17/09 – 21/09/2023
Zakole wetlands
Wawer Cultural Center
After numerous walks through Zakole wetlands, the research and experimental teams of Krytyka Polityzna organised a cross-disciplinary event – Repair Shack Zakole in Warsaw. This five-day gathering brought together Croatian and Slovenian research team representatives alongside Nicoleta Marin from Văcărești Natural Park Association.
The Shack’s activities started at the Wawer Cultural Center with an open event focused on initiating a year-long grassroots species inventory for Zakole Wawerskie Wetland. The aim is to create an inventory that blends community enthusiasm with professional expertise – a social tool fostering collaboration among Zakole’s residents while safeguarding the environment. By incorporating somatic methods and involving participants in the experimental inventory process, the goal is to create an atmosphere that encourages the exchange of both expert and citizen science knowledge.
Screening of the experimental nature film Of Water also took place in Wawer Cultural Center for the team and the users of the Center, further communicating strong links between the Zakole team and this patch of nature they are researching and protecting.
To introduce participants to Zakole wetlands, artist and poet Maja Demska presented experimental walks and methodologies, providing a hands-on demonstration of field research.
During the Repair Shack Zakole gathering, several experimental walks with teams and the local community took place together with a workshop led by Zakole research and experimental teams. During the walk and workshop “Operations on data sets” with Maja Demska and Krystyna Jędrzejewska-Szmek, an artist with a botanical background, the participants worked on numerical and plant collections. Is it possible to translate the precision of the scientific method into feelings, impressions, states and emotions, was one of the questions of Repair Shack Zakole that will continue to unfold through the course of the project developing further the international exchange of knowledge on practices and policies that enrich the perspective of urban wildlife and non-human actors who live in the cities.
Repair Shack Zakole was organised by Krytyka Polityczna, in consultation with CMok- Wetland Conservation Centre, an associate partner of the Testing Ground project, co-financed by the European Union.