Association for Nature 'Wolf' - Poland |
Association for Nature 'Wolf' is a non-profit organisation based in the Beskidy Mountains in the south of Poland, bordering with Slovakia. (About 130km west, south-west of Krakow)
The group is headed by Sabina and Robert and they are in charge of any number of volunteers at any one time. People have volunteered from all over Europe and further afield. To volunteer you have to be able to commit to at least two months, which unfortunately I could not. They also run seminars. One of which I attended in March 2005 and plan to do so again next year. It was fantastic fun and whilst we did not see wolf tracks or wolves it is still an experience I am only too glad to repeat.
They have a lot of ongoing projects to do with wolves, lynx, badger, martins and bats.
Of particular interest to me was their efforts to help resolve (or at least alleviate) the wolf / human conflict - not only in their region, but Poland in general and also some preparatory work in Eastern Germany. They have published a very comprehensive booklet on how to reduce predation and are aiming to release a second edition this year with new findings.
They also produce leaflets to help farmers navigate the compensation system and will assist with assessment and filling in claim forms so that farmers will not feel so hostile toward the regions predators.
I urge you to visit their web site and read more about their work. Make a donation or even better - go on a seminar and see for yourself the beautiful countryside and the challenges they face in monitoring the wolves.
Below are the notes from the seminar I attended in 2005 - the links will become active as I write them up, but I expect it will take a little while... in the mean time, here is the picture gallery.