In a picturesque place on the Boulevard on the Parsęta River, at the Municipal Public Library, the fifth edition of the Eco Festival "Between Bridges" will take place. Numerous workshops, meetings with experts and nature enthusiasts, educational walks and family activities.
Festival program:
Saturday, June 14, 11:00 a.m. - 19:00 p.m.
11:00 – Green initiatives. Rescue for cities. Nature meeting with Monika Buśko-Kuś, Kołobrzeg City Gardener, architect and designer, and Karol Podyma, botanist, gardener, specialist in flower meadows, representative of the Kwietna Foundation, supporting local governments in protecting and enriching the biodiversity of urban green areas. Meeting hosted by: Monika Wanda Władzińska.
12:00 – Good morning, we found a bat. What to do? A live educational show by the BAT MOM Foundation for Bats. Barbara Górecka, who has been rescuing these mammals for almost 20 years and running a sanctuary for them in Szczecin, will give a show during which you will be able to learn more about the life and behavior of these very useful mammals using live, tamed bats as an example, and find out what forms of their protection there are in the city.
12:30 – In the land of wolves and bears. A story about nature. Author's meeting with Anna Maziuk, writer, author of the books: "Instinct: about wolves in Polish forests" and "The Bear is looking for a home", independent journalist, enthusiast of tracking. Meeting hosted by: Katarzyna Kosecka, Monika Wanda Władzińska.
13:00 p.m.-16:00 p.m. Between the forest and the city. Meadow workshops with wild flower seeds with the Kwietna Foundation. Workshop leader: Karol Podyma. 14:00 p.m. - Mead Ladies. Wild Flavors. Cuisine of a Crazy Plant Collector. Author's meeting with Małgorzata Ruszkowska and Kaja Nowakowska, co-founders of the Mead Ladies duo and authors of books about wild edible plants: "Wild Flavors. Cuisine of a Crazy Plant Collector" and "Wild Pickles and Other Fermentations".
15:30-18:00 Off the trail. Animal tracking. Field trip to Podczele with Anna Maziuk, writer and tracking enthusiast, and Katarzyna Kosecka, member of the "Z Szarym Za Płotem" Association (coach trip, meeting at the Library at 15:15, limited number of places).
15:30-18:00 Wild street food. Cooking workshops with Małgorzata Ruszkowska and Kaja Nowakowska, co-founders of the Mead Ladies duo, authors of books about wild edible plants. Wild cuisine workshops and a surprising feast of very unusual dishes, because they include wild edible plants (limited number of places).
16:00 – Hedgehog, the urban animal. Educational presentation by Julia Feliksa Wojciechowska from the JeKo Foundation “Jak Jeż z Kotem”. A journey through the world of hedgehogs, when they appeared, where they live, what they eat. How their year goes by. How to help hedgehogs during the year and where to seek help for a sick hedgehog and what care looks like at the Animal Rehabilitation Centre.
17:00 PM – Art as a Bridge on a River. A nature story by Justyna Budzyn, an artist involved in creating ceramic mosaics, ceramics, artistic education and, outside of her professional career, nature activism. Justyna will talk about her artistic and activist activities, passion and personal discovery of river worlds, nature, people and phenomena. Does a close relationship with nature lead to involvement in civic and social matters, undertaking initiatives related to the protection of nature, trees and rivers? How does she express these emotions through art.
Sunday, June 15, 10:00 AM - 17:00 PM
10:00-12:30 Justyna Budzyn – Ceramics Studio in Podgórze. Mosaic workshops inspired by trees. Nature presentation and interactive mosaic workshops, during which we will explore the complex process of creating a mosaic. Meet Justyna and her story of a tree activist, share emotions resulting from your relationship with nature, and then translate these emotions into the language of art.
11:00 – Rewilding – a wild word that changes the world. Screening of the short film “Oder: Two Countries, One Delta” directed by Emmanuel Rondeau, telling the story of rewilding in the Oder Delta on the Polish-German border. What does cooperation with the local community and connecting people and wildlife look like? A story about how the work of the Rewilding Oder Delta team benefits not only natural places, but also the people who live from them. Host: Magdalena Urlich.
11:30 – The Power of the River. Restoring the natural functions of river valleys on the example of renaturalization activities in the Parsęta River basin. A presentation of nature by Artur Furdyna, who, as an ichthyologist and expert in the field of river renaturalization, supports the activities of the Association of Cities and Communes of the Parsęta River Basin. The aim of these activities is to improve the ecological condition of waters, increase water retention and biodiversity.
12:00 – In the land of lynxes and bisons. Reintroduction of lynxes and active protection of bisons in western Poland. A story about these two wonderful species, the history of their disappearance and work on restoring their population in Western Pomerania. Marta JaKa – a lover of furry lynxes, Miłosz Kowalewski – of feathered creatures. They are a duo not only in private – they take photographs, film together, work in bird protection areas and in the West Pomeranian Nature Society, where in Dzika Zagroda they are responsible for communicating the lynx and bison reintroduction projects.
12:00-13:30 Edible and medicinal plants in the city. An urban ethnobotanic walk with Małgorzata Ruszkowska and Kaja Nowakowska, co-founders of the Mead Ladies duo. We will learn to recognize wild edible and medicinal plants and we will do some wild harvesting in our city.
12:30 – Hedgehog, the urban animal. Educational presentation by Julia Feliksa Wojciechowska of the JeKo Foundation with “Jak Jeż z Kotem”. A journey through the world of hedgehogs, when they appeared, where they live, what they eat. How their year goes by. How to help hedgehogs during the year and where to seek help for a sick hedgehog and what care looks like at the Animal Rehabilitation Centre.
13:30-14:30 Hand in hand with the river. A story about the wild Parsęta. A walk along the river, which is the heart of Kołobrzeg and our area, in the company of a river advocate, hydrobiologist Artur Furdyna and Justyna Budzyn, an artist and river activist. A story about the importance of the river in the city and its protection.
13:30 – Good morning, we found a bat. What to do? A live educational show by the BAT MOM Foundation for Bats. Barbara Górecka, who has been rescuing these mammals for almost 20 years and running a sanctuary for them in Szczecin, will give a show during which you will be able to learn more about the life and behavior of these very useful mammals using live, tamed bats as an example, and find out what forms of their protection there are in the city.
14:30 p.m. - 17:00 p.m. Justyna Budzyn - Ceramics Studio in Podgórze. Mosaic workshops inspired by the river. Nature presentation and interactive fish mosaic workshops. We will explore the complex process of creating a mosaic. How many pieces should it consist of? What materials can be used to create it? You will meet Justyna and her river story, share your stories, and then translate these emotions into a completely different language of expression.
15:00 p.m. – How can you help? Animal rehabilitation centers. Panel discussion with the participation of a writer, independent journalist, promoter of knowledge about nature, enthusiast of tracking and photography Anna Maziuk and Katarzyna Lesner from the Foundation for Wild Animals LARUS, Barbara Górecka from the BAT MOM Foundation for Bats and Julia Feliksa Wojciechowska from the JeKo Foundation. The meeting will be led by: Monika Wanda Władzińska.
Accompanying events (Saturday-Sunday, Boulevard on the Parsęta)
11:00-16:00: Small hives: the koszka and the wedding hive. What do the bees think about this? Beekeeping and plant workshops for bee and bumblebee lovers of all ages with Małgorzata Zatylna, who has had a small apiary in her garden for 15 years. Workshops with beehives, during which we will learn how to populate them and how bee communities function. We will learn about the flowers from which bees collect food and we will learn how and when they do it. We will also make candles from comb foundation, drawings of insects on tracing paper by Małgorzata Gibas Grądman (Forest and Sky) and solve riddles about bees.
From grain, through blade to plait. Products made of old varieties of straw. Sown and harvested by the artist. Plaiting workshops with Piotr Barańczak, a master of plaiting. Creative workshops on weaving straw ornaments, during which we will learn the simplest plaits, we will braid bottles and baskets from straw and we will learn the process of preparing grain for plaiting. Straw products are 100% natural and ecological.
Where do living organisms get their food? Plant nursery. Workshops for children (6-9 years old) by Oliver and Ewa Reeves from the Reeves Gardening Company. How do bees get their food from plants? How do plants encourage them to get their food from their calyx? Does this affect us? How can they help us, even heal us. A story about plants in the context of flowering, bees getting food from plants, pollination, health and culinary values. Learning to recognize plants through play in the plant nursery.
Let's play ecologically. Workshops for children on creating ecological toys with the 11th Scout Troop Wagabunda from Kołobrzeg and their troop leader Lidia Malawska. How to make simple and environmentally friendly toys from natural materials? Together with the scouts, we will discover the secrets of handicraft, learn ecological techniques and materials, and learn how to take care of the planet by creating toys full of joy and value.
Outdoor rental, board games, eco fun (chillout zone)
Stands: Reeves Gardening Plant, Piotr Barańczak – artistic products made of straw, World Link Bookstore
WWF Blue Patrol information and educational stand.
Admission to all events is free.
Some of them are held in parallel. The meetings will be documented with film and photographs. Participation in them means that the participant agrees to the possible appearance of his image in the above materials.
Events led by Justyna Budzyn from the Ceramics Studio in Podgórze, carried out as part of the Natural Library task, which is part of the BLISKO project – Library | Locality | Initiatives | Community | Cooperation | Grassroots, Priority 4 of the National Reading Development Program 2.0 for 2021-2025.
June 14-15, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. (Saturday), from 10:00 a.m. (Sunday)
Municipal Public Library, ul. Frankowskiego 3 (Parsęta Boulevard).
