Wirtualna Polska is collaborating with the Dziedzictwo Przyrodnicze Foundation and the Henryk Wujec Civic Fund. Together, they are implementing a project to support forest rangers operating across Poland. This is another project in line with the commitments outlined in WP's Sustainable Development Strategy for the coming years.
The project supports ranger groups—environmental activists working for the forests in various regions of Poland. Thanks to the financial support from Wirtualna Polska and the Henryk Wujec Civic Fund, volunteers can benefit from training and skill enhancement. They also have access to substantive consultations with lawyers, who assist them in preparing official documentation, and consultations with foresters regarding comments on the Forest Management Plan. The project will run until March 2024.
On the day the project was announced, a film featuring rangers from the Climate Alarm Foundation, the Save the Mokrzański Forest Campaign, and the Mazowiecka Forest Association was published. They encourage people to join the ranger groups and protect Polish forests. The film is available here.
"Activists supported by the Civic Fund document tree felling, organize citizen patrols, prepare environmental and legal expert reports. They ask questions under the public information access framework and win legal battles against the authorities. They fight for drinking water quality, save lakes, rivers, and swamps. They ensure safe forest walks by monitoring compliance with regulations on announcing collective hunting dates by hunting clubs and municipalities, and provide advice to those who want to get involved. I am glad that there are more and more activist initiatives for nature because social pressure makes sense," says Julia Brykczyńska, director of the Henryk Wujec Civic Fund.
"We are aware of how difficult it is to navigate the maze of regulations governing forest management. Therefore, we try to help, as much as we can, everyone interested in the fate of the forests growing next to their homes, in their immediate vicinity. Citizens lack support from public institutions in this area and have to train themselves, doing it after their working hours, dedicating all their free time. We are pleased that the Henryk Wujec Civic Fund, along with Wirtualna Polska, decided to help us in our daily fight for the forests," comments Radosław Michalski, president of the Dziedzictwo Przyrodnicze Foundation.
"In times of advancing climate change, forest protection is a key task for all of us. Wirtualna Polska's collaboration on initiatives like this allows us to spread important topics through our media reach. In addition to supporting and promoting the already active volunteers, we want to encourage others to join the ranks of the rangers as part of this campaign," says Agata Chaber, sustainability and communications specialist at Wirtualna Polska.
Wirtualna Polska Holding S.A. continues to implement the tasks described in its Sustainable Development Strategy. In previous years, the company planted 1 hectare of forest in Olędy near Siedlce and protected 1.5 hectares of forest at risk of logging in Bochotnica, in the Lublin Voivodeship. The strategy for 2022-2025 describes three main areas of activity—environment, society, and corporate governance. Among the most important goals are media independence, green energy, climate education, diversity, and cybersecurity.
Dziedzictwo Przyrodnicze Foundation has been operating as an expert organization since 2008, bringing together naturalists, foresters, sociologists, and lawyers working to protect Poland's and its borderlands' natural heritage. It carries out activities for the most valuable natural areas, including legal assistance for local naturalists, applying for protection for natural monuments or zones for valuable species, and advocating for the cessation of wood harvesting in their habitats.