Warsaw. A ride in an off-road vehicle on the beach, then a photo session. In a guarded reserve.

On Sunday morning, the water meter in Wisła indicated 25 centimeters. It hasn't been this bad since measurements were taken. Artur Węgrzynowicz, a reporter from tvnwarszawa.pl, went to see what the river looks like near the Zawadowskie Islands reserve. There, it wasn't just the low level of the Vistula that caught his attention.

– A couple entered the reserve from the direction of Józefów in an off-road vehicle. First they drove around a sandy island, then they drove up to the water's surface and started taking pictures. Of course, there is information along the shore that it is a nature reserve and at the same time a protected area – describes Węgrzynowicz.

– I also saw people on the Vistula who were tempted to swim in the river. They use the low water level in an inappropriate way, forgetting that the Vistula is still a dangerous river with a strong current. On the other hand, driving around the reserve in an off-road vehicle is scandalous – assessed our reporter.

The Zawadowskie Islands nature reserve was created to protect aquatic ecosystems in the middle Vistula riverbed. It is a nesting and feeding place for rare bird species and a haven for aquatic animals. It also has landscape values ​​and, unfortunately, many people focus only on them, forgetting about animals.

As we read on the website of the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Warsaw, despite the marked entrances to the reserve, many people still pass by the prohibition signs and carelessly enter the sandbanks and islands of this area.

“The reserve is regularly patrolled by volunteers from the Polish Society for the Protection of Birds, who educate and explain why the presence of people in the reserve poses such a serious threat to the nature of this place. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to give up the pleasure of walking for the sake of protecting nature,” officials inform.