Do you know that a moose can dive up to 5 meters? Or that there is a Love Spring in Mrągowo? Can you tell why you should not eat fruit straight from the bush in the forest? If you love nature, the voice of Krystyna Czubówna, and the word "Masuria" makes your stomach flutter, then wonder why you don't have the Ekoapp app on your phone yet.
Hands up who remembers the atmosphere of Polish Sunday family dinners, accompanied by a nature program on TV and the warm voice of Krystyna Czubówna (probably the most recognizable voice in Poland). I'm sure at least two people raised their hands. I - the author of this text - and Izabela Żbikowska from the HumanDoc Foundation. We are both children of the 80s and have similar childhood associations. I bet you dollars to nuts that there are many more of us and that there were many more raised hands.
Izabela Żbikowska
A mother and her child
Izabela Żbikowska deals with education and social innovations at the HumanDoc Foundation. She is a psychologist. Once a journalist, now a worker in the third sector. It's not by chance that I write about her in the #OutStories series, because the passion with which she talks about her project is simply amazing.
There is no exaggeration in saying that the Ekoapp application is her child. She is the mother of the project - its initiator and PR manager. Moreover, the comparison to a mother and child comes naturally because of the events in her life.
"The day after we received information about the funding for our project, I gave birth to a daughter" - she says with a smile.
I smile too, because my son was born the same year, only 3 months earlier. I already know why we get along so well - we are connected by the 80s, Krystyna Czubówna, family dinners, the birthdays of our children and the topic of our conversation, which is Ekoapp.
Available for Android and iOS users, Ekoapp is your personal guide to one of the most picturesque regions of Poland - the Masurian Lake District. In the application, you will find not only carefully selected tourist trails, but also rich descriptions of breathtaking places. You will learn more about the fauna and flora of Masuria, take advantage of practical tips for travelers and discover specially prepared educational materials that will attract both students and teachers. trust me - it's worth downloading, watching and reading!
Screenshot from the Ekoapp application
Dreams of Krystyna Czubówna
By the way, it's not just about wartching and reading here. You can listen to most of this content, because the legendary Krystyna Czubówna has lent her voice to the application.
"Cooperation with Ms. Krystyna was a dream in our foundation. She is a wonderful, modest person. She not only recorded her voice, but also suggested editorial changes. She received the texts from us, but at the stage of recording she was able to say: listen, this sentence will sound better if I read it differently" - recalls Izabela Żbikowska.
It turns out that recording such texts is quite a lot of work, not only editorial, but also substantive.
"The recordings took a few weeks. We had a hotline with Ms. Czubówna" - says my interlocutor.
Birds in the Land of the Great Masurian Lakes (photo: Grzegorz Zawrotny)
Don't eat fruit straight from the bush
Krystyna Czubówna's voice is just one of the app's assets. The second is the substantive value of the texts contained in it.
First of all, the texts are written in a very interesting way. You can probably already guess from where I know that a moose can dive up to 5 meters. What's more, I learned from the application that it can be underwater for even 30 to 50 seconds. In turn, the Love Spring (in Polish: Źródełko Miłości) is an educational and scenic path in Mrągowo. Walking along it, we can see coots, grebes and the effects of beaver activity. And why shouldn't you eat fruit straight from the bush in the forest? At least because it can be contaminated with animal droppings, e.g. foxes.
A feather mistake
The second is that the content of the application was supervised by real experts.
"150 species of plants and animals and interesting places were described for us by employees of the Masurian Landscape Park. Then they were verified by scientists from the University of Warmia and Mazury" - emphasizes the project's initiator.
The app also allows you to see 3D models of animals. Speaking of this, Izabela Żbikowska recalls her cooperation with prof. Stanisław Czachorowski, an ecologist entomologist and hydrobiologist from the University of Warmia and Mazury.
"It's not that simple with these models. It turns out that an animal in Poland may look a bit different than its relative in another part of the world. The professor rejected a few models because, for example, in the case of the model of one of the birds, he noticed a different arrangement of feathers than in the animal found in Poland" - says Izabela Żbikowska.
"Swan Lake" - photo of one of the winners of the photo competition that promoted the application (photo: Tomasz Krupiński)
A lesson on silence in the forest
The models are also related to a story that happened at a conference for teachers at the Copernicus Science Center. Izabela Żbikowska represented the foundation there and presented the project.
"After this conference, we introduced changes to the application, i.e. animal models can now be seen from the main menu. Teachers told us that it's great to listen about the moose, but it would be good to see it too. I remember a teacher from Bielsko, who was so engaged in Ekoapp that she spent about 3 hours at our stand. She wanted to know, among other things, how to show the kids the fox in our application. Step by step, we showed her how to get to the information" - recalls my interlocutor.
Today, the teacher from Bielsko can take advantage of ready-made lesson plans for children. There is a lesson about silence in the forest, a lesson about the roles played by dragonflies and beetles, and there is also material about the mysterious roles of small creatures in the ecosystem and many others.
"When savings appeared in the project, we wondered what we could use them for. We decided that the best ambassadors of nature and, in a way, our application, would be teachers. That's why we invested in lesson scripts" - explains Izabela Żbikowska.
"Mother's love" - photo of the winner of the photo competition that promoted the application (photo: Stanisław Sielewicz)
Cultural anthropologist
I am very impressed by the way this application was prepared. I mean, the fact that such a strong emphasis was put on the content. I have the conviction that if something is done with head and heart, it will defend itself. Cooperation with the employees of the Masurian Landscape Park, scientists and Krystyna Czubówna is one thing, but it is also worth mentioning that the application was created thanks to conversations with the Norwegian partner of the project.
"We cooperated with Ann Eileen Lennert, a cultural anthropologist who works at the University of Svalbard. She has been active for many years in various organizations related to tourism, basically combining scientific research with tourism. Thanks to this cooperation, we benefited from Norwegian experience in the use of applications in tourism, for example" - says Izabela Żbikowska.
Not Just Masuria
At the end of each conversation with people who have used the EEA and Norway Grants, I always ask one question: what’s next? It is known that the funds are for a specific project and when this project ends, it would be good if its effects were developed. It would be a pity to give up something that has taken so much effort and money. It turns out that there are a lot of ideas for the development of the application.
"We want to expand the application to Pomerania region, the eastern provinces of Poland and the Tatry Mountains. Moldovans are also interested in creating a similar guide to their nature. We have already submitted appropriate applications for support" - declares my interlocutor.
The mysterious nature of Masuria (photo: Grzegorz Zawrotny)
Open Your Eyes
At the end of the conversation, I ask Izabela Żbikowska if she is particularly proud of something in this project. After a moment of thought, she replies:
"I have the feeling that our application opens eyes. If someone spends at least 15 minutes in it, they will be convinced that it is worth taking care of nature, that we are a part of it. And besides, how else would I have learned that a moose can dive to 5 meters?"
And then she adds:
"You know what, I don't know if this is suitable for publication, but I'll say it. I love Ms. Krystyna Czubówna, I'm a fan of hers. But it's because of her that I don't like orcas. When I was a child, I watched a program in which Ms. Krystyna told how orcas hunted a young whale just to drown it and eat its tongue. Later I learned that they were just learning how to hunt. Nature is terrifying and fascinating at the same time" - concludes Izabela Żbikowska.
The full name of the project is "Rooted in nature - building an eco-application dedicated to the Land of the Great Masurian Lakes as a tool increasing the knowledge of ecosystems and their services for its implementation”. The HumanDoc Foundation received over EUR 170 000 (PLN 730 000) from the EEA and Norway Grants under the from the Environment, Energy and Climate Change Programme.
We encourage you to visit the project website and download the application.
In March 2024, the project took second place in the Ministry's of Climate and Environment competition "We influence the climate - stories of projects implemented under the climate programme of the EEA and Norway Grants".
Urszula Matryniszyn - president of the management board of the HumanDoc Foundation - receives the award for taking second place in the competition of the Ministry of Climate and Environment
A few months ago we also wrote an article about the "Climate-Friendly School" - project which won this competition.
Information about the article
The author of the text is Paweł Nowak (Communication and Promotion Unit, Department of Assistance Programmes, Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy).