Uroczysko Zielona

Uroczysko Zielona is an ecological site of 17.5 ha in the eastern part of Zielona Park in Dąbrowa Górnicza. It was established in 2008. The site has an educational trail with five stops that show the typical forest and water habitats of this part of the Dąbrowa Basin.

What the educational trail shows

The trail leads from the forest to a pond, and the boards describe successive types of habitat. The first stop is a fresh oak-hornbeam forest, growing on fertile, moderately moist soils. The stand is dominated by hornbeam, small-leaved lime and pedunculate oak, and in the spring the undergrowth flowers with wood anemone and dog's mercury.

The second stop, a lowland oak-hornbeam forest, is a transitional community between a hornbeam wood and an alluvial forest. Ash, elm and bird cherry grow in it, and in May the ground is covered with wild garlic. The third is an alder-ash alluvial forest, where water stands in the hollows and lesser celandine, yellow flag and gypsywort grow beneath the trees.

The pond and the Turk's cap lily

The fourth stop is a pond, a breeding place for amphibians and a habitat for birds and muskrats. Plants with floating leaves swim in it, for example yellow water lilies, and hornwort and water milfoil also grow there. Muskrats dig burrows in the high banks, and mallards are often seen here.

The last stop is devoted to the Turk's cap lily, one of the best-known protected plants. It has survived in the site in fairly large numbers and flowers in June and July. Water soldier also grows within the site.

Practical information

• Place: the eastern part of Zielona Park in Dąbrowa Górnicza; the neighbouring, larger park is described in the entry Zielona Park in Dąbrowa Górnicza.
• What to see: five stops on the educational trail, from the hornbeam wood to the pond.
• Season: in spring the hornbeam-wood undergrowth with wild garlic flowers, in summer the Turk's cap lily.
• Check the rules of entry and the way in with the City Office in Dąbrowa Górnicza.