Wild Carpathians Initiative

The activity of the Dzikie Karpaty (eng. Wild Carpathians Initiative) consists of monitoring logging plans in the area of the Carpathian forests. People living both locally and in distant parts of the country meet here to physically check tree markings (bright orange dots indicate that a tree is designated for felling), as well as the actions of foresters. Their actions are interventionist: first, they request a list of planned works on an annual basis, then they monitor these areas, checking whether the actual state matches the description on maps and in documents. Very often, what in foresters’ documents is marked as a managed forest in fact contains tree stands of monumental size. The initiative conducts research and then reports irregularities to the foresters. If, despite this, dots appear on trees of monumental size, a struggle for their survival begins, involving offices and the media. As a last resort, members of the group use their own bodies to defend the trees. The level of this determination is an inspiration to me.

I visited them in July 2024 for a walk with Łukasz Łuczaj through so called The Forest of the Giants. The initiative managed to protect monumental trees in this area from cutting. We measure them in celebration of their greatness.