DZIKHI
Memories of nature – extracts from the Śródka Community Archive Michał ski Kierzkow
I have recently heard Witold Lenart, who is a climatologist at the University of Warsaw, say that: “whenever we are unsure whether the impact of our activity in the environment will be purely positive and beneficial, the right thing to do is to abandon it altogether. For human beings are far from comprehending the whole mysterious net of relationships in nature”. Reflecting upon the meaning of these words, which are very up-to-date considering the changes taking place in nature today, I thought about the conversations I have been having for almost 6 years while working on the project of the Śródka Community Archive. When I had a closer look at the reminiscences of the several dozen people who for years have been connected to the district of Śródka and the surrounding area, it occurred to me that nature has always been an important part of the everyday life of this small but independent community.
where the officers of the law wrestle with criminals in Ryszard Ćwirlej’s crime novels. However for the local inhabitants, they have played an important role in the lives of their communities. Probably all of Śródka’s and Zagórze’s inhabitants’ reminiscences mention childhood or adolescence spent by the Cybina River. This river, which nowadays could actually be considered a seasonal and constantly polluted watercourse, used to be a unique sports and recreation hub. In the summer the river banks would turn into beaches serving the inhabitants living nearby as a place for relaxation. Its clean water used to be the first place where many learnt how to swim: “When it comes to nature and the natural environment, we had a beautiful childhood in Zagórze (…) The water was very clean, very clear, there was no pollution, there were no algae because it was filtered all the time” (E. Żymałkowska-Lik). “Before the war, during the occupation and after it, life centred around the Cybina. Lying on the fine sand, swimming in it [the river]” (J. Śmierzchalska). The fact that the place was attractive and close meant that people had no need to use other water attractions in the city: “Here in Śródka, hardly anyone couldn’t swim, and the Cybina River was a paradise. It was
The districts of Śródka, Zagórze and the Cathedral Island are places inevitably associated with two watercourses: the Warta and the Cybina Rivers. For an ordinary inhabitant of Poznań these two rivers are just places for Saturday walks or the site 18
