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5th Winter Wetlands Bike Tour marks World Wetlands Day

The Public Institution for the management of protected parts of nature and the ecological network of Virovitica-Podravine County organised its traditional winter cycling event, the 5th Winter Wetlands Bike Tour, on 31 January. The event was held on the occasion of World Wetlands Day and as part of the LIFE RESTORE for MDD project, which focuses on the preservation and restoration of floodplain forest habitats along the Mura-Drava-Danube rivers.

The event started at the Drava Story Visitor Centre in Noskovci with welcoming speeches by Tatjana Arnold Sabo, Director of the public institution, and Lisa Wolf, Project Manager of WWF-Austria. Project partners from Zeleni Osijek and Međimurska Priroda were also present.

During the educational part of the event, the head of the Bioresearch Station, Vladimir Juhaz, gave a presentation highlighting the crucial importance of wetland habitat conservation, followed by an overview of the LIFE RESTORE for MDD project and the institution’s activities to date.

The cycling tour took participants along the Drava River Cycle Path through the municipalities of Čađavica and Sopje. The riders passed through several important ecological areas, including the Mura-Drava Regional Park, the transboundary biosphere reserve Mura-Drava-Danube, the Natura 2000 ecological network and the European Green Belt. The route gave participants a first-hand experience of the wetland habitats along the Drava River and highlighted the importance of their conservation.

Couldn’t make it? No problem, experience the scenic bike tour through our video highlights!