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Vistula Timber Rafting 'Connecting Poland'

Our Goal:
Traveling down the Vistula River in a replica of the "Oskar Kolberg" punt from Opatowiec to the Baltic Sea to commemorate 400 years of traditional river rafting. The event was accompanied by screenings of Ewa Ewart's film "To the Last Drop" and discussions about the biodiversity of the Vistula valley. As part of the #Influential campaign, water purity tests were conducted using a special AGUARD float.

A replica of the punt "Oskar Kolberg" traveled down the Vistula River from Opatowiec to the Baltic Sea, celebrating 400 years of traditional river rafting. Along the route, in 11 cities, screenings of Ewa Ewart's film "To the Last Drop" took place, combined with debates on the protection of water resources and nature in the Vistula valley. As part of the #Influential campaign, we monitored water purity using an AGUARD float and sent the results to the Warsaw University of Life Sciences database.

We covered over 1000 km - and that's because due to the low water level in many sections of the river voyage, we were forced to travel in a "zigzag" pattern. Water resources and the issues related to this topic were close to us for another reason as well.

In 11 cities along the Vistula River (we visited, among others, Sandomierz, Kazimierz Dolny, Warsaw, Płock, Włocławek, Toruń, Bydgoszcz, and Gdańsk), we organized screenings of the film "To the Last Drop" directed by Ewa Ewart.

This was an opportunity to meet and talk with the director herself, as well as other creators of the documentary - co-writer Piotr Nieznański and drone operator (also the punt captain) - Wiktor Strumiłło. The screenings were accompanied by debates on cultural heritage and the unique natural and landscape values of the Vistula River and its valley.

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We monitored water in the Vistula River using a special AGUARD float (BNP Paribas) with an installed device that enabled reading water salinity through an application. The results were sent to the database of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences in Warsaw.

Our research showed that the Vistula is most polluted in cities, while downstream from cities the water purifies itself. I think it would be worthwhile to control rainwater drainage and sewage discharges, even from treatment plants, which are not always properly monitored. Independent institutions could regularly check water quality, which would contribute to improving its condition. Wiktor Strumiłło, punt captain

 

Poland is a country with an extraordinary cultural heritage, and one of its most fascinating elements is the tradition of rafting. For centuries, when road and rail transport were not yet developed, this unique form of transporting goods via rivers played a key role in the economic and social development of Poland.

During our expedition, we aimed to present the historical context of timber rafting, which has been listed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity for several years.

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Vistula Timber Rafting in numbers:

Over 1000 kilometers covered
44 dni na Wiśle
12 m - length of the barge „Oskar Kolberg”
40 cm - zanurzenie szkuty
3 hours - the longest unplanned "stop" of the punt on a sandbank
11 - the number of screenings of the film "To the Last Drop" and meetings with the audience
Over 600 participants in the film screenings during the Vistula Rafting
The materials were published in media with an audience and followers exceeding 4.6 million people.
Nearly 100 publications about rafting online (articles, interviews, radio and TV reports).
Contact us
Piotr Nieznański

Director of Environmental Programs

Mail to Piotr

Rivers are life. Let's fight for them to the last drop!

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