Today, February 2nd, 2024, in celebration of World Wetlands Day, and as part of the LIFE RESTORE for MDD project – Preserving and Restoring Floodplain Forest Habitats along the Mura-Drava-Danube Rivers (LIFE22-NAT-AT-LIFE RESTORE for MDD), the Public Institution for Management of Protected Parts of Nature and the Ecological Network of Virovitica Podravina County organized the traditional Winter Wetlands Bike Tour, known as the 4th Winter Wetlands Bike Tour.

The event began with welcoming remarks from Tatjana Arnold Sabo, Director of the Public Institution, Blanka Celinšćak Mezga from the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, Nikolina Petković Gregorić, National Contact Point for the LIFE program, and Igor Andrović, the Virovitica-Podravina County Prefect.

Following the opening speeches, Vladimir Juhaz, the head of the bio-research station, gave a presentation titled "Wetlands – A Benefit for Humanity," and Director Tatjana Arnold Sabo presented the LIFE RESTORE for MDD project and the activities planned by the Public Institution during the project's implementation.

The bike tour started at the Dravska Priča Visitor Center in Noskovci and continued along the Drava River in the Čađavica municipality. Participants rode through areas that are part of the Mura-Drava Regional Park, the cross-border Mura-Drava-Danube Biosphere Reserve, as well as the Natura 2000 ecological network and the European Green Belt, while exploring the wetlands along the Drava River. For those who did not join the bike tour, a guided tour of the Visitor Centre The Drava Story was organized, led by nature guardian Vladimir Ajhler.

The project is co-financed by the European Union. However, the expressed views and opinions belong solely to the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.