The Second Slavonice Colloqium Is Behind Us. What Did This Year’s Meeting Bring?

About 50 conservationists, ecologists and nature enthusiasts met on April 13 th and 14 th in one of Czech Canada’s most picturesque towns at the second annual colloquium entitled “Faces of the Landscape.”

This year, our meeting was called “Faces of Water,” which, albeit unintentionally, was not only the topic of most contributions, but also described the weather during the event. 💦

Except for the heavy rain that turned the final field expedition into a true adventure that only 8 brave people partook in, we can declare that the two-day colloquium was a complete success.

Credit for this is due to the speakers, who presented a total of ten contributions divided into four blocks of lectures. Focusing on individual topics, some delivered with humor and some with personal views on the particular issue, the presentations included ideas, past mistakes, lessons learned, the latest research results, and frank discussions about burnout and a return to conservation.

We must also thank our friend and co-organizer of the event Pavel Pokorný from the Říční Krajina association. Pavel, a landscape architect, helped create the program and bring it to fruition.

Pavel also moderated the event together with our colleague Eliška Kolomazníková. A former reporter for Czech Television, she made sure the discussions were fair and balanced. 🧐

Another key event partner was Spolkový Dům Slavonice, which was where the colloquium was once again held. The people who run the building provided everything from breakfast, the video projector, to the evening program with a bit of jazz fusion provided by the Prague band Walkin’ Base.

Here are the names of the authors and the titles of the lectures in order of presentation:

Aleš Jelínek, Václav Křivan (ČSOP Kněžice): The Beetles, Butterflies, and Spiders of the Telč Bogs

Martin Škorpík (Podyjí National Park): Through the Valley of the Dyje River, Against the Flow of Time

Dušan Trávníček (Museum of South-Eastern Moravia in Zlín): The Bečva River—Both Paradise and Hell of Diversity

Jan Pokorný (ENKI): The Power of Plants or Solar Energy and Its Distribution

Jeňýk Hoffmeister (Department of Forest Ecology, FLD ČZU & CzechGlobe, CAS): Some Suggestions for the Real Protection of Forest Habitats in the Czech Republic

Filip Lysák, Prokop Svoboda (Refugium): Revitalizing the Maříž Wetlands, or Private Capital and Nature Conservation

Marek Šmejkal (Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre, CAS): The Decline and Possible Rescue of the Crucian Carp in the Czech Republic

Harabiš, F., Knapp, M., Kadlec, T. (Insect Ecology Group, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague): Creating “Insect” Habitats, from Šumava Pools to Prague’s Dívčí Hrady

Ivana Bufková, Eva Zelenková (Šumava National Park, LIFE for MIRES): Water Lost and Returned or How to Restore Mountain Streams and Springs

Filip Hruška (Czech Society of Ornithology): Ponds at Borovná near Telč and Their Birds (1989–2023)

We will be publishing additional information on the individual papers in the coming weeks,
including publications for additional study for those interested in these topics.