Project Poland
Bookings: Programme under development. Details to follow.

Wolf 1
AWF in Poland
We are creating a collaboration with long time friend and ex coordinator of the AWF, Phil Brindley and his partner who is Polish, who are setting up on a farm in rural Poland. They intend to work on local nature programmes involving wolves, bison, beaver and dogs as well as creating an organic and sustainable farming operation. Volunteers will be required to work on both the agricultural and nature conservation programmes.

Rural Poland is a traditional culture that is in danger of being lost. At the same time it still has a wealth of wild nature such as wolves and bears that are equally threatened, and, a growing problem with abandoned pets including dogs. The new project base will set out to tackle these problems.

The proposed project will be in collaboration with the:
Instytut Zoologii
Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy w Poznaniu 
Stacja Terenowa w Stobnicy
64-607 Kiszewo Stobnica
Zoological Institute


Initially at the field study station in Stobnicy, part of the University of Science and Nature, in the forest about an hours drive North of Poznan.

The project will centre around animals as mentioned, Wolves being the lead, massive scope for education and awareness programmes and various types of field study.  The centre currently entertains visitors by invitation only. They act as a rescue and information centre for mainly Wolves & Beaver currently, but people bring anything to them. They sometimes have to turn animals away due to lack of funding, etc.



For 10 years they have planned to build a modern Wolf sanctuary park but again funding and other issues have prevented this. Also educating children not to be scared of wolves and how valuable they are, they would like to bring more school parties, etc to the centre to do this. There is no official website as yet and they would like help with English translation at the centre. Also looking into a European Bison project with them.

They are also interested in collaborating with the AWF setting up eco -holidays, such as Wolf Tracking, there are wild Wolves with 2km of the field study centre for example!

Normal AWF rates apply
PE 110pw for stays of four weeks or more includes multi bedded and simple accommodation. Volunteers work on a variety of projects but can focus on areas of specific interest for such as dissertations. See booking form for all information on booking. LINK Participants must check out their own national guidelines regarding entry visas and inoculations. ALL volunteers must provide evidence of comprehensive medical insurance covering repatriation in worst case scenario.

Poland 2
About Poland
Poland is the 9th biggest country in Europe with over 38,000 people, 98% percent speaking the native language of Polish. It is bordered by Germany and Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east and the Baltic Sea to the north. The people are mainly native and have large family groups that remain close together as family is very important here. The vast majority of the country follows the Roman Catholic way of life, so religion has a huge impact on their culture. Poland is said to have the greatest food and folk tales are common at dinner time, they have many ruins that fuel story telling with stories of haunting and a Robin Hood.

Poland
The weather here is very changeable so described as moderate, they have four seasons on of which is a rainy season, weather throughout the country can vary due to its grand size. The weather here sustains some of the largest forests in Europe and maintains its 10,000 lakes that flourish with wildlife such as the Bison, Boar and European Lynx. Alongside that there is the Nietoperek bat reserve that homes many of the rarest bats in Europe, this is thanks to the Second World War bunkers underground; Poland was invaded in the Second World War with a total ambush and thousands fled underground in such bunkers.

They lost 38% of all assets in the war but are currently building their way back the economic ladder.

Get the AWF Wolves and Bears Fact Sheet here
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