Lodz Hills Landscape Park Management Institution Lodzs Hills

Lodz Hills Landscape Park Management

Institution • Lodz’s Hills Landscape Park Management (DPKWŁ) is a council budgetary unit which is subordinate to The Marshall’s Office of Lodz Voivodeship. • DPKWŁ is in charge of one – from 7 – the smallest landscape park in our voivodeship. • In the management, there are 6 people who generally are responsible for protecting nature.

Landscape park as a form of nature protection A landscape park is one of the forms of territorial nature protection in Poland. The main reasons for the existence of the organisation are "natural, historical and cultural values which are protected, and the aim of its creation is to preserve, popularise and disseminate these values in conditions of balanced development. " The first landscape parks in Poland date from the 1980 s. The total number of parks is 120 and it hasn’t changed in more than 10 years. Lodz’s Hills Landscape Park celebrated it’s 15 th anniversary in 2011.

What to protect? • Numerous hills in the southern part of the park with the most attractive landscapes in the region. • Diverse terrain relief (date back to the Pleistocene ice age - ca. 180 -150 thousand years ago), numerous springs and deeply incised river valleys. • Many interesting geomorphological forms have been formed in this area. • The abundance of various plant and animal species. • The major part of the park territory is covered with farmland. Forests occupy 28% of its area. • Old trees are a reminder of the Lodz Primeval Forest - various types of forests (bright oak forest, oak-hornbeam forest, bog alder forest, floodplain ash-elm). • The cultural heritage of the park – the remains of an old settlement from the 6 th century in Stare Skoszewy.

The main targets of Lodz’s Hills Landscape Park Management Protecting nature (in conditions of balanced development) Education – one part of The Park (the nature preserve Lagiewnicki Forest) is located within boundaries of Lodz. Tourism that’s friendly to the environment. An influence on urban planning. Popularise the local folklore.

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