negatively impacted by human intervention. Recent river restoration work carried out by the local rewilding team and partners on the Polish side is reinvigorating two tributaries of the Ina River, with benefits for nature and people.
2023 was a successful year for lynx reintroduction, with 17 animals released as a part of a long-term collaboration between West Pomeranian Nature Society (ZTP) and Rewilding Oder Delta (ROD), backed by Rewilding Europe’s European Wildlife Comeback Fund (EWCF).
Now, thanks to the approval of the LIFE programme the continued support for the collaborative efforts is secured for the next 5 years. As the project involves organisations from Germany, Poland, and Lithuania, it not only marks a significant chapter in the conservation of lynx populations in the region but also expands the international partner network.
On 11 May, we joined the 63rd Henrician Cultural Meetings in Siemczyno. Rewilding Oder Delta representatives – Artur Furdyna, hydrobiologist and water ecologist, and Magdalena Urlich, enterprise officer and guide – led an educational walk to show the natural potential of the area around the historic baroque complex.
The start of spring is a good opportunity for deep cleaning. As the first warm days encourage people to experience the returning greenery outdoors, the Rewilding Oder Delta team organized a collective cleanup along the Ina, to make sure that some of the most inviting places by the river in Goleniów are free of litter. Last Saturday, 20 April 2024, dozens of garbage bags were collected during this “spring cleaning”. The event highlights the power of collective actions and shows that there are many committed people who want to help keeping their environment clean.
On April 20 this year, the Rewilding Oder Delta team will once again support a waste collection action on the Ina River, which has been initiated for years by the Society of Friends of the Rivers Ina and Gowienica (TPRIiG). Together with the local community and partners from the region, we invite you to a joint event for the river health improvement.
Launched at the conclusion of a high-level gathering in Vienna, the European Rewilding Coalition brings together Europe’s leading practical rewilding organisations. By working together, the coalition membership will accelerate landscape-scale rewilding across the continent.