Imagine the famous scene from Disney’s “Cinderella,” but without the birds accompanying the heroine….

Undeniably, animal characters are an important part of fairy tales and fables, not just Disney ones. Undeniably, animal characters are an important part of fairy tales and fables, not just Disney ones.

Loss of urban biodiversity

Sprawling cities that engulf wild areas, tight construction, lack of wild “neglected” areas in favor of landscaped greenery, cleaned and regulated water bodies – all of this is causing a decline in animals in cities. Animals are disappearing from urban areas mainly due to habitat loss, but technological traps and unwise human actions, among other things, are also a problem.

Birds and ecosystem services

Contrary to popular belief – the presence of diverse flora and fauna in the city means many benefits for our well-being and health. Anyway, animals will always follow human habitats, but more and more often they are species whose abundant presence in cities brings more problems than benefits in the overall balance (e.g. mosquitoes). Wanting to reduce the nuisance of species residing in urban areas, it is worth promoting biodiversity, which can help reduce the dominance of particular species. An example of such a strategy is the promotion and protection of birds in human habitat areas.

What role do birds play in urban areas?

Birds that nest in hollows, burrows or rock crevices, known as hollow-birds, once very popular in the urban landscape, have declined in numbers in recent years mainly due to habitat loss. In their case, however, there is a simple and effective way to help them rebuild their populations.

Benefits of birds in the city

Aesthetics aside – urban birds contribute, among other things, to reducing the population of insects, including extremely annoying ones, such as mosquitoes. In addition, some bird species support theprocess of pollination and seed dispersal, fueling. the biodiversity machine. Supporting hollow birds is simple and widely available to residents, as positive effects can be achieved by already creating favorable breeding sites by hanging birdhouses.

Pleasant with useful – or education and integration on the green

In cooperation with Disney, we held an environmental workshop on April 22.

The first part was an ornithological workshop, which aimed, among other things. to build awareness of the importance of birds in the city and expand knowledge of popular birds found in our country. As part of this part, participants were able to build their own birdhouse, which they will then hang in a location of their choice.

The subject of the second part of the workshop was the creation of the so-called kokedama.

Kokedama is a good idea for people who lack space to grow plants. First of all, kokedama is an original and growing in popularity form of plant breeding. Creating a kokedama is very simple and, in addition, really environmentally friendly, because there is no need for pots or any plastic, and the roots of the ornamental plant are in a ball of earth, which is covered with moss.

The very process of creating a so-called “hanging garden” is enjoyable, and like any activity that involves “burying in the ground” positively affects one’s mood. Workshop participants at the event could not only relax by sticking balls and creating beautiful compositions, but also learn the secrets of caring for hanging gardens.

We would like to thank the participants for their involvement during the event and hope that it was a pleasant time spent and an interesting, inspiring experience.