Chełm Landscape Park

The Chełm Landscape Park, established in 1983 in the Lublin Voivodeship, covers an area of 16,457 hectares, with an additional buffer zone of 10,878 hectares. Located in the Chełm County, it encompasses the municipalities of Chełm, Dorohusk, Sawin, Ruda-Huta, and Kamień. The park's primary aim is to protect valuable forest and peatland ecosystems, rich in rare species of plants and animals, resulting from unique soil conditions enriched with calcium carbonate. It features slightly transformed forest complexes and unique carbonate peatlands. Within the park's diverse habitats, many rare plants thrive, such as the spring adonis, the military orchid, and the stemless carline thistle. The park's flora includes 53 protected plant species, among them the Siberian iris and the bloody orchid. The fauna is equally impressive, with over 800 species of butterflies and 152 species of birds, including endangered cranes, black storks, and aquatic warblers. The park is home to four nature reserves, one of which, "Bachus," dates back to 1958. Tourist trails with observation towers have been designated in the "Bagno Serebryskie" and "Brzeźno" reserves, and an educational and museum center has been established in Brzeźno. The park also features numerous natural monuments, underscoring its importance for nature conservation in the region.