Bialowieza forest wildlife tour in Poland

Planet

In Poland we (as with everywhere we go) we carefully choose accommodation, suppliers and transportation that either minimises their effect on the environment or that help to contribute to its sustainable development. By choosing small, privately owned accommodation where possible we also look to only stay in truly eco-lodges that abide by basic and also pioneering methods of ecological sustainability.

Where possible, we make sure that the accommodation that we use support local projects for the protection of the wildlife and local communities which rely on tourism as the principal source of income. On this trip we visit various sanctuaries and conservation reserves where the native wildlife is being bred back for reintroduction. We also book accommodation which is run by the national parks themselves when we have to stay inside national parks. So that all of the funds go back into protecting the parks. We try and make sure that all the accommodation that we use is are ecologically responsible and use solar power electricity and water recycling pumps etc. We also make sure that all the food consumed is produced locally.

When hiking around the forest we bring everything back with us, we provide one water bottle per person and then refill this when needed. This minimises our consumption of plastic on the trip.

We also contribute and participate in as many studies that the local researchers and scientists are conducting as possible, on this trip any and all information we can collect about the rare endemic species of Poland is valuable for their ongoing research and conservation.

Wildlife Promise:

By bringing people here with a professional zoologist/naturalist as well as professional local guides we aim to showcase the environment in full but also to allow you to learn about the problems facing the ecosystems here and highlight the ways that continued development and human exploitation are affect the species and how cutting edge research is countering the problems as well as showing you examples of success stories.

We also visit the farms where bales of hay are left out in fields over winter for the growing population of European Bison. This is great conservation in making sure the bison have enough food for the winter months and also means that their health and populations can be checked when they are in the open areas.

We also keep a record of all the great sightings we see on each tour and record the environmental factors, this data is used by ourselves but also given to the researchers who are working on many of these species. All the information collected in invaluable as the knowledge of some of the animals that live here are little understood. We also donate our pictures to the researchers to aid in their photo identification studies.

Throughout this trip we use as many locally produced and sourced foods as possible, by doing so we minimize waste as most of these locally produced products have less packaging that mass produced products. All waste we do create during the trip and when camping is taken back with us to the towns and cities so they can be recycled effectively.

For water conservation we reduce washing of bedding and towels by encouraging our clients to use the same towel for the duration of their trip, so to reduce water usage in cleaning them regularly.

We try and choose accommodation which uses solar power as their primary source of power or at least for water heating.

We only use one vehicle on this trip, we minimize the amount of driving on the trip, most of the movement on the trip is walking.

All of our local suppliers in Poland are pioneers in establishing eco tourism, they work hard to introduce eco friendly practices such as employing local people, using local products and also saving water and energy as well as being as sustainable as possible.

People

As with any of our tours throughout Europe or elsewhere in the world we always employ local guides and drivers. This trip employs a good number of local guides and experts for various different excursions. They have a much better local knowledge and also helps to bring in revenue sources to the local community. It also ensures that the money stays in the local economy.

All of the hotels and lodges that we stay in make sure that all our resources such as food, drink and equipment is locally sourced we will purchase all of our food locally and using the local markets as much as possible. We also try and make sure that all the local guides that we hire and who work for the lodges, camps and guesthouses that we visit are from the local area.

We think that by employing local guides we have encouraging a future generation to follow this career. Many of the accommodations that we use are involved in community based projects and schools in particular.

Many of the projects that are funded by people staying here are geared towards helping children in townships get better education and enhance their career opportunities in the future. We also encourage the purchasing of local handicrafts which are all created in a sustainable way and provide great unique souvenirs.

When traveling we give all of our clients the opportunity to contribute and participate in local traditions and activities. We are at the mercy of local people and the local communities when off the beaten track in Poland. So it is crucial we make sure that we have a great relationships between our clients, guides, suppliers and the local communities.