Biebrza 2020

“Biebrza 2020” is a photo reportage about dramatic ecological change in the Goniądz area in the Biebrza National Park and its influence on life of their inhabitants.

In April 2020, a fire in the Biebrza National Park destroyed more than 5 thousand hectares of unique land.

Earlier, the prevailing drought had brought down levels of the river. The changes taking place in the Biebrza marshes are dramatically fast and have a direct impact on the life of the inhabitants.

I considered all these events worth documenting in in the form of photography exhibition.

By portraying people connected by their work and passion with Biebrza river in the Goniądz region I wanted to draw the audience’s attention to a broader understanding of the problems with the environmental issues – they have to face.

Katarzyna Paniucka – OSP Downary – I hope this was the last fire on this scale. What surprised me? How quickly the fire moved, some firefighters had nowhere to run and had to jump through the fire. I was surprised at how quickly the situation was changing.

– The fire is unpredictable, it can spin and suddenly go away. We laid down on the ground to get some air, we managed to fight that the fire did not crossed the road. The farmers, who plowed the part, helped in this and thus prevented the fire from passing through.

Dawid Wójcik – Animal Rehabilitation Center in Grzędy – There was a wall of fire for several kilometers! After this experience, we already know that as a human we are small to the element of fire, it takes a lot of strength, equipment and human effort to win wit it.

Małgorzta Stanek – Foundation for Biebrza – During the fire, the Foundation for Biebrza provided assistance to the Volunteer Fire Department and the State Fire Service in the form of food donations and fire-fighting equipment. We realized that there was a great need for specialized firefighting equipment. At the same time, we experienced that there is a sense of community, cooperation and great will of people to act for one goal – for the common good.