Skarpa Storczyków Nature Reserve

The “Skarpa Storczyków” nature reserve is a forest reserve in the Głogów Ice-Marginal Valley (Pradolina Głogowska), on the border of the Rudna and Grębocice municipalities, in Lubin County. It covers 65.17 hectares, of which 45.13 hectares are under strict protection. The area forms part of the Natura 2000 site PLH020018 "Łęgi Odrzańskie" (Oder Floodplain Forests).

What the reserve protects

The reserve was established in 1994 under an order dated 31 December 1993. It protects forest communities - beech forests, oak-hornbeam forest and streamside and ash-alder riparian forests - together with sites of rare plants: Elbe helleborine (Epipactis albensis), common polypody (Polypodium vulgare), honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum), common barberry (Berberis vulgaris) and martagon lily (Lilium martagon). Water chestnut (Trapa natans) also grows in the waters within the reserve.

Birds and animals

Black stork, stock dove, green woodpecker and collared flycatcher have been recorded in the reserve. The escarpment and the adjoining riparian forests give them nesting conditions that are hard to find in the more altered stretches of the Oder valley.

Practical information

• The reserve lies in the Głogów Ice-Marginal Valley, within the Rudna and Grębocice municipalities, in Lubin County.
• More than two-thirds of the area is under strict protection - before visiting, it is worth checking with the local forest district office or the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Wrocław which route is open to the public.
• Nearby, it is worth combining the visit with Bełcz Wielki Palace or the Ciechanów - Radoszyce Bridge.