Szymon Jarosiński
DOI: 10.21858/msr.43.04
Vol. no: 43
This paper – in the field of environmental psychology – concerns the perception of a naturally valuable area of Warsaw – Wawer’s Meander (Zakole Wawerskie) – by the residents of its surroundings. The Wawer’s Meander is a unique peat bog, a relic of the oxbow lake of a large river, located inside a big city. The study was exploratory in terms of the types of perception of this Meander, its bogs and its fauna and flora, the ways of using it, as well as the awareness of its importance in the context of ongoing climate change and human activity. The results of this exploration show that the majority of respondents living in the area do not spend time in it, do not talk about it and do not pay attention to it, as if it did not exist. The reasons for this lie, among others, in their subjective judgement of the area’s low aesthetics, which significantly reduces its attractiveness. On the other hand, the second, important result of the study is the fact that the majority of residents – when asked directly about their assessment of the Wawer’s Meander – are satisfied with the relatively wild nature area that exists nearby. They are particularly pleased by the presence of greenery and birds there. They know little about the important climatic role of peat bogs, wetlands and marshes, but when informed about it, they express satisfaction and support for the protection of such areas. The obtained results of exploration are in line with existing foreign studies on a similar topic.
MSR_43_04 Szymon Jarosiński, Study of the perception of an intra-urban wetland area on the example of the Wawer’s MeanderPobierz