For the Earth

From November 2021, I started using 4-layer ecological hygienic wipes, which you can buy, for example, in the Biedronka store. The use of Queen eco-friendly wipes helps to conserve forest resources and reduce the burden on the environment, with a much lower environmental footprint. In addition, the packaging of ecological wipes is made of cardboard, 100% from recycled materials, as opposed to standard wipes, which are packed in plastic. I encourage you to do this as well.

My other pro-ecological action, which I have been taking for some time, is throwing used batteries into a special container in the LIDL store. I encourage you to do this as well.

For a long time, I have been throwing away expired medicines in a special container located at the pharmacy. I encourage you to do the same.

Continuing with my green approach to life, in December 2020 I started buying two-course dinners in reusable glass containers, instead of the disposable plastic ones offered by the bistro. I encourage you to do the same.

Another of my actions, which can be classified as pro-ecological, is instead of throwing unnecessary clothes into the trash, donating them to the homeless in a care center in Sosnowiec at 19 Piotrkowska Street or to the residents of the nursing home at 2 Jagiellońska Street for further use. I have been doing this for several years. I encourage you to do the same.

As part of my ecological activities, I have been collecting plastic caps from various bottles for several years. For this purpose, one of the waste bins in my home is intended for caps. When the container is full, I take the caps to the animal shelter in Sosnowiec Milowice, where they are collected all year round. Thanks to the recycling of caps, this shelter obtains funds for its activities.

Continuing my pro-ecological approach to life, in September 2020, instead of a plastic one, I started using the Humble Brush bamboo toothbrush of the Swedish company The Humble Co. I encourage you to do the same.

In October 2019, I received a bird feeder from my Dad. The film presents examples of birds that visit my feeder on the balcony - the film features great tit, magpie, and sparrows and / or Eurasian tree sparrows. The latter are very similar and are hard to identify here.

To extend my environment-friendly approach to life, in March 2020 I made a decision to start buying only organic eggs from free-range hens fed exclusively on ecological fodder. Hens raised in such conditions live in their natural habitat, which makes them healthy and protects the environment.

In December 2019 I decided to start buying only toilet paper made from recycled paper. An additional advantage of this choice is that this type of toilet paper is sold in pieces without unnecessary plastic packet.

In November 2019 I found out that McDonald's allows its customers to bring in their own reusable mugs to have a coffee or tea. Therefore, going on with my environment-friendly approach to life, I started bringing my own mug to eliminate disposable paper cups and plastic lids which terribly litter the planet.

In November 2019 my girlfriend recommended to me reusable produce bags made from material resembling curtain fabric, which I immediately bought in Kaufland at a cost of 6 PLN for 4 bags and I started using them instead of disposable plastic bags.

Going along with my ecological activities, in August 2019 I bought a cloth shopping bag which I now use instead of plastic bags. I encourage you to do the same.

In August 2019 I decided to start taking water to the gym in a reusable glass bottle to replace plastic bottles which I had used before.

The film presents the life of birds which I recorded between 21st and 23rd June 2019 in my parents' garden in Stanisław Górny. The following birds star in the film: great tits, Eurasian tree sparrows, a blackbird, Eurasian collared doves, finches, a starling, a great spotted woodpecker, a hawfinch and a jay.

In spring 2019, seven years after my first adventure with a pigeon which needed help, a similar thing happened to me again. On 12 April 2019 on her way from work, my girlfriend found in the grass a pigeon which needed help and she brought it from Dąbrowa Górnicza to my flat in Sosnowiec. The pigeon travelled 14 kilometres by car. We decided to take it to the wild animal rescue centre called Leśne Pogotowie in Mikołów. This time the pigeon went by car another 26 kilometres so its total road trip was 40 kilometres. Mr Jacek Wąsiński, who runs Leśne Pogotowie in Mikołów, assessed that the pigeon's both wings were broken so it will not fly any more. The pigeon will be taken care of in Leśne Pogotowie, where it will spend the rest of its life. This is the website of Leśne Pogotowie in Mikołów, which I asked for help to the injured pigeon: WWW.lesnepogotowie.pl

On 14 December 2018 during COP24, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, I went to Katowice in front of Spodek to demonstrate against coal.

In summer 2018 I wrote to the McDonald's head office in Warsaw to stop distributing ketchup to all customers, because many unopened sachets are put into waste bin and litter the planet up. Earlier ketchup in McDonald's was given on demand. I didn't receive any reply, so in spring 2019 I wrote to Greenpeace and explained that McDonald's litters the Earth up. This organisation answered that they act on a campaign basis, so they don't have enough workers to deal with my problem... Only at the end of 2022 someone in this company finally made a wise decision and now in self-service kiosks, when placing an order, everyone has to choose whether they want it with or without ketchup.

In November 2017 I changed all light bulbs in my flat from incandescent to LED, including places like the fridge and cooker hood.

On 28 July 2017 I bought three bins in an IKEA shop. Next day I had adhesive labels printed in a printing house and stuck them onto the bins. From that moment I started sorting rubbish, which is a side result of my life.

In September 2015, together with my girlfriend, I participated in clearing new run areas for dogs in the animal shelter in Sosnowiec Milowice. This voluntary activity was organised by an ArcelorMittal company from Dąbrowa Górnicza.

I shot this film about water birds in the recreational area called Stawiki in Sosnowiec in late autumn 2012. In my film you can see birds such as swans, various species of ducks, gulls, etc. I dedicate this film to my grandmother Władysława, with whom I was walking around this pond and observing these birds just 2 years earlier.

On 22nd May 2012 at 7.30 a.m. under my girlfriend's car we found a pigeon completely covered in crude oil. We decided to try and help the pigeon and took it to a vet specialising in wild animals. He advised us to first wipe the pigeon with paper towels, then use paper towels soaked in vegetable oil, and finally bathe the pigeon in warm water and yellow soap. The vet warned us that the pigeon might not survive this treatment.
The film shows the fourth bath of the pigeon, whose feathers look better with each bath. After the first bath the bathtub was all black. During each bath we remove another layer of crude oil from the pigeon's body. We feed the pigeon with wheat grain bought at a pet shop. We also give the pigeon activated carbon to treat it for toxic poisoning. We bought via the Internet dishwashing liquid called Dishmate from Earth Friendly Products, which is reportedly used by environmental organisations to wash birds covered in crude oil as a result of ecological disasters such as oil tanker spills.
We hope that the pigeon will be able to fly and will live in the wild again.

The film shows the second part of the story of the pigeon which we found all covered in crude oil on 22nd May 2012 and decided to rescue. After the pigeon had flown unprompted out of the box in which it was kept and landed on a table, a windowsill and a chest of drawers, we knew that it would survive. We decided that the sixth bath would be the last one and that the next day the pigeon would be allowed to move freely around the room to build confidence after the upsetting experiences with the oil.
On 27th May 2012 at 7.30 we set the pigeon free. The pigeon spent exactly 5 days with us.
All the adventure with this bird, which is unlikely to happen again, consisting of taking care of it, observing its behavior and living with it together in one room, reminded me of the great book "Birdy" by William Wharton, about love of birds, a book which was one out of the few which I read cover to cover, several times.