INFORMATION PORTAL OF THE MARSHAL'S OFFICE OF THE KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIE Region IN TORUŃ

In 2025, Tuchola Landscape Park celebrated a double anniversary – the 40th anniversary of its establishment and the 15th anniversary of the creation of the Tuchola Forest Biosphere Reserve. On this occasion, a conference summarising four decades of joint institutional efforts and the dedication of park employees to preserving the natural, cultural and historical values of the area was held on 12 March in Piła near Gostycyn (Tuchola County). The regional government was represented by Dariusz Kurzawa, a member of the regional Executive Board.

Tuchola Landscape Park was established on 9 December 1985 as the first landscape park in the former Bydgoszcz Region. According to Dr. hab. Mieczysław Kunz, scientific editor of the eighth jubilee monograph on the park titled “Tuchola Landscape Park: People – Events – Resources,” the foundation of all achievements has always been people – employees, members of the Park Council, scientists, local government officials and social partners.

“Employees of the Tuchola Landscape Park have been initiators of many events and activities – often unique on a national scale – that have become a permanent element of the landscape of the Tuchola Forest and its distinctive hallmark,” he notes in the publication.

The anniversary conference summarised forty years of work by naturalists, scientists, collaborators and the local community for the coexistence of natural and social systems in line with the concept of sustainable development. The event was organised within the Tuchola Forest Biosphere Reserve, a globally unique area certified by UNESCO. Participants included representatives of public administration, environmental institutions, scientists and retired park employees.

“Tuchola Landscape Park offers visitors many attractions. It is not only diverse nature, an abundance of mushrooms, hiking and kayaking routes, but also traces of the Borowiacy culture. For years, park staff have contributed to preserving the unique natural and cultural values of this land and promoting them both in Poland and abroad,” emphasises Marshal Piotr Całbecki.

Key activities carried out over four decades:

• Nature monitoring – this includes monitoring species such as the kingfisher, bats, forest owls and wolves, as well as fungi and selected protected plants. Research on the kingfisher, conducted since 1992, is among the longest-running monitoring projects of this species in Poland. Monitoring of forest owls has been conducted since 2015, and since 2022 the park has also monitored the grey wolf, which returned to the area after several years of absence.
• Active nature conservation – activities include protection of orchids, bats and forest owls, clean-up campaigns along the Brda River, and social and ecological initiatives such as nature-friendly gardens or insect habitats. The Educational Garden at the park’s headquarters contains numerous native and traditional plant species, bird nesting boxes, bat boxes, insect hotels and shelters for amphibians, reptiles and small mammals.
• Environmental education – the park organises exhibitions, workshops and nationwide competitions. Among them is the mushroom exhibition, organised for 32 years in cooperation with the Polish Mycological Society and the Tuchola Forest District. It is the oldest exhibition of its kind in Poland, presenting nearly 100 mushroom species from surrounding forests during the two-day event.

For 26 years, the park and the Tuchola Forest District have also organised the competition “Nature Around Us,” aimed at primary school students from schools located within the park. Since 2005, a separate category has been held for students from special education schools. Park staff conduct educational activities for audiences of all ages – from preschool children to seniors. The main themes include the park’s natural highlights: the kingfisher (featured in the park’s logo), mushrooms typical of the Tuchola Forest, and the wolf.

• Dissemination of scientific and organisational activities – this includes sharing the results of research and nature monitoring.
• Implementation of external projects – these include modernisation of the park’s headquarters, renewal of field infrastructure and the construction of the Field Centre for Environmental Education and Promotion of the Tuchola Forest Biosphere Reserve.

Tuchola Landscape Park – timeline of key events:

1974 – Dr. Marian Boiński begins research and inventory work to develop a geobotanical characterisation of the present-day park area.

9 December 1985 – establishment of Tuchola Landscape Park, the first landscape park in the former Bydgoszcz Region.

7–8 September 1990 – first field press conference “KNOW – RESPECT – HELP” (Tuchola–Chojnice).

June 1995 – expansion of the administrative building – the park’s headquarters at Podgórna Street 1 in Tuchola.

2 June 2010 – creation in Paris of the UNESCO-MaB Tuchola Forest Biosphere Reserve, which includes, among others, Tuchola Forest National Park and four landscape parks: Tuchola, Wda, Wdzydze and Zaborski.

April 2013 – start of the project “Construction of the Field Centre for Environmental Education and Promotion of the Tuchola Forest Biosphere Reserve in Tuchola Landscape Park,” financed under the Regional Operational Programme of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region 2014–2020.

About the park

Tuchola Landscape Park covers the south-eastern part of the Tuchola Forest, located in the Pomorskie and Kujawsko-Pomorskie Regions. Its symbol is the kingfisher. The park covers more than 36,000 hectares and includes eight nature reserves. The Brda River, a network of lakes and forests full of mushrooms make it an ideal place for nature lovers and people interested in the history and culture of the Kashubian region. (see also: Tuchola Landscape Park invites you to enjoy mushrooms, fish and kayaking) It is one of ten landscape parks in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region.

Funding for landscape parks

Preserving the unique values of the region’s landscape parks is regularly supported by funds from the regional government and the programme European Funds for Kujawy and Pomorze 2021–2027. In this year’s regional budget, 29.5 million PLN has been allocated for this purpose. From this amount, Tuchola Landscape Park will implement the project “Implementation of the Functions of the Tuchola Forest Biosphere Reserve” with a budget of nearly 8 million PLN. Planned activities include expanding infrastructure, extending the educational offer through new equipment, creating a demonstration habitat for wild pollinators, establishing educational nature trails and building accommodation facilities near the centre with an interactive underground educational hall. (see also: Investments 2026 – Landscape Parks)

 

Tuchola Landscape Park
Press Office of the Marshal’s Office
11 March 2026

Last updated: 12 March 2026