ORGANISER THE CIVIL AFFAIRS INSTITUTE (ISO) The Civil Affairs Institute is an independent non-governmental organisation not connected to any political party or government. The Institute is a think tank; we are a non-profit organisation. Our aim is to provide information enabling Polish citizens to address issues with an impact on the general quality of life. We aim to promote civil society, independent media and sustainable development. The Institute was established in connection with the "Nationwide campaign for the promotion of sustainable transport", which was conducted in 1996-2003 with financial support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and substantial content-related support from New York's Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. In our nine years of conducting campaigns, we brought together a team of people with tremendous experience, knowledge and qualifications - social activists, scientists, local authorities, lawyers, journalists, former and present parliamentarians, economists, sociologists. These people are now the Institute's main strengths and guarantee our effective and thorough work in the name of the public good. The Institute actively accomplishes its goals by offering workshops, consultancy activities, publications, and working to influence public authorities. Our target groups are local communities, non-governmental organisations, universities, mass media, public administration, local government, and business. Of special importance are independence and the high quality of the tasks performed. Our campaigns are conducted on both the local and national level. We focus not only on education, but primarily strive for protection of nature. Many of our projects and campaigns significantly contribute to raising awareness about the environment. Natural Heritage Campaign and Eco-tourism are one of the projects carried out by the Institute of Civil Affairs A crucial element of our work is concern about nature and environment, as we believe that these have an intrinsic value. The state of the environment is an integral part of the quality of life, especially when seen in the broader context. One goal of the Institute's work is to preserve Poland's natural heritage by protecting naturally valuable places. Our website: www.iso.edu.pl CONTACT If you have questions, doubts or want to find our more about our trips, please contact our office in Poland. Office Director and Project Co-ordinator Agnieszka Górczyńska The Civil Affairs Institute (Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich) ul.Więckowskiego 33/127 90-734 ŁódĄ Poland tel/ fax: +48 42 630 17 49 mobile: +48 512 377 856 ecotourism@iso.edu.pl http://www.ecotourism.org.pl Please contact us between 10.00 - 17.00 at the office phone number.

OUR STAFF Agnieszka Górczyńska (1981) project manager My adventure began a couple of years ago, as I think that life is a mysterious and exciting adventure. Since then I have done many different things. I am a ceaseless traveller, although home is of great value to me. I have participated in many bike-trips, organised in Poland and Europe. I have co-organised east route of Bike+10 bike-ride towards the World Summit in Johannesburg. I took part in international workshops and trainings regarding youth work and self-development. I co-operate with a magazine "Obywatel" ("Citizen") and work for a non-governmental organisation The Civil Affairs Institute. I really enjoy my work, since I can join my passion for nature and its protection with a natural drive to increase my linguistic competence. My job involves international liaison between NGO's. I am a representative of The Civil Affairs Institute on international conferences and trainings. I conduct workshops and film viewings on sustainable transport policy. I gained experience working for an international non-governmental organisation called A SEED Europe based in The Netherlands. I have graduated from The University of ŁódĄ with a Bachelor degree in German. Now I study German translations at the Department of Languages for Special Purposes at the Faculty of Applied Linguistics and East-Slavonic Languages in Warsaw. I have a very good command of English and German. Driven by a dream about travelling to Peru, I started learning Spanish. Someday my dream will fulfil. Not being afraid of challenges I set myself goals to achieve, one of them is to successfully co-ordinate the office of Eco-tourism project. Bartosz Malinowski (1980) logistics I have graduated from a tourist service technical school. My passion is photography. I am an independent reporter, I work for the Civil Affairs Institute. I love to travel, I have organised trips to Siberia, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and to Caucasus. Not only do prefer walking to driving, but I also passionately ride my bike. I have participated in many bike trips, I have biked over 50 thousand kilometres during the past 10 years and co-organised bike rides in Poland and abroad. I am a person responsible for logistics of the Eco-tourism project, and in charge of managing the trips. I have tremendous experience in field of conducting ecological campaigns and projects. During the past several years I have worked for travel agencies. Guiding and managing trips is familiar to me. Mountains is the place where I feel best. I am an active member of Polish Tourist Country-Lovers' Society. Silence, calmness, wild nature and adrenaline connected with adventurous events are really important to me. My dream is to buy someday a house in the mountains. Maciej Kronenberg guide I was born in 1981, a few days before an introduction of martial law in Poland. I live in ŁódĄ and I could not imagine to live somewhere else. I have graduated from geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. At present I work at the University and write a PhD thesis on tourism in ŁódĄ. I have been travelling since a long time, I mainly travel around Poland, but not only. I have visited the majority of European countries, as well as for instance: Turkey, Jordan, Northern Cyprus, and Libya. I am discovering Polish areas mostly on my bicycle. I must admit, up to now I have wandered quite a lot of them. Since 2003 I work as a guide in ŁódĄ. Revealing the treasures of my city to abroad tourists gives me pleasure and I really enjoy it. I also work as a guide nationwide. I often engage myself in ecological initiatives regarding sustainable transport solutions. I am a co-author of a book entitled "500 riddles about ŁódĄ and its region". Witek Kopeć (1978) guide I began to get around Poland by foot or by bike when I was 12 years old. Not only do go to places popular among tourists, but also to remote and unspotted ones. I like to reveal unknown regions, which are not familiar for tourists, for example those in the vicinity of my home city, situated in the lowland areas of ŁódĄ. I sometimes go on longer bike rides, three years ago I travelled with my friend around North Sea. It took us 80 days, we traversed 6000 km. Work at the University of ŁódĄ is my bread and butter. I am doing a PhD in leisure and tourism studies. Apart form exploring hidden and secluded places, I really like to celebrate special, unplanned situations. One of such astonishing moments is when you encounter somewhere in the North-eastern Poland a herd of wild European bisons while riding your bike. Just imagine how you feel when you see them standing 100 metres away from you. This is Poland I want to show to you. Explore with me remarkable landscapes in the North-eastern Poland, existence of which are not aware many citizens of Poland. Justyna Piejko (1982) guide I come from the south-east part of Poland, just few steps from wonderful Bieszczady mountain range, part of East Carpathians. Those were the first mountains I met and fell in love with. Next came time for discovering more distant nooks of Poland, Europe and other continents. I managed to visit many of them, but still, there are so many to experience. I graduated from University of Lodz, geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. Now I am about to graduate from postgraduate studies of marketing at Economical Academy in Cracow. Living in Cracow, the cultural capital of Poland, I will be happy to show you all the most attractive tourist highlights of south Poland... and more.

Links www.kultury.org www.informaction.org - Information for Action articles on a wide rangeof environmental issues, a lobbying facility, a searchable database of leaders, and environmental groups, an environmental quiz with cartoons and animations, free music videos and MP3s, a database of chemicals and their effects. Volunteers always needed. www.ethicalconsumer.org - the UK's only alternative consumer organisation looking at the social and environmental records of the companies behind the brand names www.ethiscore.org is a project of ECRA (the Ethical Consumer Research Association/ECRA Publishing Ltd). ECRA was founded in 1988 as a not-for-profit workers co-operative to provide information on the companies behind the brand names and to promote the ethical use of consumer power. www.ibike.org/ibike - Fascinating, small group bicycle tours to Africa, Asia and the Americas, for ordinary active people. Enrich yourself with the complexity of the history, culture and environment and enjoying beautiful cycling. http://resurgence.org - Resurgence magazine brings together leading writers and environmentalists to present topics of vital importance to our world, including ecology, climate change, sustainable development, organic living, human-scale education and conflict resolution. Resurgence offers unique insights and presents a holistic philosophy infused with spirituality and creativity. In print and on-line. www.eko-cel.pl/eng/ - The ECOCENTRE ICPPC is a member of an international network "ECOSITE."It is the only place in Poland where one can see how various ecological technologies work in practice. All the devices here work, producing electricity, heating water and buildings, or treating sewage. www.icppc.pl/eng/ - The protection of the Polish countryside is not only a vital issue for Poland but for individuals and organizations in other countries as well. In order to help realize the goal of protecting our countryside, we created the International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC). www.naturelodging.org - Naturelodging is a French non-profit and non-governmental organisation. Its objective is to promote sustainable nature tourism and ecotourism worldwide. www.worldsurface.com - Responsible adventures and sustainable travel for everyone. Search hundreds of overland trips and volunteer programs from operators around the world. Follow our members' experiences live from around the globe. Join today--it's free! Add your own travel blog, stories and photos and win a trip! www.sustainabletravelinternational.org - Sustainable Travel International is a membership-based, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable development and eco-friendly travel by providing programs that help travelers and travel-related companies protect the places they visit, and the planet at large. www.worldcarfree.net - Worldcarfree.net is a clearinghouse of information from around the world on how to revitalise our towns and cities and create a sustainable future. In addition to serving the carfree movement, Worldcarfree.net offers resources for architects, planners, teachers/professors, students, decision-makers and engaged citizens. The Civil Affairs Institute is a member organisation of World Carfree Network. www.greentravelmarket.info - The Green Travel Market is a business to business service deisgned to help tour operators and other tourism suppliers become more aware of sustainable products, integrate them into their packages and services they offer, and reach relevant markets. http://lemko.org - Lemkos - website dealing with the pastoral farmers who until 1947 inhabited the Lower Beskid range of the Carpathian Mountains. www.alertonline.org/press - Croatian Environmental Press Centre (CEPC) is non-governmental organisation of environmental journalists with mission to improve reporting on environment and understanding of environmental issues in public and the media and to support journalists through networking, education and promotion of rights to information in Croatia. http://www.ekomrezabih.net/new/index.php?id=56 - EkoMrezaBiH - Environmental NGO's Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina www.dante-tourismus.org - DANTE is a network of 15 initiatives and non-governmental organisations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, specialised in tourism, environment and development. One of its members is: FernWeh - Tourism Review - committed to raising awareness and disseminating information on political issues in global tourism. Keeping in view the relations between North and South, we are concerned with the increasing social disparities and contradictions resulting from current tourism development, especially in Third World destinations. Polen - Welcome in Poland - The source of information about Poland, with the emphasis on tourism, including weather, zloty, culture, cities and regions World Travel Link Directory - Useful links to travel related sites around the world. http://www.groenoog.nl/ The Globetrotters Club, the ultimate travel club. - The Globetrotters Club is a international network for independent travellers around the world. If you'd like to join us, receive our bimonthly newsletter and membership listing offering hospitality, info and advice. www.lhump.nl - Dutch student network for sustainable development. Hotels in Lodz - Instant Reservation Service, on-line discounts available, tours, local support Sopatowiec - charming and inspiring place for those who want to get away from it all www.guidemegreen.com www.kulturanova.org.yu - AAC kulturanova ("Association for Alternative Creation") is a non-government, non-profit organisation founded for popularisation and affirmation of art and cultural spirit. Organization' focus is on development of urban youth culture and raising awareness on relevant social issues, with the vision of building creative platforms for youth in Novi Sad and in region. www.emagazine.com - "E -- The Environmental Magazine", the Nation's only non-profit, independent consumer publication on the environment, is a clearinghouse of information, news & commentary on today's environmental issues. It's our intent to inform and inspire individuals who have concerns about the environment and want to know what they can do to help bring about improvements. www.hospitalityclub.org - The aim of Hospitality Club is to bring people together - hosts and guests, travelers and locals. Thousands of Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling - be it with a roof for the night or a guided tour through town. Joining is free, takes just a minute and everyone is welcome. This project is non-commercial and led by volunteers. www.bergwaldprojekt.de - The Bergwaldprojekt's aim is to help forests. It wants to draw attention to their problems and go to their assistance in a targeted, hands-on way. That is why are offering people from various walks of life and organisations the chance to work with us as volunteers during organised project weeks. The goal of the project weeks is to improve the situation of the forest at different project sites. In that way, project week workers become enthusiastic about Nature and we can foster understanding for the forest as an ecosystem. www.travelhive.org - Travelhive.org is the new and free website directory including contents of tourism, travel and recreation. It is very rewarding source of information for active people, who love travelling and adventure. www.optik-pro.de - Ferngläser & Spektive bei Optik-Pro.de - große Auswahl an optischen Geräten zur Naturbeobachtung www.asia-tourist.com - Tours in Vietnam, Vietnam Leading tour Operator offers high quality tours in Vietnam www.4ecotips.com - Environment Education News - 4ecotips provides Global Warming News and Tips, Environment issues news articles, global warming information and eco travel with eco friendly tips, Environmental and Economics history from UK, Europe. Krakow Poland - A comprehensive guide to Krakow with essential travelers information. Krakow Life - Krakow travel guide which includes city overview, nightlife, hotels, culture, maps, major attractions and practical information for Krakow, Poland. A Peruvian Travel Agency focused on development of sustainable tourism, environmental and culture protection. We promote cultural and eco-tourism. We offer adventure trips to show our clients a variety of alternative destinations that allow them to know Peru in its broader context. In Peru, we are located in the city of Cusco.

ORGANISER THE CIVIL AFFAIRS INSTITUTE (ISO) The Civil Affairs Institute is an independent non-governmental organisation not connected to any political party or government. The Institute is a think tank; we are a non-profit organisation. Our aim is to provide information enabling Polish citizens to address issues with an impact on the general quality of life. We aim to promote civil society, independent media and sustainable development. The Institute was established in connection with the "Nationwide campaign for the promotion of sustainable transport", which was conducted in 1996-2003 with financial support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and substantial content-related support from New York's Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. In our nine years of conducting campaigns, we brought together a team of people with tremendous experience, knowledge and qualifications - social activists, scientists, local authorities, lawyers, journalists, former and present parliamentarians, economists, sociologists. These people are now the Institute's main strengths and guarantee our effective and thorough work in the name of the public good. The Institute actively accomplishes its goals by offering workshops, consultancy activities, publications, and working to influence public authorities. Our target groups are local communities, non-governmental organisations, universities, mass media, public administration, local government, and business. Of special importance are independence and the high quality of the tasks performed. Our campaigns are conducted on both the local and national level. We focus not only on education, but primarily strive for protection of nature. Many of our projects and campaigns significantly contribute to raising awareness about the environment. Natural Heritage Campaign and Eco-tourism are one of the projects carried out by the Institute of Civil Affairs A crucial element of our work is concern about nature and environment, as we believe that these have an intrinsic value. The state of the environment is an integral part of the quality of life, especially when seen in the broader context. One goal of the Institute's work is to preserve Poland's natural heritage by protecting naturally valuable places. Our website: www.iso.edu.pl CONTACT If you have questions, doubts or want to find our more about our trips, please contact our office in Poland. Office Director and Project Co-ordinator Agnieszka Górczyńska The Civil Affairs Institute (Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich) ul.Więckowskiego 33/127 90-734 ŁódĄ Poland tel/ fax: +48 42 630 17 49 mobile: +48 512 377 856 ecotourism@iso.edu.pl http://www.ecotourism.org.pl Please contact us between 10.00 - 17.00 at the office phone number.

OUR STAFF Agnieszka Górczyńska (1981) project manager My adventure began a couple of years ago, as I think that life is a mysterious and exciting adventure. Since then I have done many different things. I am a ceaseless traveller, although home is of great value to me. I have participated in many bike-trips, organised in Poland and Europe. I have co-organised east route of Bike+10 bike-ride towards the World Summit in Johannesburg. I took part in international workshops and trainings regarding youth work and self-development. I co-operate with a magazine "Obywatel" ("Citizen") and work for a non-governmental organisation The Civil Affairs Institute. I really enjoy my work, since I can join my passion for nature and its protection with a natural drive to increase my linguistic competence. My job involves international liaison between NGO's. I am a representative of The Civil Affairs Institute on international conferences and trainings. I conduct workshops and film viewings on sustainable transport policy. I gained experience working for an international non-governmental organisation called A SEED Europe based in The Netherlands. I have graduated from The University of ŁódĄ with a Bachelor degree in German. Now I study German translations at the Department of Languages for Special Purposes at the Faculty of Applied Linguistics and East-Slavonic Languages in Warsaw. I have a very good command of English and German. Driven by a dream about travelling to Peru, I started learning Spanish. Someday my dream will fulfil. Not being afraid of challenges I set myself goals to achieve, one of them is to successfully co-ordinate the office of Eco-tourism project. Bartosz Malinowski (1980) logistics I have graduated from a tourist service technical school. My passion is photography. I am an independent reporter, I work for the Civil Affairs Institute. I love to travel, I have organised trips to Siberia, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and to Caucasus. Not only do prefer walking to driving, but I also passionately ride my bike. I have participated in many bike trips, I have biked over 50 thousand kilometres during the past 10 years and co-organised bike rides in Poland and abroad. I am a person responsible for logistics of the Eco-tourism project, and in charge of managing the trips. I have tremendous experience in field of conducting ecological campaigns and projects. During the past several years I have worked for travel agencies. Guiding and managing trips is familiar to me. Mountains is the place where I feel best. I am an active member of Polish Tourist Country-Lovers' Society. Silence, calmness, wild nature and adrenaline connected with adventurous events are really important to me. My dream is to buy someday a house in the mountains. Maciej Kronenberg guide I was born in 1981, a few days before an introduction of martial law in Poland. I live in ŁódĄ and I could not imagine to live somewhere else. I have graduated from geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. At present I work at the University and write a PhD thesis on tourism in ŁódĄ. I have been travelling since a long time, I mainly travel around Poland, but not only. I have visited the majority of European countries, as well as for instance: Turkey, Jordan, Northern Cyprus, and Libya. I am discovering Polish areas mostly on my bicycle. I must admit, up to now I have wandered quite a lot of them. Since 2003 I work as a guide in ŁódĄ. Revealing the treasures of my city to abroad tourists gives me pleasure and I really enjoy it. I also work as a guide nationwide. I often engage myself in ecological initiatives regarding sustainable transport solutions. I am a co-author of a book entitled "500 riddles about ŁódĄ and its region". Witek Kopeć (1978) guide I began to get around Poland by foot or by bike when I was 12 years old. Not only do go to places popular among tourists, but also to remote and unspotted ones. I like to reveal unknown regions, which are not familiar for tourists, for example those in the vicinity of my home city, situated in the lowland areas of ŁódĄ. I sometimes go on longer bike rides, three years ago I travelled with my friend around North Sea. It took us 80 days, we traversed 6000 km. Work at the University of ŁódĄ is my bread and butter. I am doing a PhD in leisure and tourism studies. Apart form exploring hidden and secluded places, I really like to celebrate special, unplanned situations. One of such astonishing moments is when you encounter somewhere in the North-eastern Poland a herd of wild European bisons while riding your bike. Just imagine how you feel when you see them standing 100 metres away from you. This is Poland I want to show to you. Explore with me remarkable landscapes in the North-eastern Poland, existence of which are not aware many citizens of Poland. Justyna Piejko (1982) guide I come from the south-east part of Poland, just few steps from wonderful Bieszczady mountain range, part of East Carpathians. Those were the first mountains I met and fell in love with. Next came time for discovering more distant nooks of Poland, Europe and other continents. I managed to visit many of them, but still, there are so many to experience. I graduated from University of Lodz, geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. Now I am about to graduate from postgraduate studies of marketing at Economical Academy in Cracow. Living in Cracow, the cultural capital of Poland, I will be happy to show you all the most attractive tourist highlights of south Poland... and more.

Links www.kultury.org www.informaction.org - Information for Action articles on a wide rangeof environmental issues, a lobbying facility, a searchable database of leaders, and environmental groups, an environmental quiz with cartoons and animations, free music videos and MP3s, a database of chemicals and their effects. Volunteers always needed. www.ethicalconsumer.org - the UK's only alternative consumer organisation looking at the social and environmental records of the companies behind the brand names www.ethiscore.org is a project of ECRA (the Ethical Consumer Research Association/ECRA Publishing Ltd). ECRA was founded in 1988 as a not-for-profit workers co-operative to provide information on the companies behind the brand names and to promote the ethical use of consumer power. www.ibike.org/ibike - Fascinating, small group bicycle tours to Africa, Asia and the Americas, for ordinary active people. Enrich yourself with the complexity of the history, culture and environment and enjoying beautiful cycling. http://resurgence.org - Resurgence magazine brings together leading writers and environmentalists to present topics of vital importance to our world, including ecology, climate change, sustainable development, organic living, human-scale education and conflict resolution. Resurgence offers unique insights and presents a holistic philosophy infused with spirituality and creativity. In print and on-line. www.eko-cel.pl/eng/ - The ECOCENTRE ICPPC is a member of an international network "ECOSITE."It is the only place in Poland where one can see how various ecological technologies work in practice. All the devices here work, producing electricity, heating water and buildings, or treating sewage. www.icppc.pl/eng/ - The protection of the Polish countryside is not only a vital issue for Poland but for individuals and organizations in other countries as well. In order to help realize the goal of protecting our countryside, we created the International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC). www.naturelodging.org - Naturelodging is a French non-profit and non-governmental organisation. Its objective is to promote sustainable nature tourism and ecotourism worldwide. www.worldsurface.com - Responsible adventures and sustainable travel for everyone. Search hundreds of overland trips and volunteer programs from operators around the world. Follow our members' experiences live from around the globe. Join today--it's free! Add your own travel blog, stories and photos and win a trip! www.sustainabletravelinternational.org - Sustainable Travel International is a membership-based, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable development and eco-friendly travel by providing programs that help travelers and travel-related companies protect the places they visit, and the planet at large. www.worldcarfree.net - Worldcarfree.net is a clearinghouse of information from around the world on how to revitalise our towns and cities and create a sustainable future. In addition to serving the carfree movement, Worldcarfree.net offers resources for architects, planners, teachers/professors, students, decision-makers and engaged citizens. The Civil Affairs Institute is a member organisation of World Carfree Network. www.greentravelmarket.info - The Green Travel Market is a business to business service deisgned to help tour operators and other tourism suppliers become more aware of sustainable products, integrate them into their packages and services they offer, and reach relevant markets. http://lemko.org - Lemkos - website dealing with the pastoral farmers who until 1947 inhabited the Lower Beskid range of the Carpathian Mountains. www.alertonline.org/press - Croatian Environmental Press Centre (CEPC) is non-governmental organisation of environmental journalists with mission to improve reporting on environment and understanding of environmental issues in public and the media and to support journalists through networking, education and promotion of rights to information in Croatia. http://www.ekomrezabih.net/new/index.php?id=56 - EkoMrezaBiH - Environmental NGO's Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina www.dante-tourismus.org - DANTE is a network of 15 initiatives and non-governmental organisations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, specialised in tourism, environment and development. One of its members is: FernWeh - Tourism Review - committed to raising awareness and disseminating information on political issues in global tourism. Keeping in view the relations between North and South, we are concerned with the increasing social disparities and contradictions resulting from current tourism development, especially in Third World destinations. Polen - Welcome in Poland - The source of information about Poland, with the emphasis on tourism, including weather, zloty, culture, cities and regions World Travel Link Directory - Useful links to travel related sites around the world. http://www.groenoog.nl/ The Globetrotters Club, the ultimate travel club. - The Globetrotters Club is a international network for independent travellers around the world. If you'd like to join us, receive our bimonthly newsletter and membership listing offering hospitality, info and advice. www.lhump.nl - Dutch student network for sustainable development. Hotels in Lodz - Instant Reservation Service, on-line discounts available, tours, local support Sopatowiec - charming and inspiring place for those who want to get away from it all www.guidemegreen.com www.kulturanova.org.yu - AAC kulturanova ("Association for Alternative Creation") is a non-government, non-profit organisation founded for popularisation and affirmation of art and cultural spirit. Organization' focus is on development of urban youth culture and raising awareness on relevant social issues, with the vision of building creative platforms for youth in Novi Sad and in region. www.emagazine.com - "E -- The Environmental Magazine", the Nation's only non-profit, independent consumer publication on the environment, is a clearinghouse of information, news & commentary on today's environmental issues. It's our intent to inform and inspire individuals who have concerns about the environment and want to know what they can do to help bring about improvements. www.hospitalityclub.org - The aim of Hospitality Club is to bring people together - hosts and guests, travelers and locals. Thousands of Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling - be it with a roof for the night or a guided tour through town. Joining is free, takes just a minute and everyone is welcome. This project is non-commercial and led by volunteers. www.bergwaldprojekt.de - The Bergwaldprojekt's aim is to help forests. It wants to draw attention to their problems and go to their assistance in a targeted, hands-on way. That is why are offering people from various walks of life and organisations the chance to work with us as volunteers during organised project weeks. The goal of the project weeks is to improve the situation of the forest at different project sites. In that way, project week workers become enthusiastic about Nature and we can foster understanding for the forest as an ecosystem. www.travelhive.org - Travelhive.org is the new and free website directory including contents of tourism, travel and recreation. It is very rewarding source of information for active people, who love travelling and adventure. www.optik-pro.de - Ferngläser & Spektive bei Optik-Pro.de - große Auswahl an optischen Geräten zur Naturbeobachtung www.asia-tourist.com - Tours in Vietnam, Vietnam Leading tour Operator offers high quality tours in Vietnam www.4ecotips.com - Environment Education News - 4ecotips provides Global Warming News and Tips, Environment issues news articles, global warming information and eco travel with eco friendly tips, Environmental and Economics history from UK, Europe. Krakow Poland - A comprehensive guide to Krakow with essential travelers information. Krakow Life - Krakow travel guide which includes city overview, nightlife, hotels, culture, maps, major attractions and practical information for Krakow, Poland. A Peruvian Travel Agency focused on development of sustainable tourism, environmental and culture protection. We promote cultural and eco-tourism. We offer adventure trips to show our clients a variety of alternative destinations that allow them to know Peru in its broader context. In Peru, we are located in the city of Cusco.

ORGANISER THE CIVIL AFFAIRS INSTITUTE (ISO) The Civil Affairs Institute is an independent non-governmental organisation not connected to any political party or government. The Institute is a think tank; we are a non-profit organisation. Our aim is to provide information enabling Polish citizens to address issues with an impact on the general quality of life. We aim to promote civil society, independent media and sustainable development. The Institute was established in connection with the "Nationwide campaign for the promotion of sustainable transport", which was conducted in 1996-2003 with financial support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and substantial content-related support from New York's Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. In our nine years of conducting campaigns, we brought together a team of people with tremendous experience, knowledge and qualifications - social activists, scientists, local authorities, lawyers, journalists, former and present parliamentarians, economists, sociologists. These people are now the Institute's main strengths and guarantee our effective and thorough work in the name of the public good. The Institute actively accomplishes its goals by offering workshops, consultancy activities, publications, and working to influence public authorities. Our target groups are local communities, non-governmental organisations, universities, mass media, public administration, local government, and business. Of special importance are independence and the high quality of the tasks performed. Our campaigns are conducted on both the local and national level. We focus not only on education, but primarily strive for protection of nature. Many of our projects and campaigns significantly contribute to raising awareness about the environment. Natural Heritage Campaign and Eco-tourism are one of the projects carried out by the Institute of Civil Affairs A crucial element of our work is concern about nature and environment, as we believe that these have an intrinsic value. The state of the environment is an integral part of the quality of life, especially when seen in the broader context. One goal of the Institute's work is to preserve Poland's natural heritage by protecting naturally valuable places. Our website: www.iso.edu.pl CONTACT If you have questions, doubts or want to find our more about our trips, please contact our office in Poland. Office Director and Project Co-ordinator Agnieszka Górczyńska The Civil Affairs Institute (Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich) ul.Więckowskiego 33/127 90-734 ŁódĄ Poland tel/ fax: +48 42 630 17 49 mobile: +48 512 377 856 ecotourism@iso.edu.pl http://www.ecotourism.org.pl Please contact us between 10.00 - 17.00 at the office phone number.

OUR STAFF Agnieszka Górczyńska (1981) project manager My adventure began a couple of years ago, as I think that life is a mysterious and exciting adventure. Since then I have done many different things. I am a ceaseless traveller, although home is of great value to me. I have participated in many bike-trips, organised in Poland and Europe. I have co-organised east route of Bike+10 bike-ride towards the World Summit in Johannesburg. I took part in international workshops and trainings regarding youth work and self-development. I co-operate with a magazine "Obywatel" ("Citizen") and work for a non-governmental organisation The Civil Affairs Institute. I really enjoy my work, since I can join my passion for nature and its protection with a natural drive to increase my linguistic competence. My job involves international liaison between NGO's. I am a representative of The Civil Affairs Institute on international conferences and trainings. I conduct workshops and film viewings on sustainable transport policy. I gained experience working for an international non-governmental organisation called A SEED Europe based in The Netherlands. I have graduated from The University of ŁódĄ with a Bachelor degree in German. Now I study German translations at the Department of Languages for Special Purposes at the Faculty of Applied Linguistics and East-Slavonic Languages in Warsaw. I have a very good command of English and German. Driven by a dream about travelling to Peru, I started learning Spanish. Someday my dream will fulfil. Not being afraid of challenges I set myself goals to achieve, one of them is to successfully co-ordinate the office of Eco-tourism project. Bartosz Malinowski (1980) logistics I have graduated from a tourist service technical school. My passion is photography. I am an independent reporter, I work for the Civil Affairs Institute. I love to travel, I have organised trips to Siberia, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and to Caucasus. Not only do prefer walking to driving, but I also passionately ride my bike. I have participated in many bike trips, I have biked over 50 thousand kilometres during the past 10 years and co-organised bike rides in Poland and abroad. I am a person responsible for logistics of the Eco-tourism project, and in charge of managing the trips. I have tremendous experience in field of conducting ecological campaigns and projects. During the past several years I have worked for travel agencies. Guiding and managing trips is familiar to me. Mountains is the place where I feel best. I am an active member of Polish Tourist Country-Lovers' Society. Silence, calmness, wild nature and adrenaline connected with adventurous events are really important to me. My dream is to buy someday a house in the mountains. Maciej Kronenberg guide I was born in 1981, a few days before an introduction of martial law in Poland. I live in ŁódĄ and I could not imagine to live somewhere else. I have graduated from geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. At present I work at the University and write a PhD thesis on tourism in ŁódĄ. I have been travelling since a long time, I mainly travel around Poland, but not only. I have visited the majority of European countries, as well as for instance: Turkey, Jordan, Northern Cyprus, and Libya. I am discovering Polish areas mostly on my bicycle. I must admit, up to now I have wandered quite a lot of them. Since 2003 I work as a guide in ŁódĄ. Revealing the treasures of my city to abroad tourists gives me pleasure and I really enjoy it. I also work as a guide nationwide. I often engage myself in ecological initiatives regarding sustainable transport solutions. I am a co-author of a book entitled "500 riddles about ŁódĄ and its region". Witek Kopeć (1978) guide I began to get around Poland by foot or by bike when I was 12 years old. Not only do go to places popular among tourists, but also to remote and unspotted ones. I like to reveal unknown regions, which are not familiar for tourists, for example those in the vicinity of my home city, situated in the lowland areas of ŁódĄ. I sometimes go on longer bike rides, three years ago I travelled with my friend around North Sea. It took us 80 days, we traversed 6000 km. Work at the University of ŁódĄ is my bread and butter. I am doing a PhD in leisure and tourism studies. Apart form exploring hidden and secluded places, I really like to celebrate special, unplanned situations. One of such astonishing moments is when you encounter somewhere in the North-eastern Poland a herd of wild European bisons while riding your bike. Just imagine how you feel when you see them standing 100 metres away from you. This is Poland I want to show to you. Explore with me remarkable landscapes in the North-eastern Poland, existence of which are not aware many citizens of Poland. Justyna Piejko (1982) guide I come from the south-east part of Poland, just few steps from wonderful Bieszczady mountain range, part of East Carpathians. Those were the first mountains I met and fell in love with. Next came time for discovering more distant nooks of Poland, Europe and other continents. I managed to visit many of them, but still, there are so many to experience. I graduated from University of Lodz, geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. Now I am about to graduate from postgraduate studies of marketing at Economical Academy in Cracow. Living in Cracow, the cultural capital of Poland, I will be happy to show you all the most attractive tourist highlights of south Poland... and more.

Links www.kultury.org www.informaction.org - Information for Action articles on a wide rangeof environmental issues, a lobbying facility, a searchable database of leaders, and environmental groups, an environmental quiz with cartoons and animations, free music videos and MP3s, a database of chemicals and their effects. Volunteers always needed. www.ethicalconsumer.org - the UK's only alternative consumer organisation looking at the social and environmental records of the companies behind the brand names www.ethiscore.org is a project of ECRA (the Ethical Consumer Research Association/ECRA Publishing Ltd). ECRA was founded in 1988 as a not-for-profit workers co-operative to provide information on the companies behind the brand names and to promote the ethical use of consumer power. www.ibike.org/ibike - Fascinating, small group bicycle tours to Africa, Asia and the Americas, for ordinary active people. Enrich yourself with the complexity of the history, culture and environment and enjoying beautiful cycling. http://resurgence.org - Resurgence magazine brings together leading writers and environmentalists to present topics of vital importance to our world, including ecology, climate change, sustainable development, organic living, human-scale education and conflict resolution. Resurgence offers unique insights and presents a holistic philosophy infused with spirituality and creativity. In print and on-line. www.eko-cel.pl/eng/ - The ECOCENTRE ICPPC is a member of an international network "ECOSITE."It is the only place in Poland where one can see how various ecological technologies work in practice. All the devices here work, producing electricity, heating water and buildings, or treating sewage. www.icppc.pl/eng/ - The protection of the Polish countryside is not only a vital issue for Poland but for individuals and organizations in other countries as well. In order to help realize the goal of protecting our countryside, we created the International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC). www.naturelodging.org - Naturelodging is a French non-profit and non-governmental organisation. Its objective is to promote sustainable nature tourism and ecotourism worldwide. www.worldsurface.com - Responsible adventures and sustainable travel for everyone. Search hundreds of overland trips and volunteer programs from operators around the world. Follow our members' experiences live from around the globe. Join today--it's free! Add your own travel blog, stories and photos and win a trip! www.sustainabletravelinternational.org - Sustainable Travel International is a membership-based, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable development and eco-friendly travel by providing programs that help travelers and travel-related companies protect the places they visit, and the planet at large. www.worldcarfree.net - Worldcarfree.net is a clearinghouse of information from around the world on how to revitalise our towns and cities and create a sustainable future. In addition to serving the carfree movement, Worldcarfree.net offers resources for architects, planners, teachers/professors, students, decision-makers and engaged citizens. The Civil Affairs Institute is a member organisation of World Carfree Network. www.greentravelmarket.info - The Green Travel Market is a business to business service deisgned to help tour operators and other tourism suppliers become more aware of sustainable products, integrate them into their packages and services they offer, and reach relevant markets. http://lemko.org - Lemkos - website dealing with the pastoral farmers who until 1947 inhabited the Lower Beskid range of the Carpathian Mountains. www.alertonline.org/press - Croatian Environmental Press Centre (CEPC) is non-governmental organisation of environmental journalists with mission to improve reporting on environment and understanding of environmental issues in public and the media and to support journalists through networking, education and promotion of rights to information in Croatia. http://www.ekomrezabih.net/new/index.php?id=56 - EkoMrezaBiH - Environmental NGO's Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina www.dante-tourismus.org - DANTE is a network of 15 initiatives and non-governmental organisations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, specialised in tourism, environment and development. One of its members is: FernWeh - Tourism Review - committed to raising awareness and disseminating information on political issues in global tourism. Keeping in view the relations between North and South, we are concerned with the increasing social disparities and contradictions resulting from current tourism development, especially in Third World destinations. Polen - Welcome in Poland - The source of information about Poland, with the emphasis on tourism, including weather, zloty, culture, cities and regions World Travel Link Directory - Useful links to travel related sites around the world. http://www.groenoog.nl/ The Globetrotters Club, the ultimate travel club. - The Globetrotters Club is a international network for independent travellers around the world. If you'd like to join us, receive our bimonthly newsletter and membership listing offering hospitality, info and advice. www.lhump.nl - Dutch student network for sustainable development. Hotels in Lodz - Instant Reservation Service, on-line discounts available, tours, local support Sopatowiec - charming and inspiring place for those who want to get away from it all www.guidemegreen.com www.kulturanova.org.yu - AAC kulturanova ("Association for Alternative Creation") is a non-government, non-profit organisation founded for popularisation and affirmation of art and cultural spirit. Organization' focus is on development of urban youth culture and raising awareness on relevant social issues, with the vision of building creative platforms for youth in Novi Sad and in region. www.emagazine.com - "E -- The Environmental Magazine", the Nation's only non-profit, independent consumer publication on the environment, is a clearinghouse of information, news & commentary on today's environmental issues. It's our intent to inform and inspire individuals who have concerns about the environment and want to know what they can do to help bring about improvements. www.hospitalityclub.org - The aim of Hospitality Club is to bring people together - hosts and guests, travelers and locals. Thousands of Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling - be it with a roof for the night or a guided tour through town. Joining is free, takes just a minute and everyone is welcome. This project is non-commercial and led by volunteers. www.bergwaldprojekt.de - The Bergwaldprojekt's aim is to help forests. It wants to draw attention to their problems and go to their assistance in a targeted, hands-on way. That is why are offering people from various walks of life and organisations the chance to work with us as volunteers during organised project weeks. The goal of the project weeks is to improve the situation of the forest at different project sites. In that way, project week workers become enthusiastic about Nature and we can foster understanding for the forest as an ecosystem. www.travelhive.org - Travelhive.org is the new and free website directory including contents of tourism, travel and recreation. It is very rewarding source of information for active people, who love travelling and adventure. www.optik-pro.de - Ferngläser & Spektive bei Optik-Pro.de - große Auswahl an optischen Geräten zur Naturbeobachtung www.asia-tourist.com - Tours in Vietnam, Vietnam Leading tour Operator offers high quality tours in Vietnam www.4ecotips.com - Environment Education News - 4ecotips provides Global Warming News and Tips, Environment issues news articles, global warming information and eco travel with eco friendly tips, Environmental and Economics history from UK, Europe. Krakow Poland - A comprehensive guide to Krakow with essential travelers information. Krakow Life - Krakow travel guide which includes city overview, nightlife, hotels, culture, maps, major attractions and practical information for Krakow, Poland. A Peruvian Travel Agency focused on development of sustainable tourism, environmental and culture protection. We promote cultural and eco-tourism. We offer adventure trips to show our clients a variety of alternative destinations that allow them to know Peru in its broader context. In Peru, we are located in the city of Cusco.

ORGANISER THE CIVIL AFFAIRS INSTITUTE (ISO) The Civil Affairs Institute is an independent non-governmental organisation not connected to any political party or government. The Institute is a think tank; we are a non-profit organisation. Our aim is to provide information enabling Polish citizens to address issues with an impact on the general quality of life. We aim to promote civil society, independent media and sustainable development. The Institute was established in connection with the "Nationwide campaign for the promotion of sustainable transport", which was conducted in 1996-2003 with financial support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and substantial content-related support from New York's Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. In our nine years of conducting campaigns, we brought together a team of people with tremendous experience, knowledge and qualifications - social activists, scientists, local authorities, lawyers, journalists, former and present parliamentarians, economists, sociologists. These people are now the Institute's main strengths and guarantee our effective and thorough work in the name of the public good. The Institute actively accomplishes its goals by offering workshops, consultancy activities, publications, and working to influence public authorities. Our target groups are local communities, non-governmental organisations, universities, mass media, public administration, local government, and business. Of special importance are independence and the high quality of the tasks performed. Our campaigns are conducted on both the local and national level. We focus not only on education, but primarily strive for protection of nature. Many of our projects and campaigns significantly contribute to raising awareness about the environment. Natural Heritage Campaign and Eco-tourism are one of the projects carried out by the Institute of Civil Affairs A crucial element of our work is concern about nature and environment, as we believe that these have an intrinsic value. The state of the environment is an integral part of the quality of life, especially when seen in the broader context. One goal of the Institute's work is to preserve Poland's natural heritage by protecting naturally valuable places. Our website: www.iso.edu.pl CONTACT If you have questions, doubts or want to find our more about our trips, please contact our office in Poland. Office Director and Project Co-ordinator Agnieszka Górczyńska The Civil Affairs Institute (Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich) ul.Więckowskiego 33/127 90-734 ŁódĄ Poland tel/ fax: +48 42 630 17 49 mobile: +48 512 377 856 ecotourism@iso.edu.pl http://www.ecotourism.org.pl Please contact us between 10.00 - 17.00 at the office phone number.

OUR STAFF Agnieszka Górczyńska (1981) project manager My adventure began a couple of years ago, as I think that life is a mysterious and exciting adventure. Since then I have done many different things. I am a ceaseless traveller, although home is of great value to me. I have participated in many bike-trips, organised in Poland and Europe. I have co-organised east route of Bike+10 bike-ride towards the World Summit in Johannesburg. I took part in international workshops and trainings regarding youth work and self-development. I co-operate with a magazine "Obywatel" ("Citizen") and work for a non-governmental organisation The Civil Affairs Institute. I really enjoy my work, since I can join my passion for nature and its protection with a natural drive to increase my linguistic competence. My job involves international liaison between NGO's. I am a representative of The Civil Affairs Institute on international conferences and trainings. I conduct workshops and film viewings on sustainable transport policy. I gained experience working for an international non-governmental organisation called A SEED Europe based in The Netherlands. I have graduated from The University of ŁódĄ with a Bachelor degree in German. Now I study German translations at the Department of Languages for Special Purposes at the Faculty of Applied Linguistics and East-Slavonic Languages in Warsaw. I have a very good command of English and German. Driven by a dream about travelling to Peru, I started learning Spanish. Someday my dream will fulfil. Not being afraid of challenges I set myself goals to achieve, one of them is to successfully co-ordinate the office of Eco-tourism project. Bartosz Malinowski (1980) logistics I have graduated from a tourist service technical school. My passion is photography. I am an independent reporter, I work for the Civil Affairs Institute. I love to travel, I have organised trips to Siberia, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and to Caucasus. Not only do prefer walking to driving, but I also passionately ride my bike. I have participated in many bike trips, I have biked over 50 thousand kilometres during the past 10 years and co-organised bike rides in Poland and abroad. I am a person responsible for logistics of the Eco-tourism project, and in charge of managing the trips. I have tremendous experience in field of conducting ecological campaigns and projects. During the past several years I have worked for travel agencies. Guiding and managing trips is familiar to me. Mountains is the place where I feel best. I am an active member of Polish Tourist Country-Lovers' Society. Silence, calmness, wild nature and adrenaline connected with adventurous events are really important to me. My dream is to buy someday a house in the mountains. Maciej Kronenberg guide I was born in 1981, a few days before an introduction of martial law in Poland. I live in ŁódĄ and I could not imagine to live somewhere else. I have graduated from geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. At present I work at the University and write a PhD thesis on tourism in ŁódĄ. I have been travelling since a long time, I mainly travel around Poland, but not only. I have visited the majority of European countries, as well as for instance: Turkey, Jordan, Northern Cyprus, and Libya. I am discovering Polish areas mostly on my bicycle. I must admit, up to now I have wandered quite a lot of them. Since 2003 I work as a guide in ŁódĄ. Revealing the treasures of my city to abroad tourists gives me pleasure and I really enjoy it. I also work as a guide nationwide. I often engage myself in ecological initiatives regarding sustainable transport solutions. I am a co-author of a book entitled "500 riddles about ŁódĄ and its region". Witek Kopeć (1978) guide I began to get around Poland by foot or by bike when I was 12 years old. Not only do go to places popular among tourists, but also to remote and unspotted ones. I like to reveal unknown regions, which are not familiar for tourists, for example those in the vicinity of my home city, situated in the lowland areas of ŁódĄ. I sometimes go on longer bike rides, three years ago I travelled with my friend around North Sea. It took us 80 days, we traversed 6000 km. Work at the University of ŁódĄ is my bread and butter. I am doing a PhD in leisure and tourism studies. Apart form exploring hidden and secluded places, I really like to celebrate special, unplanned situations. One of such astonishing moments is when you encounter somewhere in the North-eastern Poland a herd of wild European bisons while riding your bike. Just imagine how you feel when you see them standing 100 metres away from you. This is Poland I want to show to you. Explore with me remarkable landscapes in the North-eastern Poland, existence of which are not aware many citizens of Poland. Justyna Piejko (1982) guide I come from the south-east part of Poland, just few steps from wonderful Bieszczady mountain range, part of East Carpathians. Those were the first mountains I met and fell in love with. Next came time for discovering more distant nooks of Poland, Europe and other continents. I managed to visit many of them, but still, there are so many to experience. I graduated from University of Lodz, geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. Now I am about to graduate from postgraduate studies of marketing at Economical Academy in Cracow. Living in Cracow, the cultural capital of Poland, I will be happy to show you all the most attractive tourist highlights of south Poland... and more.

Links www.kultury.org www.informaction.org - Information for Action articles on a wide rangeof environmental issues, a lobbying facility, a searchable database of leaders, and environmental groups, an environmental quiz with cartoons and animations, free music videos and MP3s, a database of chemicals and their effects. Volunteers always needed. www.ethicalconsumer.org - the UK's only alternative consumer organisation looking at the social and environmental records of the companies behind the brand names www.ethiscore.org is a project of ECRA (the Ethical Consumer Research Association/ECRA Publishing Ltd). ECRA was founded in 1988 as a not-for-profit workers co-operative to provide information on the companies behind the brand names and to promote the ethical use of consumer power. www.ibike.org/ibike - Fascinating, small group bicycle tours to Africa, Asia and the Americas, for ordinary active people. Enrich yourself with the complexity of the history, culture and environment and enjoying beautiful cycling. http://resurgence.org - Resurgence magazine brings together leading writers and environmentalists to present topics of vital importance to our world, including ecology, climate change, sustainable development, organic living, human-scale education and conflict resolution. Resurgence offers unique insights and presents a holistic philosophy infused with spirituality and creativity. In print and on-line. www.eko-cel.pl/eng/ - The ECOCENTRE ICPPC is a member of an international network "ECOSITE."It is the only place in Poland where one can see how various ecological technologies work in practice. All the devices here work, producing electricity, heating water and buildings, or treating sewage. www.icppc.pl/eng/ - The protection of the Polish countryside is not only a vital issue for Poland but for individuals and organizations in other countries as well. In order to help realize the goal of protecting our countryside, we created the International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC). www.naturelodging.org - Naturelodging is a French non-profit and non-governmental organisation. Its objective is to promote sustainable nature tourism and ecotourism worldwide. www.worldsurface.com - Responsible adventures and sustainable travel for everyone. Search hundreds of overland trips and volunteer programs from operators around the world. Follow our members' experiences live from around the globe. Join today--it's free! Add your own travel blog, stories and photos and win a trip! www.sustainabletravelinternational.org - Sustainable Travel International is a membership-based, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable development and eco-friendly travel by providing programs that help travelers and travel-related companies protect the places they visit, and the planet at large. www.worldcarfree.net - Worldcarfree.net is a clearinghouse of information from around the world on how to revitalise our towns and cities and create a sustainable future. In addition to serving the carfree movement, Worldcarfree.net offers resources for architects, planners, teachers/professors, students, decision-makers and engaged citizens. The Civil Affairs Institute is a member organisation of World Carfree Network. www.greentravelmarket.info - The Green Travel Market is a business to business service deisgned to help tour operators and other tourism suppliers become more aware of sustainable products, integrate them into their packages and services they offer, and reach relevant markets. http://lemko.org - Lemkos - website dealing with the pastoral farmers who until 1947 inhabited the Lower Beskid range of the Carpathian Mountains. www.alertonline.org/press - Croatian Environmental Press Centre (CEPC) is non-governmental organisation of environmental journalists with mission to improve reporting on environment and understanding of environmental issues in public and the media and to support journalists through networking, education and promotion of rights to information in Croatia. http://www.ekomrezabih.net/new/index.php?id=56 - EkoMrezaBiH - Environmental NGO's Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina www.dante-tourismus.org - DANTE is a network of 15 initiatives and non-governmental organisations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, specialised in tourism, environment and development. One of its members is: FernWeh - Tourism Review - committed to raising awareness and disseminating information on political issues in global tourism. Keeping in view the relations between North and South, we are concerned with the increasing social disparities and contradictions resulting from current tourism development, especially in Third World destinations. Polen - Welcome in Poland - The source of information about Poland, with the emphasis on tourism, including weather, zloty, culture, cities and regions World Travel Link Directory - Useful links to travel related sites around the world. http://www.groenoog.nl/ The Globetrotters Club, the ultimate travel club. - The Globetrotters Club is a international network for independent travellers around the world. If you'd like to join us, receive our bimonthly newsletter and membership listing offering hospitality, info and advice. www.lhump.nl - Dutch student network for sustainable development. Hotels in Lodz - Instant Reservation Service, on-line discounts available, tours, local support Sopatowiec - charming and inspiring place for those who want to get away from it all www.guidemegreen.com www.kulturanova.org.yu - AAC kulturanova ("Association for Alternative Creation") is a non-government, non-profit organisation founded for popularisation and affirmation of art and cultural spirit. Organization' focus is on development of urban youth culture and raising awareness on relevant social issues, with the vision of building creative platforms for youth in Novi Sad and in region. www.emagazine.com - "E -- The Environmental Magazine", the Nation's only non-profit, independent consumer publication on the environment, is a clearinghouse of information, news & commentary on today's environmental issues. It's our intent to inform and inspire individuals who have concerns about the environment and want to know what they can do to help bring about improvements. www.hospitalityclub.org - The aim of Hospitality Club is to bring people together - hosts and guests, travelers and locals. Thousands of Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling - be it with a roof for the night or a guided tour through town. Joining is free, takes just a minute and everyone is welcome. This project is non-commercial and led by volunteers. www.bergwaldprojekt.de - The Bergwaldprojekt's aim is to help forests. It wants to draw attention to their problems and go to their assistance in a targeted, hands-on way. That is why are offering people from various walks of life and organisations the chance to work with us as volunteers during organised project weeks. The goal of the project weeks is to improve the situation of the forest at different project sites. In that way, project week workers become enthusiastic about Nature and we can foster understanding for the forest as an ecosystem. www.travelhive.org - Travelhive.org is the new and free website directory including contents of tourism, travel and recreation. It is very rewarding source of information for active people, who love travelling and adventure. www.optik-pro.de - Ferngläser & Spektive bei Optik-Pro.de - große Auswahl an optischen Geräten zur Naturbeobachtung www.asia-tourist.com - Tours in Vietnam, Vietnam Leading tour Operator offers high quality tours in Vietnam www.4ecotips.com - Environment Education News - 4ecotips provides Global Warming News and Tips, Environment issues news articles, global warming information and eco travel with eco friendly tips, Environmental and Economics history from UK, Europe. Krakow Poland - A comprehensive guide to Krakow with essential travelers information. Krakow Life - Krakow travel guide which includes city overview, nightlife, hotels, culture, maps, major attractions and practical information for Krakow, Poland. A Peruvian Travel Agency focused on development of sustainable tourism, environmental and culture protection. We promote cultural and eco-tourism. We offer adventure trips to show our clients a variety of alternative destinations that allow them to know Peru in its broader context. In Peru, we are located in the city of Cusco.

ORGANISER THE CIVIL AFFAIRS INSTITUTE (ISO) The Civil Affairs Institute is an independent non-governmental organisation not connected to any political party or government. The Institute is a think tank; we are a non-profit organisation. Our aim is to provide information enabling Polish citizens to address issues with an impact on the general quality of life. We aim to promote civil society, independent media and sustainable development. The Institute was established in connection with the "Nationwide campaign for the promotion of sustainable transport", which was conducted in 1996-2003 with financial support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and substantial content-related support from New York's Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. In our nine years of conducting campaigns, we brought together a team of people with tremendous experience, knowledge and qualifications - social activists, scientists, local authorities, lawyers, journalists, former and present parliamentarians, economists, sociologists. These people are now the Institute's main strengths and guarantee our effective and thorough work in the name of the public good. The Institute actively accomplishes its goals by offering workshops, consultancy activities, publications, and working to influence public authorities. Our target groups are local communities, non-governmental organisations, universities, mass media, public administration, local government, and business. Of special importance are independence and the high quality of the tasks performed. Our campaigns are conducted on both the local and national level. We focus not only on education, but primarily strive for protection of nature. Many of our projects and campaigns significantly contribute to raising awareness about the environment. Natural Heritage Campaign and Eco-tourism are one of the projects carried out by the Institute of Civil Affairs A crucial element of our work is concern about nature and environment, as we believe that these have an intrinsic value. The state of the environment is an integral part of the quality of life, especially when seen in the broader context. One goal of the Institute's work is to preserve Poland's natural heritage by protecting naturally valuable places. Our website: www.iso.edu.pl CONTACT If you have questions, doubts or want to find our more about our trips, please contact our office in Poland. Office Director and Project Co-ordinator Agnieszka Górczyńska The Civil Affairs Institute (Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich) ul.Więckowskiego 33/127 90-734 ŁódĄ Poland tel/ fax: +48 42 630 17 49 mobile: +48 512 377 856 ecotourism@iso.edu.pl http://www.ecotourism.org.pl Please contact us between 10.00 - 17.00 at the office phone number.

OUR STAFF Agnieszka Górczyńska (1981) project manager My adventure began a couple of years ago, as I think that life is a mysterious and exciting adventure. Since then I have done many different things. I am a ceaseless traveller, although home is of great value to me. I have participated in many bike-trips, organised in Poland and Europe. I have co-organised east route of Bike+10 bike-ride towards the World Summit in Johannesburg. I took part in international workshops and trainings regarding youth work and self-development. I co-operate with a magazine "Obywatel" ("Citizen") and work for a non-governmental organisation The Civil Affairs Institute. I really enjoy my work, since I can join my passion for nature and its protection with a natural drive to increase my linguistic competence. My job involves international liaison between NGO's. I am a representative of The Civil Affairs Institute on international conferences and trainings. I conduct workshops and film viewings on sustainable transport policy. I gained experience working for an international non-governmental organisation called A SEED Europe based in The Netherlands. I have graduated from The University of ŁódĄ with a Bachelor degree in German. Now I study German translations at the Department of Languages for Special Purposes at the Faculty of Applied Linguistics and East-Slavonic Languages in Warsaw. I have a very good command of English and German. Driven by a dream about travelling to Peru, I started learning Spanish. Someday my dream will fulfil. Not being afraid of challenges I set myself goals to achieve, one of them is to successfully co-ordinate the office of Eco-tourism project. Bartosz Malinowski (1980) logistics I have graduated from a tourist service technical school. My passion is photography. I am an independent reporter, I work for the Civil Affairs Institute. I love to travel, I have organised trips to Siberia, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and to Caucasus. Not only do prefer walking to driving, but I also passionately ride my bike. I have participated in many bike trips, I have biked over 50 thousand kilometres during the past 10 years and co-organised bike rides in Poland and abroad. I am a person responsible for logistics of the Eco-tourism project, and in charge of managing the trips. I have tremendous experience in field of conducting ecological campaigns and projects. During the past several years I have worked for travel agencies. Guiding and managing trips is familiar to me. Mountains is the place where I feel best. I am an active member of Polish Tourist Country-Lovers' Society. Silence, calmness, wild nature and adrenaline connected with adventurous events are really important to me. My dream is to buy someday a house in the mountains. Maciej Kronenberg guide I was born in 1981, a few days before an introduction of martial law in Poland. I live in ŁódĄ and I could not imagine to live somewhere else. I have graduated from geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. At present I work at the University and write a PhD thesis on tourism in ŁódĄ. I have been travelling since a long time, I mainly travel around Poland, but not only. I have visited the majority of European countries, as well as for instance: Turkey, Jordan, Northern Cyprus, and Libya. I am discovering Polish areas mostly on my bicycle. I must admit, up to now I have wandered quite a lot of them. Since 2003 I work as a guide in ŁódĄ. Revealing the treasures of my city to abroad tourists gives me pleasure and I really enjoy it. I also work as a guide nationwide. I often engage myself in ecological initiatives regarding sustainable transport solutions. I am a co-author of a book entitled "500 riddles about ŁódĄ and its region". Witek Kopeć (1978) guide I began to get around Poland by foot or by bike when I was 12 years old. Not only do go to places popular among tourists, but also to remote and unspotted ones. I like to reveal unknown regions, which are not familiar for tourists, for example those in the vicinity of my home city, situated in the lowland areas of ŁódĄ. I sometimes go on longer bike rides, three years ago I travelled with my friend around North Sea. It took us 80 days, we traversed 6000 km. Work at the University of ŁódĄ is my bread and butter. I am doing a PhD in leisure and tourism studies. Apart form exploring hidden and secluded places, I really like to celebrate special, unplanned situations. One of such astonishing moments is when you encounter somewhere in the North-eastern Poland a herd of wild European bisons while riding your bike. Just imagine how you feel when you see them standing 100 metres away from you. This is Poland I want to show to you. Explore with me remarkable landscapes in the North-eastern Poland, existence of which are not aware many citizens of Poland. Justyna Piejko (1982) guide I come from the south-east part of Poland, just few steps from wonderful Bieszczady mountain range, part of East Carpathians. Those were the first mountains I met and fell in love with. Next came time for discovering more distant nooks of Poland, Europe and other continents. I managed to visit many of them, but still, there are so many to experience. I graduated from University of Lodz, geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. Now I am about to graduate from postgraduate studies of marketing at Economical Academy in Cracow. Living in Cracow, the cultural capital of Poland, I will be happy to show you all the most attractive tourist highlights of south Poland... and more.

Links www.kultury.org www.informaction.org - Information for Action articles on a wide rangeof environmental issues, a lobbying facility, a searchable database of leaders, and environmental groups, an environmental quiz with cartoons and animations, free music videos and MP3s, a database of chemicals and their effects. Volunteers always needed. www.ethicalconsumer.org - the UK's only alternative consumer organisation looking at the social and environmental records of the companies behind the brand names www.ethiscore.org is a project of ECRA (the Ethical Consumer Research Association/ECRA Publishing Ltd). ECRA was founded in 1988 as a not-for-profit workers co-operative to provide information on the companies behind the brand names and to promote the ethical use of consumer power. www.ibike.org/ibike - Fascinating, small group bicycle tours to Africa, Asia and the Americas, for ordinary active people. Enrich yourself with the complexity of the history, culture and environment and enjoying beautiful cycling. http://resurgence.org - Resurgence magazine brings together leading writers and environmentalists to present topics of vital importance to our world, including ecology, climate change, sustainable development, organic living, human-scale education and conflict resolution. Resurgence offers unique insights and presents a holistic philosophy infused with spirituality and creativity. In print and on-line. www.eko-cel.pl/eng/ - The ECOCENTRE ICPPC is a member of an international network "ECOSITE."It is the only place in Poland where one can see how various ecological technologies work in practice. All the devices here work, producing electricity, heating water and buildings, or treating sewage. www.icppc.pl/eng/ - The protection of the Polish countryside is not only a vital issue for Poland but for individuals and organizations in other countries as well. In order to help realize the goal of protecting our countryside, we created the International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC). www.naturelodging.org - Naturelodging is a French non-profit and non-governmental organisation. Its objective is to promote sustainable nature tourism and ecotourism worldwide. www.worldsurface.com - Responsible adventures and sustainable travel for everyone. Search hundreds of overland trips and volunteer programs from operators around the world. Follow our members' experiences live from around the globe. Join today--it's free! Add your own travel blog, stories and photos and win a trip! www.sustainabletravelinternational.org - Sustainable Travel International is a membership-based, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable development and eco-friendly travel by providing programs that help travelers and travel-related companies protect the places they visit, and the planet at large. www.worldcarfree.net - Worldcarfree.net is a clearinghouse of information from around the world on how to revitalise our towns and cities and create a sustainable future. In addition to serving the carfree movement, Worldcarfree.net offers resources for architects, planners, teachers/professors, students, decision-makers and engaged citizens. The Civil Affairs Institute is a member organisation of World Carfree Network. www.greentravelmarket.info - The Green Travel Market is a business to business service deisgned to help tour operators and other tourism suppliers become more aware of sustainable products, integrate them into their packages and services they offer, and reach relevant markets. http://lemko.org - Lemkos - website dealing with the pastoral farmers who until 1947 inhabited the Lower Beskid range of the Carpathian Mountains. www.alertonline.org/press - Croatian Environmental Press Centre (CEPC) is non-governmental organisation of environmental journalists with mission to improve reporting on environment and understanding of environmental issues in public and the media and to support journalists through networking, education and promotion of rights to information in Croatia. http://www.ekomrezabih.net/new/index.php?id=56 - EkoMrezaBiH - Environmental NGO's Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina www.dante-tourismus.org - DANTE is a network of 15 initiatives and non-governmental organisations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, specialised in tourism, environment and development. One of its members is: FernWeh - Tourism Review - committed to raising awareness and disseminating information on political issues in global tourism. Keeping in view the relations between North and South, we are concerned with the increasing social disparities and contradictions resulting from current tourism development, especially in Third World destinations. Polen - Welcome in Poland - The source of information about Poland, with the emphasis on tourism, including weather, zloty, culture, cities and regions World Travel Link Directory - Useful links to travel related sites around the world. http://www.groenoog.nl/ The Globetrotters Club, the ultimate travel club. - The Globetrotters Club is a international network for independent travellers around the world. If you'd like to join us, receive our bimonthly newsletter and membership listing offering hospitality, info and advice. www.lhump.nl - Dutch student network for sustainable development. Hotels in Lodz - Instant Reservation Service, on-line discounts available, tours, local support Sopatowiec - charming and inspiring place for those who want to get away from it all www.guidemegreen.com www.kulturanova.org.yu - AAC kulturanova ("Association for Alternative Creation") is a non-government, non-profit organisation founded for popularisation and affirmation of art and cultural spirit. Organization' focus is on development of urban youth culture and raising awareness on relevant social issues, with the vision of building creative platforms for youth in Novi Sad and in region. www.emagazine.com - "E -- The Environmental Magazine", the Nation's only non-profit, independent consumer publication on the environment, is a clearinghouse of information, news & commentary on today's environmental issues. It's our intent to inform and inspire individuals who have concerns about the environment and want to know what they can do to help bring about improvements. www.hospitalityclub.org - The aim of Hospitality Club is to bring people together - hosts and guests, travelers and locals. Thousands of Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling - be it with a roof for the night or a guided tour through town. Joining is free, takes just a minute and everyone is welcome. This project is non-commercial and led by volunteers. www.bergwaldprojekt.de - The Bergwaldprojekt's aim is to help forests. It wants to draw attention to their problems and go to their assistance in a targeted, hands-on way. That is why are offering people from various walks of life and organisations the chance to work with us as volunteers during organised project weeks. The goal of the project weeks is to improve the situation of the forest at different project sites. In that way, project week workers become enthusiastic about Nature and we can foster understanding for the forest as an ecosystem. www.travelhive.org - Travelhive.org is the new and free website directory including contents of tourism, travel and recreation. It is very rewarding source of information for active people, who love travelling and adventure. www.optik-pro.de - Ferngläser & Spektive bei Optik-Pro.de - große Auswahl an optischen Geräten zur Naturbeobachtung www.asia-tourist.com - Tours in Vietnam, Vietnam Leading tour Operator offers high quality tours in Vietnam www.4ecotips.com - Environment Education News - 4ecotips provides Global Warming News and Tips, Environment issues news articles, global warming information and eco travel with eco friendly tips, Environmental and Economics history from UK, Europe. Krakow Poland - A comprehensive guide to Krakow with essential travelers information. Krakow Life - Krakow travel guide which includes city overview, nightlife, hotels, culture, maps, major attractions and practical information for Krakow, Poland. A Peruvian Travel Agency focused on development of sustainable tourism, environmental and culture protection. We promote cultural and eco-tourism. We offer adventure trips to show our clients a variety of alternative destinations that allow them to know Peru in its broader context. In Peru, we are located in the city of Cusco.

ORGANISER THE CIVIL AFFAIRS INSTITUTE (ISO) The Civil Affairs Institute is an independent non-governmental organisation not connected to any political party or government. The Institute is a think tank; we are a non-profit organisation. Our aim is to provide information enabling Polish citizens to address issues with an impact on the general quality of life. We aim to promote civil society, independent media and sustainable development. The Institute was established in connection with the "Nationwide campaign for the promotion of sustainable transport", which was conducted in 1996-2003 with financial support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and substantial content-related support from New York's Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. In our nine years of conducting campaigns, we brought together a team of people with tremendous experience, knowledge and qualifications - social activists, scientists, local authorities, lawyers, journalists, former and present parliamentarians, economists, sociologists. These people are now the Institute's main strengths and guarantee our effective and thorough work in the name of the public good. The Institute actively accomplishes its goals by offering workshops, consultancy activities, publications, and working to influence public authorities. Our target groups are local communities, non-governmental organisations, universities, mass media, public administration, local government, and business. Of special importance are independence and the high quality of the tasks performed. Our campaigns are conducted on both the local and national level. We focus not only on education, but primarily strive for protection of nature. Many of our projects and campaigns significantly contribute to raising awareness about the environment. Natural Heritage Campaign and Eco-tourism are one of the projects carried out by the Institute of Civil Affairs A crucial element of our work is concern about nature and environment, as we believe that these have an intrinsic value. The state of the environment is an integral part of the quality of life, especially when seen in the broader context. One goal of the Institute's work is to preserve Poland's natural heritage by protecting naturally valuable places. Our website: www.iso.edu.pl CONTACT If you have questions, doubts or want to find our more about our trips, please contact our office in Poland. Office Director and Project Co-ordinator Agnieszka Górczyńska The Civil Affairs Institute (Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich) ul.Więckowskiego 33/127 90-734 ŁódĄ Poland tel/ fax: +48 42 630 17 49 mobile: +48 512 377 856 ecotourism@iso.edu.pl http://www.ecotourism.org.pl Please contact us between 10.00 - 17.00 at the office phone number.

OUR STAFF Agnieszka Górczyńska (1981) project manager My adventure began a couple of years ago, as I think that life is a mysterious and exciting adventure. Since then I have done many different things. I am a ceaseless traveller, although home is of great value to me. I have participated in many bike-trips, organised in Poland and Europe. I have co-organised east route of Bike+10 bike-ride towards the World Summit in Johannesburg. I took part in international workshops and trainings regarding youth work and self-development. I co-operate with a magazine "Obywatel" ("Citizen") and work for a non-governmental organisation The Civil Affairs Institute. I really enjoy my work, since I can join my passion for nature and its protection with a natural drive to increase my linguistic competence. My job involves international liaison between NGO's. I am a representative of The Civil Affairs Institute on international conferences and trainings. I conduct workshops and film viewings on sustainable transport policy. I gained experience working for an international non-governmental organisation called A SEED Europe based in The Netherlands. I have graduated from The University of ŁódĄ with a Bachelor degree in German. Now I study German translations at the Department of Languages for Special Purposes at the Faculty of Applied Linguistics and East-Slavonic Languages in Warsaw. I have a very good command of English and German. Driven by a dream about travelling to Peru, I started learning Spanish. Someday my dream will fulfil. Not being afraid of challenges I set myself goals to achieve, one of them is to successfully co-ordinate the office of Eco-tourism project. Bartosz Malinowski (1980) logistics I have graduated from a tourist service technical school. My passion is photography. I am an independent reporter, I work for the Civil Affairs Institute. I love to travel, I have organised trips to Siberia, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and to Caucasus. Not only do prefer walking to driving, but I also passionately ride my bike. I have participated in many bike trips, I have biked over 50 thousand kilometres during the past 10 years and co-organised bike rides in Poland and abroad. I am a person responsible for logistics of the Eco-tourism project, and in charge of managing the trips. I have tremendous experience in field of conducting ecological campaigns and projects. During the past several years I have worked for travel agencies. Guiding and managing trips is familiar to me. Mountains is the place where I feel best. I am an active member of Polish Tourist Country-Lovers' Society. Silence, calmness, wild nature and adrenaline connected with adventurous events are really important to me. My dream is to buy someday a house in the mountains. Maciej Kronenberg guide I was born in 1981, a few days before an introduction of martial law in Poland. I live in ŁódĄ and I could not imagine to live somewhere else. I have graduated from geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. At present I work at the University and write a PhD thesis on tourism in ŁódĄ. I have been travelling since a long time, I mainly travel around Poland, but not only. I have visited the majority of European countries, as well as for instance: Turkey, Jordan, Northern Cyprus, and Libya. I am discovering Polish areas mostly on my bicycle. I must admit, up to now I have wandered quite a lot of them. Since 2003 I work as a guide in ŁódĄ. Revealing the treasures of my city to abroad tourists gives me pleasure and I really enjoy it. I also work as a guide nationwide. I often engage myself in ecological initiatives regarding sustainable transport solutions. I am a co-author of a book entitled "500 riddles about ŁódĄ and its region". Witek Kopeć (1978) guide I began to get around Poland by foot or by bike when I was 12 years old. Not only do go to places popular among tourists, but also to remote and unspotted ones. I like to reveal unknown regions, which are not familiar for tourists, for example those in the vicinity of my home city, situated in the lowland areas of ŁódĄ. I sometimes go on longer bike rides, three years ago I travelled with my friend around North Sea. It took us 80 days, we traversed 6000 km. Work at the University of ŁódĄ is my bread and butter. I am doing a PhD in leisure and tourism studies. Apart form exploring hidden and secluded places, I really like to celebrate special, unplanned situations. One of such astonishing moments is when you encounter somewhere in the North-eastern Poland a herd of wild European bisons while riding your bike. Just imagine how you feel when you see them standing 100 metres away from you. This is Poland I want to show to you. Explore with me remarkable landscapes in the North-eastern Poland, existence of which are not aware many citizens of Poland. Justyna Piejko (1982) guide I come from the south-east part of Poland, just few steps from wonderful Bieszczady mountain range, part of East Carpathians. Those were the first mountains I met and fell in love with. Next came time for discovering more distant nooks of Poland, Europe and other continents. I managed to visit many of them, but still, there are so many to experience. I graduated from University of Lodz, geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. Now I am about to graduate from postgraduate studies of marketing at Economical Academy in Cracow. Living in Cracow, the cultural capital of Poland, I will be happy to show you all the most attractive tourist highlights of south Poland... and more.

Links www.kultury.org www.informaction.org - Information for Action articles on a wide rangeof environmental issues, a lobbying facility, a searchable database of leaders, and environmental groups, an environmental quiz with cartoons and animations, free music videos and MP3s, a database of chemicals and their effects. Volunteers always needed. www.ethicalconsumer.org - the UK's only alternative consumer organisation looking at the social and environmental records of the companies behind the brand names www.ethiscore.org is a project of ECRA (the Ethical Consumer Research Association/ECRA Publishing Ltd). ECRA was founded in 1988 as a not-for-profit workers co-operative to provide information on the companies behind the brand names and to promote the ethical use of consumer power. www.ibike.org/ibike - Fascinating, small group bicycle tours to Africa, Asia and the Americas, for ordinary active people. Enrich yourself with the complexity of the history, culture and environment and enjoying beautiful cycling. http://resurgence.org - Resurgence magazine brings together leading writers and environmentalists to present topics of vital importance to our world, including ecology, climate change, sustainable development, organic living, human-scale education and conflict resolution. Resurgence offers unique insights and presents a holistic philosophy infused with spirituality and creativity. In print and on-line. www.eko-cel.pl/eng/ - The ECOCENTRE ICPPC is a member of an international network "ECOSITE."It is the only place in Poland where one can see how various ecological technologies work in practice. All the devices here work, producing electricity, heating water and buildings, or treating sewage. www.icppc.pl/eng/ - The protection of the Polish countryside is not only a vital issue for Poland but for individuals and organizations in other countries as well. In order to help realize the goal of protecting our countryside, we created the International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC). www.naturelodging.org - Naturelodging is a French non-profit and non-governmental organisation. Its objective is to promote sustainable nature tourism and ecotourism worldwide. www.worldsurface.com - Responsible adventures and sustainable travel for everyone. Search hundreds of overland trips and volunteer programs from operators around the world. Follow our members' experiences live from around the globe. Join today--it's free! Add your own travel blog, stories and photos and win a trip! www.sustainabletravelinternational.org - Sustainable Travel International is a membership-based, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable development and eco-friendly travel by providing programs that help travelers and travel-related companies protect the places they visit, and the planet at large. www.worldcarfree.net - Worldcarfree.net is a clearinghouse of information from around the world on how to revitalise our towns and cities and create a sustainable future. In addition to serving the carfree movement, Worldcarfree.net offers resources for architects, planners, teachers/professors, students, decision-makers and engaged citizens. The Civil Affairs Institute is a member organisation of World Carfree Network. www.greentravelmarket.info - The Green Travel Market is a business to business service deisgned to help tour operators and other tourism suppliers become more aware of sustainable products, integrate them into their packages and services they offer, and reach relevant markets. http://lemko.org - Lemkos - website dealing with the pastoral farmers who until 1947 inhabited the Lower Beskid range of the Carpathian Mountains. www.alertonline.org/press - Croatian Environmental Press Centre (CEPC) is non-governmental organisation of environmental journalists with mission to improve reporting on environment and understanding of environmental issues in public and the media and to support journalists through networking, education and promotion of rights to information in Croatia. http://www.ekomrezabih.net/new/index.php?id=56 - EkoMrezaBiH - Environmental NGO's Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina www.dante-tourismus.org - DANTE is a network of 15 initiatives and non-governmental organisations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, specialised in tourism, environment and development. One of its members is: FernWeh - Tourism Review - committed to raising awareness and disseminating information on political issues in global tourism. Keeping in view the relations between North and South, we are concerned with the increasing social disparities and contradictions resulting from current tourism development, especially in Third World destinations. Polen - Welcome in Poland - The source of information about Poland, with the emphasis on tourism, including weather, zloty, culture, cities and regions World Travel Link Directory - Useful links to travel related sites around the world. http://www.groenoog.nl/ The Globetrotters Club, the ultimate travel club. - The Globetrotters Club is a international network for independent travellers around the world. If you'd like to join us, receive our bimonthly newsletter and membership listing offering hospitality, info and advice. www.lhump.nl - Dutch student network for sustainable development. Hotels in Lodz - Instant Reservation Service, on-line discounts available, tours, local support Sopatowiec - charming and inspiring place for those who want to get away from it all www.guidemegreen.com www.kulturanova.org.yu - AAC kulturanova ("Association for Alternative Creation") is a non-government, non-profit organisation founded for popularisation and affirmation of art and cultural spirit. Organization' focus is on development of urban youth culture and raising awareness on relevant social issues, with the vision of building creative platforms for youth in Novi Sad and in region. www.emagazine.com - "E -- The Environmental Magazine", the Nation's only non-profit, independent consumer publication on the environment, is a clearinghouse of information, news & commentary on today's environmental issues. It's our intent to inform and inspire individuals who have concerns about the environment and want to know what they can do to help bring about improvements. www.hospitalityclub.org - The aim of Hospitality Club is to bring people together - hosts and guests, travelers and locals. Thousands of Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling - be it with a roof for the night or a guided tour through town. Joining is free, takes just a minute and everyone is welcome. This project is non-commercial and led by volunteers. www.bergwaldprojekt.de - The Bergwaldprojekt's aim is to help forests. It wants to draw attention to their problems and go to their assistance in a targeted, hands-on way. That is why are offering people from various walks of life and organisations the chance to work with us as volunteers during organised project weeks. The goal of the project weeks is to improve the situation of the forest at different project sites. In that way, project week workers become enthusiastic about Nature and we can foster understanding for the forest as an ecosystem. www.travelhive.org - Travelhive.org is the new and free website directory including contents of tourism, travel and recreation. It is very rewarding source of information for active people, who love travelling and adventure. www.optik-pro.de - Ferngläser & Spektive bei Optik-Pro.de - große Auswahl an optischen Geräten zur Naturbeobachtung www.asia-tourist.com - Tours in Vietnam, Vietnam Leading tour Operator offers high quality tours in Vietnam www.4ecotips.com - Environment Education News - 4ecotips provides Global Warming News and Tips, Environment issues news articles, global warming information and eco travel with eco friendly tips, Environmental and Economics history from UK, Europe. Krakow Poland - A comprehensive guide to Krakow with essential travelers information. Krakow Life - Krakow travel guide which includes city overview, nightlife, hotels, culture, maps, major attractions and practical information for Krakow, Poland. A Peruvian Travel Agency focused on development of sustainable tourism, environmental and culture protection. We promote cultural and eco-tourism. We offer adventure trips to show our clients a variety of alternative destinations that allow them to know Peru in its broader context. In Peru, we are located in the city of Cusco.

ORGANISER THE CIVIL AFFAIRS INSTITUTE (ISO) The Civil Affairs Institute is an independent non-governmental organisation not connected to any political party or government. The Institute is a think tank; we are a non-profit organisation. Our aim is to provide information enabling Polish citizens to address issues with an impact on the general quality of life. We aim to promote civil society, independent media and sustainable development. The Institute was established in connection with the "Nationwide campaign for the promotion of sustainable transport", which was conducted in 1996-2003 with financial support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and substantial content-related support from New York's Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. In our nine years of conducting campaigns, we brought together a team of people with tremendous experience, knowledge and qualifications - social activists, scientists, local authorities, lawyers, journalists, former and present parliamentarians, economists, sociologists. These people are now the Institute's main strengths and guarantee our effective and thorough work in the name of the public good. The Institute actively accomplishes its goals by offering workshops, consultancy activities, publications, and working to influence public authorities. Our target groups are local communities, non-governmental organisations, universities, mass media, public administration, local government, and business. Of special importance are independence and the high quality of the tasks performed. Our campaigns are conducted on both the local and national level. We focus not only on education, but primarily strive for protection of nature. Many of our projects and campaigns significantly contribute to raising awareness about the environment. Natural Heritage Campaign and Eco-tourism are one of the projects carried out by the Institute of Civil Affairs A crucial element of our work is concern about nature and environment, as we believe that these have an intrinsic value. The state of the environment is an integral part of the quality of life, especially when seen in the broader context. One goal of the Institute's work is to preserve Poland's natural heritage by protecting naturally valuable places. Our website: www.iso.edu.pl CONTACT If you have questions, doubts or want to find our more about our trips, please contact our office in Poland. Office Director and Project Co-ordinator Agnieszka Górczyńska The Civil Affairs Institute (Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich) ul.Więckowskiego 33/127 90-734 ŁódĄ Poland tel/ fax: +48 42 630 17 49 mobile: +48 512 377 856 ecotourism@iso.edu.pl http://www.ecotourism.org.pl Please contact us between 10.00 - 17.00 at the office phone number.

OUR STAFF Agnieszka Górczyńska (1981) project manager My adventure began a couple of years ago, as I think that life is a mysterious and exciting adventure. Since then I have done many different things. I am a ceaseless traveller, although home is of great value to me. I have participated in many bike-trips, organised in Poland and Europe. I have co-organised east route of Bike+10 bike-ride towards the World Summit in Johannesburg. I took part in international workshops and trainings regarding youth work and self-development. I co-operate with a magazine "Obywatel" ("Citizen") and work for a non-governmental organisation The Civil Affairs Institute. I really enjoy my work, since I can join my passion for nature and its protection with a natural drive to increase my linguistic competence. My job involves international liaison between NGO's. I am a representative of The Civil Affairs Institute on international conferences and trainings. I conduct workshops and film viewings on sustainable transport policy. I gained experience working for an international non-governmental organisation called A SEED Europe based in The Netherlands. I have graduated from The University of ŁódĄ with a Bachelor degree in German. Now I study German translations at the Department of Languages for Special Purposes at the Faculty of Applied Linguistics and East-Slavonic Languages in Warsaw. I have a very good command of English and German. Driven by a dream about travelling to Peru, I started learning Spanish. Someday my dream will fulfil. Not being afraid of challenges I set myself goals to achieve, one of them is to successfully co-ordinate the office of Eco-tourism project. Bartosz Malinowski (1980) logistics I have graduated from a tourist service technical school. My passion is photography. I am an independent reporter, I work for the Civil Affairs Institute. I love to travel, I have organised trips to Siberia, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and to Caucasus. Not only do prefer walking to driving, but I also passionately ride my bike. I have participated in many bike trips, I have biked over 50 thousand kilometres during the past 10 years and co-organised bike rides in Poland and abroad. I am a person responsible for logistics of the Eco-tourism project, and in charge of managing the trips. I have tremendous experience in field of conducting ecological campaigns and projects. During the past several years I have worked for travel agencies. Guiding and managing trips is familiar to me. Mountains is the place where I feel best. I am an active member of Polish Tourist Country-Lovers' Society. Silence, calmness, wild nature and adrenaline connected with adventurous events are really important to me. My dream is to buy someday a house in the mountains. Maciej Kronenberg guide I was born in 1981, a few days before an introduction of martial law in Poland. I live in ŁódĄ and I could not imagine to live somewhere else. I have graduated from geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. At present I work at the University and write a PhD thesis on tourism in ŁódĄ. I have been travelling since a long time, I mainly travel around Poland, but not only. I have visited the majority of European countries, as well as for instance: Turkey, Jordan, Northern Cyprus, and Libya. I am discovering Polish areas mostly on my bicycle. I must admit, up to now I have wandered quite a lot of them. Since 2003 I work as a guide in ŁódĄ. Revealing the treasures of my city to abroad tourists gives me pleasure and I really enjoy it. I also work as a guide nationwide. I often engage myself in ecological initiatives regarding sustainable transport solutions. I am a co-author of a book entitled "500 riddles about ŁódĄ and its region". Witek Kopeć (1978) guide I began to get around Poland by foot or by bike when I was 12 years old. Not only do go to places popular among tourists, but also to remote and unspotted ones. I like to reveal unknown regions, which are not familiar for tourists, for example those in the vicinity of my home city, situated in the lowland areas of ŁódĄ. I sometimes go on longer bike rides, three years ago I travelled with my friend around North Sea. It took us 80 days, we traversed 6000 km. Work at the University of ŁódĄ is my bread and butter. I am doing a PhD in leisure and tourism studies. Apart form exploring hidden and secluded places, I really like to celebrate special, unplanned situations. One of such astonishing moments is when you encounter somewhere in the North-eastern Poland a herd of wild European bisons while riding your bike. Just imagine how you feel when you see them standing 100 metres away from you. This is Poland I want to show to you. Explore with me remarkable landscapes in the North-eastern Poland, existence of which are not aware many citizens of Poland. Justyna Piejko (1982) guide I come from the south-east part of Poland, just few steps from wonderful Bieszczady mountain range, part of East Carpathians. Those were the first mountains I met and fell in love with. Next came time for discovering more distant nooks of Poland, Europe and other continents. I managed to visit many of them, but still, there are so many to experience. I graduated from University of Lodz, geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. Now I am about to graduate from postgraduate studies of marketing at Economical Academy in Cracow. Living in Cracow, the cultural capital of Poland, I will be happy to show you all the most attractive tourist highlights of south Poland... and more.

Links www.kultury.org www.informaction.org - Information for Action articles on a wide rangeof environmental issues, a lobbying facility, a searchable database of leaders, and environmental groups, an environmental quiz with cartoons and animations, free music videos and MP3s, a database of chemicals and their effects. Volunteers always needed. www.ethicalconsumer.org - the UK's only alternative consumer organisation looking at the social and environmental records of the companies behind the brand names www.ethiscore.org is a project of ECRA (the Ethical Consumer Research Association/ECRA Publishing Ltd). ECRA was founded in 1988 as a not-for-profit workers co-operative to provide information on the companies behind the brand names and to promote the ethical use of consumer power. www.ibike.org/ibike - Fascinating, small group bicycle tours to Africa, Asia and the Americas, for ordinary active people. Enrich yourself with the complexity of the history, culture and environment and enjoying beautiful cycling. http://resurgence.org - Resurgence magazine brings together leading writers and environmentalists to present topics of vital importance to our world, including ecology, climate change, sustainable development, organic living, human-scale education and conflict resolution. Resurgence offers unique insights and presents a holistic philosophy infused with spirituality and creativity. In print and on-line. www.eko-cel.pl/eng/ - The ECOCENTRE ICPPC is a member of an international network "ECOSITE."It is the only place in Poland where one can see how various ecological technologies work in practice. All the devices here work, producing electricity, heating water and buildings, or treating sewage. www.icppc.pl/eng/ - The protection of the Polish countryside is not only a vital issue for Poland but for individuals and organizations in other countries as well. In order to help realize the goal of protecting our countryside, we created the International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC). www.naturelodging.org - Naturelodging is a French non-profit and non-governmental organisation. Its objective is to promote sustainable nature tourism and ecotourism worldwide. www.worldsurface.com - Responsible adventures and sustainable travel for everyone. Search hundreds of overland trips and volunteer programs from operators around the world. Follow our members' experiences live from around the globe. Join today--it's free! Add your own travel blog, stories and photos and win a trip! www.sustainabletravelinternational.org - Sustainable Travel International is a membership-based, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable development and eco-friendly travel by providing programs that help travelers and travel-related companies protect the places they visit, and the planet at large. www.worldcarfree.net - Worldcarfree.net is a clearinghouse of information from around the world on how to revitalise our towns and cities and create a sustainable future. In addition to serving the carfree movement, Worldcarfree.net offers resources for architects, planners, teachers/professors, students, decision-makers and engaged citizens. The Civil Affairs Institute is a member organisation of World Carfree Network. www.greentravelmarket.info - The Green Travel Market is a business to business service deisgned to help tour operators and other tourism suppliers become more aware of sustainable products, integrate them into their packages and services they offer, and reach relevant markets. http://lemko.org - Lemkos - website dealing with the pastoral farmers who until 1947 inhabited the Lower Beskid range of the Carpathian Mountains. www.alertonline.org/press - Croatian Environmental Press Centre (CEPC) is non-governmental organisation of environmental journalists with mission to improve reporting on environment and understanding of environmental issues in public and the media and to support journalists through networking, education and promotion of rights to information in Croatia. http://www.ekomrezabih.net/new/index.php?id=56 - EkoMrezaBiH - Environmental NGO's Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina www.dante-tourismus.org - DANTE is a network of 15 initiatives and non-governmental organisations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, specialised in tourism, environment and development. One of its members is: FernWeh - Tourism Review - committed to raising awareness and disseminating information on political issues in global tourism. Keeping in view the relations between North and South, we are concerned with the increasing social disparities and contradictions resulting from current tourism development, especially in Third World destinations. Polen - Welcome in Poland - The source of information about Poland, with the emphasis on tourism, including weather, zloty, culture, cities and regions World Travel Link Directory - Useful links to travel related sites around the world. http://www.groenoog.nl/ The Globetrotters Club, the ultimate travel club. - The Globetrotters Club is a international network for independent travellers around the world. If you'd like to join us, receive our bimonthly newsletter and membership listing offering hospitality, info and advice. www.lhump.nl - Dutch student network for sustainable development. Hotels in Lodz - Instant Reservation Service, on-line discounts available, tours, local support Sopatowiec - charming and inspiring place for those who want to get away from it all www.guidemegreen.com www.kulturanova.org.yu - AAC kulturanova ("Association for Alternative Creation") is a non-government, non-profit organisation founded for popularisation and affirmation of art and cultural spirit. Organization' focus is on development of urban youth culture and raising awareness on relevant social issues, with the vision of building creative platforms for youth in Novi Sad and in region. www.emagazine.com - "E -- The Environmental Magazine", the Nation's only non-profit, independent consumer publication on the environment, is a clearinghouse of information, news & commentary on today's environmental issues. It's our intent to inform and inspire individuals who have concerns about the environment and want to know what they can do to help bring about improvements. www.hospitalityclub.org - The aim of Hospitality Club is to bring people together - hosts and guests, travelers and locals. Thousands of Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling - be it with a roof for the night or a guided tour through town. Joining is free, takes just a minute and everyone is welcome. This project is non-commercial and led by volunteers. www.bergwaldprojekt.de - The Bergwaldprojekt's aim is to help forests. It wants to draw attention to their problems and go to their assistance in a targeted, hands-on way. That is why are offering people from various walks of life and organisations the chance to work with us as volunteers during organised project weeks. The goal of the project weeks is to improve the situation of the forest at different project sites. In that way, project week workers become enthusiastic about Nature and we can foster understanding for the forest as an ecosystem. www.travelhive.org - Travelhive.org is the new and free website directory including contents of tourism, travel and recreation. It is very rewarding source of information for active people, who love travelling and adventure. www.optik-pro.de - Ferngläser & Spektive bei Optik-Pro.de - große Auswahl an optischen Geräten zur Naturbeobachtung www.asia-tourist.com - Tours in Vietnam, Vietnam Leading tour Operator offers high quality tours in Vietnam www.4ecotips.com - Environment Education News - 4ecotips provides Global Warming News and Tips, Environment issues news articles, global warming information and eco travel with eco friendly tips, Environmental and Economics history from UK, Europe. Krakow Poland - A comprehensive guide to Krakow with essential travelers information. Krakow Life - Krakow travel guide which includes city overview, nightlife, hotels, culture, maps, major attractions and practical information for Krakow, Poland. A Peruvian Travel Agency focused on development of sustainable tourism, environmental and culture protection. We promote cultural and eco-tourism. We offer adventure trips to show our clients a variety of alternative destinations that allow them to know Peru in its broader context. In Peru, we are located in the city of Cusco.

ORGANISER THE CIVIL AFFAIRS INSTITUTE (ISO) The Civil Affairs Institute is an independent non-governmental organisation not connected to any political party or government. The Institute is a think tank; we are a non-profit organisation. Our aim is to provide information enabling Polish citizens to address issues with an impact on the general quality of life. We aim to promote civil society, independent media and sustainable development. The Institute was established in connection with the "Nationwide campaign for the promotion of sustainable transport", which was conducted in 1996-2003 with financial support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and substantial content-related support from New York's Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. In our nine years of conducting campaigns, we brought together a team of people with tremendous experience, knowledge and qualifications - social activists, scientists, local authorities, lawyers, journalists, former and present parliamentarians, economists, sociologists. These people are now the Institute's main strengths and guarantee our effective and thorough work in the name of the public good. The Institute actively accomplishes its goals by offering workshops, consultancy activities, publications, and working to influence public authorities. Our target groups are local communities, non-governmental organisations, universities, mass media, public administration, local government, and business. Of special importance are independence and the high quality of the tasks performed. Our campaigns are conducted on both the local and national level. We focus not only on education, but primarily strive for protection of nature. Many of our projects and campaigns significantly contribute to raising awareness about the environment. Natural Heritage Campaign and Eco-tourism are one of the projects carried out by the Institute of Civil Affairs A crucial element of our work is concern about nature and environment, as we believe that these have an intrinsic value. The state of the environment is an integral part of the quality of life, especially when seen in the broader context. One goal of the Institute's work is to preserve Poland's natural heritage by protecting naturally valuable places. Our website: www.iso.edu.pl CONTACT If you have questions, doubts or want to find our more about our trips, please contact our office in Poland. Office Director and Project Co-ordinator Agnieszka Górczyńska The Civil Affairs Institute (Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich) ul.Więckowskiego 33/127 90-734 ŁódĄ Poland tel/ fax: +48 42 630 17 49 mobile: +48 512 377 856 ecotourism@iso.edu.pl http://www.ecotourism.org.pl Please contact us between 10.00 - 17.00 at the office phone number.

OUR STAFF Agnieszka Górczyńska (1981) project manager My adventure began a couple of years ago, as I think that life is a mysterious and exciting adventure. Since then I have done many different things. I am a ceaseless traveller, although home is of great value to me. I have participated in many bike-trips, organised in Poland and Europe. I have co-organised east route of Bike+10 bike-ride towards the World Summit in Johannesburg. I took part in international workshops and trainings regarding youth work and self-development. I co-operate with a magazine "Obywatel" ("Citizen") and work for a non-governmental organisation The Civil Affairs Institute. I really enjoy my work, since I can join my passion for nature and its protection with a natural drive to increase my linguistic competence. My job involves international liaison between NGO's. I am a representative of The Civil Affairs Institute on international conferences and trainings. I conduct workshops and film viewings on sustainable transport policy. I gained experience working for an international non-governmental organisation called A SEED Europe based in The Netherlands. I have graduated from The University of ŁódĄ with a Bachelor degree in German. Now I study German translations at the Department of Languages for Special Purposes at the Faculty of Applied Linguistics and East-Slavonic Languages in Warsaw. I have a very good command of English and German. Driven by a dream about travelling to Peru, I started learning Spanish. Someday my dream will fulfil. Not being afraid of challenges I set myself goals to achieve, one of them is to successfully co-ordinate the office of Eco-tourism project. Bartosz Malinowski (1980) logistics I have graduated from a tourist service technical school. My passion is photography. I am an independent reporter, I work for the Civil Affairs Institute. I love to travel, I have organised trips to Siberia, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and to Caucasus. Not only do prefer walking to driving, but I also passionately ride my bike. I have participated in many bike trips, I have biked over 50 thousand kilometres during the past 10 years and co-organised bike rides in Poland and abroad. I am a person responsible for logistics of the Eco-tourism project, and in charge of managing the trips. I have tremendous experience in field of conducting ecological campaigns and projects. During the past several years I have worked for travel agencies. Guiding and managing trips is familiar to me. Mountains is the place where I feel best. I am an active member of Polish Tourist Country-Lovers' Society. Silence, calmness, wild nature and adrenaline connected with adventurous events are really important to me. My dream is to buy someday a house in the mountains. Maciej Kronenberg guide I was born in 1981, a few days before an introduction of martial law in Poland. I live in ŁódĄ and I could not imagine to live somewhere else. I have graduated from geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. At present I work at the University and write a PhD thesis on tourism in ŁódĄ. I have been travelling since a long time, I mainly travel around Poland, but not only. I have visited the majority of European countries, as well as for instance: Turkey, Jordan, Northern Cyprus, and Libya. I am discovering Polish areas mostly on my bicycle. I must admit, up to now I have wandered quite a lot of them. Since 2003 I work as a guide in ŁódĄ. Revealing the treasures of my city to abroad tourists gives me pleasure and I really enjoy it. I also work as a guide nationwide. I often engage myself in ecological initiatives regarding sustainable transport solutions. I am a co-author of a book entitled "500 riddles about ŁódĄ and its region". Witek Kopeć (1978) guide I began to get around Poland by foot or by bike when I was 12 years old. Not only do go to places popular among tourists, but also to remote and unspotted ones. I like to reveal unknown regions, which are not familiar for tourists, for example those in the vicinity of my home city, situated in the lowland areas of ŁódĄ. I sometimes go on longer bike rides, three years ago I travelled with my friend around North Sea. It took us 80 days, we traversed 6000 km. Work at the University of ŁódĄ is my bread and butter. I am doing a PhD in leisure and tourism studies. Apart form exploring hidden and secluded places, I really like to celebrate special, unplanned situations. One of such astonishing moments is when you encounter somewhere in the North-eastern Poland a herd of wild European bisons while riding your bike. Just imagine how you feel when you see them standing 100 metres away from you. This is Poland I want to show to you. Explore with me remarkable landscapes in the North-eastern Poland, existence of which are not aware many citizens of Poland. Justyna Piejko (1982) guide I come from the south-east part of Poland, just few steps from wonderful Bieszczady mountain range, part of East Carpathians. Those were the first mountains I met and fell in love with. Next came time for discovering more distant nooks of Poland, Europe and other continents. I managed to visit many of them, but still, there are so many to experience. I graduated from University of Lodz, geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. Now I am about to graduate from postgraduate studies of marketing at Economical Academy in Cracow. Living in Cracow, the cultural capital of Poland, I will be happy to show you all the most attractive tourist highlights of south Poland... and more.

Links www.kultury.org www.informaction.org - Information for Action articles on a wide rangeof environmental issues, a lobbying facility, a searchable database of leaders, and environmental groups, an environmental quiz with cartoons and animations, free music videos and MP3s, a database of chemicals and their effects. Volunteers always needed. www.ethicalconsumer.org - the UK's only alternative consumer organisation looking at the social and environmental records of the companies behind the brand names www.ethiscore.org is a project of ECRA (the Ethical Consumer Research Association/ECRA Publishing Ltd). ECRA was founded in 1988 as a not-for-profit workers co-operative to provide information on the companies behind the brand names and to promote the ethical use of consumer power. www.ibike.org/ibike - Fascinating, small group bicycle tours to Africa, Asia and the Americas, for ordinary active people. Enrich yourself with the complexity of the history, culture and environment and enjoying beautiful cycling. http://resurgence.org - Resurgence magazine brings together leading writers and environmentalists to present topics of vital importance to our world, including ecology, climate change, sustainable development, organic living, human-scale education and conflict resolution. Resurgence offers unique insights and presents a holistic philosophy infused with spirituality and creativity. In print and on-line. www.eko-cel.pl/eng/ - The ECOCENTRE ICPPC is a member of an international network "ECOSITE."It is the only place in Poland where one can see how various ecological technologies work in practice. All the devices here work, producing electricity, heating water and buildings, or treating sewage. www.icppc.pl/eng/ - The protection of the Polish countryside is not only a vital issue for Poland but for individuals and organizations in other countries as well. In order to help realize the goal of protecting our countryside, we created the International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC). www.naturelodging.org - Naturelodging is a French non-profit and non-governmental organisation. Its objective is to promote sustainable nature tourism and ecotourism worldwide. www.worldsurface.com - Responsible adventures and sustainable travel for everyone. Search hundreds of overland trips and volunteer programs from operators around the world. Follow our members' experiences live from around the globe. Join today--it's free! Add your own travel blog, stories and photos and win a trip! www.sustainabletravelinternational.org - Sustainable Travel International is a membership-based, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable development and eco-friendly travel by providing programs that help travelers and travel-related companies protect the places they visit, and the planet at large. www.worldcarfree.net - Worldcarfree.net is a clearinghouse of information from around the world on how to revitalise our towns and cities and create a sustainable future. In addition to serving the carfree movement, Worldcarfree.net offers resources for architects, planners, teachers/professors, students, decision-makers and engaged citizens. The Civil Affairs Institute is a member organisation of World Carfree Network. www.greentravelmarket.info - The Green Travel Market is a business to business service deisgned to help tour operators and other tourism suppliers become more aware of sustainable products, integrate them into their packages and services they offer, and reach relevant markets. http://lemko.org - Lemkos - website dealing with the pastoral farmers who until 1947 inhabited the Lower Beskid range of the Carpathian Mountains. www.alertonline.org/press - Croatian Environmental Press Centre (CEPC) is non-governmental organisation of environmental journalists with mission to improve reporting on environment and understanding of environmental issues in public and the media and to support journalists through networking, education and promotion of rights to information in Croatia. http://www.ekomrezabih.net/new/index.php?id=56 - EkoMrezaBiH - Environmental NGO's Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina www.dante-tourismus.org - DANTE is a network of 15 initiatives and non-governmental organisations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, specialised in tourism, environment and development. One of its members is: FernWeh - Tourism Review - committed to raising awareness and disseminating information on political issues in global tourism. Keeping in view the relations between North and South, we are concerned with the increasing social disparities and contradictions resulting from current tourism development, especially in Third World destinations. Polen - Welcome in Poland - The source of information about Poland, with the emphasis on tourism, including weather, zloty, culture, cities and regions World Travel Link Directory - Useful links to travel related sites around the world. http://www.groenoog.nl/ The Globetrotters Club, the ultimate travel club. - The Globetrotters Club is a international network for independent travellers around the world. If you'd like to join us, receive our bimonthly newsletter and membership listing offering hospitality, info and advice. www.lhump.nl - Dutch student network for sustainable development. Hotels in Lodz - Instant Reservation Service, on-line discounts available, tours, local support Sopatowiec - charming and inspiring place for those who want to get away from it all www.guidemegreen.com www.kulturanova.org.yu - AAC kulturanova ("Association for Alternative Creation") is a non-government, non-profit organisation founded for popularisation and affirmation of art and cultural spirit. Organization' focus is on development of urban youth culture and raising awareness on relevant social issues, with the vision of building creative platforms for youth in Novi Sad and in region. www.emagazine.com - "E -- The Environmental Magazine", the Nation's only non-profit, independent consumer publication on the environment, is a clearinghouse of information, news & commentary on today's environmental issues. It's our intent to inform and inspire individuals who have concerns about the environment and want to know what they can do to help bring about improvements. www.hospitalityclub.org - The aim of Hospitality Club is to bring people together - hosts and guests, travelers and locals. Thousands of Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling - be it with a roof for the night or a guided tour through town. Joining is free, takes just a minute and everyone is welcome. This project is non-commercial and led by volunteers. www.bergwaldprojekt.de - The Bergwaldprojekt's aim is to help forests. It wants to draw attention to their problems and go to their assistance in a targeted, hands-on way. That is why are offering people from various walks of life and organisations the chance to work with us as volunteers during organised project weeks. The goal of the project weeks is to improve the situation of the forest at different project sites. In that way, project week workers become enthusiastic about Nature and we can foster understanding for the forest as an ecosystem. www.travelhive.org - Travelhive.org is the new and free website directory including contents of tourism, travel and recreation. It is very rewarding source of information for active people, who love travelling and adventure. www.optik-pro.de - Ferngläser & Spektive bei Optik-Pro.de - große Auswahl an optischen Geräten zur Naturbeobachtung www.asia-tourist.com - Tours in Vietnam, Vietnam Leading tour Operator offers high quality tours in Vietnam www.4ecotips.com - Environment Education News - 4ecotips provides Global Warming News and Tips, Environment issues news articles, global warming information and eco travel with eco friendly tips, Environmental and Economics history from UK, Europe. Krakow Poland - A comprehensive guide to Krakow with essential travelers information. Krakow Life - Krakow travel guide which includes city overview, nightlife, hotels, culture, maps, major attractions and practical information for Krakow, Poland. A Peruvian Travel Agency focused on development of sustainable tourism, environmental and culture protection. We promote cultural and eco-tourism. We offer adventure trips to show our clients a variety of alternative destinations that allow them to know Peru in its broader context. In Peru, we are located in the city of Cusco.

ORGANISER THE CIVIL AFFAIRS INSTITUTE (ISO) The Civil Affairs Institute is an independent non-governmental organisation not connected to any political party or government. The Institute is a think tank; we are a non-profit organisation. Our aim is to provide information enabling Polish citizens to address issues with an impact on the general quality of life. We aim to promote civil society, independent media and sustainable development. The Institute was established in connection with the "Nationwide campaign for the promotion of sustainable transport", which was conducted in 1996-2003 with financial support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and substantial content-related support from New York's Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. In our nine years of conducting campaigns, we brought together a team of people with tremendous experience, knowledge and qualifications - social activists, scientists, local authorities, lawyers, journalists, former and present parliamentarians, economists, sociologists. These people are now the Institute's main strengths and guarantee our effective and thorough work in the name of the public good. The Institute actively accomplishes its goals by offering workshops, consultancy activities, publications, and working to influence public authorities. Our target groups are local communities, non-governmental organisations, universities, mass media, public administration, local government, and business. Of special importance are independence and the high quality of the tasks performed. Our campaigns are conducted on both the local and national level. We focus not only on education, but primarily strive for protection of nature. Many of our projects and campaigns significantly contribute to raising awareness about the environment. Natural Heritage Campaign and Eco-tourism are one of the projects carried out by the Institute of Civil Affairs A crucial element of our work is concern about nature and environment, as we believe that these have an intrinsic value. The state of the environment is an integral part of the quality of life, especially when seen in the broader context. One goal of the Institute's work is to preserve Poland's natural heritage by protecting naturally valuable places. Our website: www.iso.edu.pl CONTACT If you have questions, doubts or want to find our more about our trips, please contact our office in Poland. Office Director and Project Co-ordinator Agnieszka Górczyńska The Civil Affairs Institute (Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich) ul.Więckowskiego 33/127 90-734 ŁódĄ Poland tel/ fax: +48 42 630 17 49 mobile: +48 512 377 856 ecotourism@iso.edu.pl http://www.ecotourism.org.pl Please contact us between 10.00 - 17.00 at the office phone number.

OUR STAFF Agnieszka Górczyńska (1981) project manager My adventure began a couple of years ago, as I think that life is a mysterious and exciting adventure. Since then I have done many different things. I am a ceaseless traveller, although home is of great value to me. I have participated in many bike-trips, organised in Poland and Europe. I have co-organised east route of Bike+10 bike-ride towards the World Summit in Johannesburg. I took part in international workshops and trainings regarding youth work and self-development. I co-operate with a magazine "Obywatel" ("Citizen") and work for a non-governmental organisation The Civil Affairs Institute. I really enjoy my work, since I can join my passion for nature and its protection with a natural drive to increase my linguistic competence. My job involves international liaison between NGO's. I am a representative of The Civil Affairs Institute on international conferences and trainings. I conduct workshops and film viewings on sustainable transport policy. I gained experience working for an international non-governmental organisation called A SEED Europe based in The Netherlands. I have graduated from The University of ŁódĄ with a Bachelor degree in German. Now I study German translations at the Department of Languages for Special Purposes at the Faculty of Applied Linguistics and East-Slavonic Languages in Warsaw. I have a very good command of English and German. Driven by a dream about travelling to Peru, I started learning Spanish. Someday my dream will fulfil. Not being afraid of challenges I set myself goals to achieve, one of them is to successfully co-ordinate the office of Eco-tourism project. Bartosz Malinowski (1980) logistics I have graduated from a tourist service technical school. My passion is photography. I am an independent reporter, I work for the Civil Affairs Institute. I love to travel, I have organised trips to Siberia, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and to Caucasus. Not only do prefer walking to driving, but I also passionately ride my bike. I have participated in many bike trips, I have biked over 50 thousand kilometres during the past 10 years and co-organised bike rides in Poland and abroad. I am a person responsible for logistics of the Eco-tourism project, and in charge of managing the trips. I have tremendous experience in field of conducting ecological campaigns and projects. During the past several years I have worked for travel agencies. Guiding and managing trips is familiar to me. Mountains is the place where I feel best. I am an active member of Polish Tourist Country-Lovers' Society. Silence, calmness, wild nature and adrenaline connected with adventurous events are really important to me. My dream is to buy someday a house in the mountains. Maciej Kronenberg guide I was born in 1981, a few days before an introduction of martial law in Poland. I live in ŁódĄ and I could not imagine to live somewhere else. I have graduated from geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. At present I work at the University and write a PhD thesis on tourism in ŁódĄ. I have been travelling since a long time, I mainly travel around Poland, but not only. I have visited the majority of European countries, as well as for instance: Turkey, Jordan, Northern Cyprus, and Libya. I am discovering Polish areas mostly on my bicycle. I must admit, up to now I have wandered quite a lot of them. Since 2003 I work as a guide in ŁódĄ. Revealing the treasures of my city to abroad tourists gives me pleasure and I really enjoy it. I also work as a guide nationwide. I often engage myself in ecological initiatives regarding sustainable transport solutions. I am a co-author of a book entitled "500 riddles about ŁódĄ and its region". Witek Kopeć (1978) guide I began to get around Poland by foot or by bike when I was 12 years old. Not only do go to places popular among tourists, but also to remote and unspotted ones. I like to reveal unknown regions, which are not familiar for tourists, for example those in the vicinity of my home city, situated in the lowland areas of ŁódĄ. I sometimes go on longer bike rides, three years ago I travelled with my friend around North Sea. It took us 80 days, we traversed 6000 km. Work at the University of ŁódĄ is my bread and butter. I am doing a PhD in leisure and tourism studies. Apart form exploring hidden and secluded places, I really like to celebrate special, unplanned situations. One of such astonishing moments is when you encounter somewhere in the North-eastern Poland a herd of wild European bisons while riding your bike. Just imagine how you feel when you see them standing 100 metres away from you. This is Poland I want to show to you. Explore with me remarkable landscapes in the North-eastern Poland, existence of which are not aware many citizens of Poland. Justyna Piejko (1982) guide I come from the south-east part of Poland, just few steps from wonderful Bieszczady mountain range, part of East Carpathians. Those were the first mountains I met and fell in love with. Next came time for discovering more distant nooks of Poland, Europe and other continents. I managed to visit many of them, but still, there are so many to experience. I graduated from University of Lodz, geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. Now I am about to graduate from postgraduate studies of marketing at Economical Academy in Cracow. Living in Cracow, the cultural capital of Poland, I will be happy to show you all the most attractive tourist highlights of south Poland... and more.

Links www.kultury.org www.informaction.org - Information for Action articles on a wide rangeof environmental issues, a lobbying facility, a searchable database of leaders, and environmental groups, an environmental quiz with cartoons and animations, free music videos and MP3s, a database of chemicals and their effects. Volunteers always needed. www.ethicalconsumer.org - the UK's only alternative consumer organisation looking at the social and environmental records of the companies behind the brand names www.ethiscore.org is a project of ECRA (the Ethical Consumer Research Association/ECRA Publishing Ltd). ECRA was founded in 1988 as a not-for-profit workers co-operative to provide information on the companies behind the brand names and to promote the ethical use of consumer power. www.ibike.org/ibike - Fascinating, small group bicycle tours to Africa, Asia and the Americas, for ordinary active people. Enrich yourself with the complexity of the history, culture and environment and enjoying beautiful cycling. http://resurgence.org - Resurgence magazine brings together leading writers and environmentalists to present topics of vital importance to our world, including ecology, climate change, sustainable development, organic living, human-scale education and conflict resolution. Resurgence offers unique insights and presents a holistic philosophy infused with spirituality and creativity. In print and on-line. www.eko-cel.pl/eng/ - The ECOCENTRE ICPPC is a member of an international network "ECOSITE."It is the only place in Poland where one can see how various ecological technologies work in practice. All the devices here work, producing electricity, heating water and buildings, or treating sewage. www.icppc.pl/eng/ - The protection of the Polish countryside is not only a vital issue for Poland but for individuals and organizations in other countries as well. In order to help realize the goal of protecting our countryside, we created the International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC). www.naturelodging.org - Naturelodging is a French non-profit and non-governmental organisation. Its objective is to promote sustainable nature tourism and ecotourism worldwide. www.worldsurface.com - Responsible adventures and sustainable travel for everyone. Search hundreds of overland trips and volunteer programs from operators around the world. Follow our members' experiences live from around the globe. Join today--it's free! Add your own travel blog, stories and photos and win a trip! www.sustainabletravelinternational.org - Sustainable Travel International is a membership-based, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable development and eco-friendly travel by providing programs that help travelers and travel-related companies protect the places they visit, and the planet at large. www.worldcarfree.net - Worldcarfree.net is a clearinghouse of information from around the world on how to revitalise our towns and cities and create a sustainable future. In addition to serving the carfree movement, Worldcarfree.net offers resources for architects, planners, teachers/professors, students, decision-makers and engaged citizens. The Civil Affairs Institute is a member organisation of World Carfree Network. www.greentravelmarket.info - The Green Travel Market is a business to business service deisgned to help tour operators and other tourism suppliers become more aware of sustainable products, integrate them into their packages and services they offer, and reach relevant markets. http://lemko.org - Lemkos - website dealing with the pastoral farmers who until 1947 inhabited the Lower Beskid range of the Carpathian Mountains. www.alertonline.org/press - Croatian Environmental Press Centre (CEPC) is non-governmental organisation of environmental journalists with mission to improve reporting on environment and understanding of environmental issues in public and the media and to support journalists through networking, education and promotion of rights to information in Croatia. http://www.ekomrezabih.net/new/index.php?id=56 - EkoMrezaBiH - Environmental NGO's Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina www.dante-tourismus.org - DANTE is a network of 15 initiatives and non-governmental organisations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, specialised in tourism, environment and development. One of its members is: FernWeh - Tourism Review - committed to raising awareness and disseminating information on political issues in global tourism. Keeping in view the relations between North and South, we are concerned with the increasing social disparities and contradictions resulting from current tourism development, especially in Third World destinations. Polen - Welcome in Poland - The source of information about Poland, with the emphasis on tourism, including weather, zloty, culture, cities and regions World Travel Link Directory - Useful links to travel related sites around the world. http://www.groenoog.nl/ The Globetrotters Club, the ultimate travel club. - The Globetrotters Club is a international network for independent travellers around the world. If you'd like to join us, receive our bimonthly newsletter and membership listing offering hospitality, info and advice. www.lhump.nl - Dutch student network for sustainable development. Hotels in Lodz - Instant Reservation Service, on-line discounts available, tours, local support Sopatowiec - charming and inspiring place for those who want to get away from it all www.guidemegreen.com www.kulturanova.org.yu - AAC kulturanova ("Association for Alternative Creation") is a non-government, non-profit organisation founded for popularisation and affirmation of art and cultural spirit. Organization' focus is on development of urban youth culture and raising awareness on relevant social issues, with the vision of building creative platforms for youth in Novi Sad and in region. www.emagazine.com - "E -- The Environmental Magazine", the Nation's only non-profit, independent consumer publication on the environment, is a clearinghouse of information, news & commentary on today's environmental issues. It's our intent to inform and inspire individuals who have concerns about the environment and want to know what they can do to help bring about improvements. www.hospitalityclub.org - The aim of Hospitality Club is to bring people together - hosts and guests, travelers and locals. Thousands of Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling - be it with a roof for the night or a guided tour through town. Joining is free, takes just a minute and everyone is welcome. This project is non-commercial and led by volunteers. www.bergwaldprojekt.de - The Bergwaldprojekt's aim is to help forests. It wants to draw attention to their problems and go to their assistance in a targeted, hands-on way. That is why are offering people from various walks of life and organisations the chance to work with us as volunteers during organised project weeks. The goal of the project weeks is to improve the situation of the forest at different project sites. In that way, project week workers become enthusiastic about Nature and we can foster understanding for the forest as an ecosystem. www.travelhive.org - Travelhive.org is the new and free website directory including contents of tourism, travel and recreation. It is very rewarding source of information for active people, who love travelling and adventure. www.optik-pro.de - Ferngläser & Spektive bei Optik-Pro.de - große Auswahl an optischen Geräten zur Naturbeobachtung www.asia-tourist.com - Tours in Vietnam, Vietnam Leading tour Operator offers high quality tours in Vietnam www.4ecotips.com - Environment Education News - 4ecotips provides Global Warming News and Tips, Environment issues news articles, global warming information and eco travel with eco friendly tips, Environmental and Economics history from UK, Europe. Krakow Poland - A comprehensive guide to Krakow with essential travelers information. Krakow Life - Krakow travel guide which includes city overview, nightlife, hotels, culture, maps, major attractions and practical information for Krakow, Poland. A Peruvian Travel Agency focused on development of sustainable tourism, environmental and culture protection. We promote cultural and eco-tourism. We offer adventure trips to show our clients a variety of alternative destinations that allow them to know Peru in its broader context. In Peru, we are located in the city of Cusco.

ORGANISER THE CIVIL AFFAIRS INSTITUTE (ISO) The Civil Affairs Institute is an independent non-governmental organisation not connected to any political party or government. The Institute is a think tank; we are a non-profit organisation. Our aim is to provide information enabling Polish citizens to address issues with an impact on the general quality of life. We aim to promote civil society, independent media and sustainable development. The Institute was established in connection with the "Nationwide campaign for the promotion of sustainable transport", which was conducted in 1996-2003 with financial support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and substantial content-related support from New York's Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. In our nine years of conducting campaigns, we brought together a team of people with tremendous experience, knowledge and qualifications - social activists, scientists, local authorities, lawyers, journalists, former and present parliamentarians, economists, sociologists. These people are now the Institute's main strengths and guarantee our effective and thorough work in the name of the public good. The Institute actively accomplishes its goals by offering workshops, consultancy activities, publications, and working to influence public authorities. Our target groups are local communities, non-governmental organisations, universities, mass media, public administration, local government, and business. Of special importance are independence and the high quality of the tasks performed. Our campaigns are conducted on both the local and national level. We focus not only on education, but primarily strive for protection of nature. Many of our projects and campaigns significantly contribute to raising awareness about the environment. Natural Heritage Campaign and Eco-tourism are one of the projects carried out by the Institute of Civil Affairs A crucial element of our work is concern about nature and environment, as we believe that these have an intrinsic value. The state of the environment is an integral part of the quality of life, especially when seen in the broader context. One goal of the Institute's work is to preserve Poland's natural heritage by protecting naturally valuable places. Our website: www.iso.edu.pl CONTACT If you have questions, doubts or want to find our more about our trips, please contact our office in Poland. Office Director and Project Co-ordinator Agnieszka Górczyńska The Civil Affairs Institute (Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich) ul.Więckowskiego 33/127 90-734 ŁódĄ Poland tel/ fax: +48 42 630 17 49 mobile: +48 512 377 856 ecotourism@iso.edu.pl http://www.ecotourism.org.pl Please contact us between 10.00 - 17.00 at the office phone number.

OUR STAFF Agnieszka Górczyńska (1981) project manager My adventure began a couple of years ago, as I think that life is a mysterious and exciting adventure. Since then I have done many different things. I am a ceaseless traveller, although home is of great value to me. I have participated in many bike-trips, organised in Poland and Europe. I have co-organised east route of Bike+10 bike-ride towards the World Summit in Johannesburg. I took part in international workshops and trainings regarding youth work and self-development. I co-operate with a magazine "Obywatel" ("Citizen") and work for a non-governmental organisation The Civil Affairs Institute. I really enjoy my work, since I can join my passion for nature and its protection with a natural drive to increase my linguistic competence. My job involves international liaison between NGO's. I am a representative of The Civil Affairs Institute on international conferences and trainings. I conduct workshops and film viewings on sustainable transport policy. I gained experience working for an international non-governmental organisation called A SEED Europe based in The Netherlands. I have graduated from The University of ŁódĄ with a Bachelor degree in German. Now I study German translations at the Department of Languages for Special Purposes at the Faculty of Applied Linguistics and East-Slavonic Languages in Warsaw. I have a very good command of English and German. Driven by a dream about travelling to Peru, I started learning Spanish. Someday my dream will fulfil. Not being afraid of challenges I set myself goals to achieve, one of them is to successfully co-ordinate the office of Eco-tourism project. Bartosz Malinowski (1980) logistics I have graduated from a tourist service technical school. My passion is photography. I am an independent reporter, I work for the Civil Affairs Institute. I love to travel, I have organised trips to Siberia, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and to Caucasus. Not only do prefer walking to driving, but I also passionately ride my bike. I have participated in many bike trips, I have biked over 50 thousand kilometres during the past 10 years and co-organised bike rides in Poland and abroad. I am a person responsible for logistics of the Eco-tourism project, and in charge of managing the trips. I have tremendous experience in field of conducting ecological campaigns and projects. During the past several years I have worked for travel agencies. Guiding and managing trips is familiar to me. Mountains is the place where I feel best. I am an active member of Polish Tourist Country-Lovers' Society. Silence, calmness, wild nature and adrenaline connected with adventurous events are really important to me. My dream is to buy someday a house in the mountains. Maciej Kronenberg guide I was born in 1981, a few days before an introduction of martial law in Poland. I live in ŁódĄ and I could not imagine to live somewhere else. I have graduated from geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. At present I work at the University and write a PhD thesis on tourism in ŁódĄ. I have been travelling since a long time, I mainly travel around Poland, but not only. I have visited the majority of European countries, as well as for instance: Turkey, Jordan, Northern Cyprus, and Libya. I am discovering Polish areas mostly on my bicycle. I must admit, up to now I have wandered quite a lot of them. Since 2003 I work as a guide in ŁódĄ. Revealing the treasures of my city to abroad tourists gives me pleasure and I really enjoy it. I also work as a guide nationwide. I often engage myself in ecological initiatives regarding sustainable transport solutions. I am a co-author of a book entitled "500 riddles about ŁódĄ and its region". Witek Kopeć (1978) guide I began to get around Poland by foot or by bike when I was 12 years old. Not only do go to places popular among tourists, but also to remote and unspotted ones. I like to reveal unknown regions, which are not familiar for tourists, for example those in the vicinity of my home city, situated in the lowland areas of ŁódĄ. I sometimes go on longer bike rides, three years ago I travelled with my friend around North Sea. It took us 80 days, we traversed 6000 km. Work at the University of ŁódĄ is my bread and butter. I am doing a PhD in leisure and tourism studies. Apart form exploring hidden and secluded places, I really like to celebrate special, unplanned situations. One of such astonishing moments is when you encounter somewhere in the North-eastern Poland a herd of wild European bisons while riding your bike. Just imagine how you feel when you see them standing 100 metres away from you. This is Poland I want to show to you. Explore with me remarkable landscapes in the North-eastern Poland, existence of which are not aware many citizens of Poland. Justyna Piejko (1982) guide I come from the south-east part of Poland, just few steps from wonderful Bieszczady mountain range, part of East Carpathians. Those were the first mountains I met and fell in love with. Next came time for discovering more distant nooks of Poland, Europe and other continents. I managed to visit many of them, but still, there are so many to experience. I graduated from University of Lodz, geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. Now I am about to graduate from postgraduate studies of marketing at Economical Academy in Cracow. Living in Cracow, the cultural capital of Poland, I will be happy to show you all the most attractive tourist highlights of south Poland... and more.

Links www.kultury.org www.informaction.org - Information for Action articles on a wide rangeof environmental issues, a lobbying facility, a searchable database of leaders, and environmental groups, an environmental quiz with cartoons and animations, free music videos and MP3s, a database of chemicals and their effects. Volunteers always needed. www.ethicalconsumer.org - the UK's only alternative consumer organisation looking at the social and environmental records of the companies behind the brand names www.ethiscore.org is a project of ECRA (the Ethical Consumer Research Association/ECRA Publishing Ltd). ECRA was founded in 1988 as a not-for-profit workers co-operative to provide information on the companies behind the brand names and to promote the ethical use of consumer power. www.ibike.org/ibike - Fascinating, small group bicycle tours to Africa, Asia and the Americas, for ordinary active people. Enrich yourself with the complexity of the history, culture and environment and enjoying beautiful cycling. http://resurgence.org - Resurgence magazine brings together leading writers and environmentalists to present topics of vital importance to our world, including ecology, climate change, sustainable development, organic living, human-scale education and conflict resolution. Resurgence offers unique insights and presents a holistic philosophy infused with spirituality and creativity. In print and on-line. www.eko-cel.pl/eng/ - The ECOCENTRE ICPPC is a member of an international network "ECOSITE."It is the only place in Poland where one can see how various ecological technologies work in practice. All the devices here work, producing electricity, heating water and buildings, or treating sewage. www.icppc.pl/eng/ - The protection of the Polish countryside is not only a vital issue for Poland but for individuals and organizations in other countries as well. In order to help realize the goal of protecting our countryside, we created the International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC). www.naturelodging.org - Naturelodging is a French non-profit and non-governmental organisation. Its objective is to promote sustainable nature tourism and ecotourism worldwide. www.worldsurface.com - Responsible adventures and sustainable travel for everyone. Search hundreds of overland trips and volunteer programs from operators around the world. Follow our members' experiences live from around the globe. Join today--it's free! Add your own travel blog, stories and photos and win a trip! www.sustainabletravelinternational.org - Sustainable Travel International is a membership-based, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable development and eco-friendly travel by providing programs that help travelers and travel-related companies protect the places they visit, and the planet at large. www.worldcarfree.net - Worldcarfree.net is a clearinghouse of information from around the world on how to revitalise our towns and cities and create a sustainable future. In addition to serving the carfree movement, Worldcarfree.net offers resources for architects, planners, teachers/professors, students, decision-makers and engaged citizens. The Civil Affairs Institute is a member organisation of World Carfree Network. www.greentravelmarket.info - The Green Travel Market is a business to business service deisgned to help tour operators and other tourism suppliers become more aware of sustainable products, integrate them into their packages and services they offer, and reach relevant markets. http://lemko.org - Lemkos - website dealing with the pastoral farmers who until 1947 inhabited the Lower Beskid range of the Carpathian Mountains. www.alertonline.org/press - Croatian Environmental Press Centre (CEPC) is non-governmental organisation of environmental journalists with mission to improve reporting on environment and understanding of environmental issues in public and the media and to support journalists through networking, education and promotion of rights to information in Croatia. http://www.ekomrezabih.net/new/index.php?id=56 - EkoMrezaBiH - Environmental NGO's Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina www.dante-tourismus.org - DANTE is a network of 15 initiatives and non-governmental organisations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, specialised in tourism, environment and development. One of its members is: FernWeh - Tourism Review - committed to raising awareness and disseminating information on political issues in global tourism. Keeping in view the relations between North and South, we are concerned with the increasing social disparities and contradictions resulting from current tourism development, especially in Third World destinations. Polen - Welcome in Poland - The source of information about Poland, with the emphasis on tourism, including weather, zloty, culture, cities and regions World Travel Link Directory - Useful links to travel related sites around the world. http://www.groenoog.nl/ The Globetrotters Club, the ultimate travel club. - The Globetrotters Club is a international network for independent travellers around the world. If you'd like to join us, receive our bimonthly newsletter and membership listing offering hospitality, info and advice. www.lhump.nl - Dutch student network for sustainable development. Hotels in Lodz - Instant Reservation Service, on-line discounts available, tours, local support Sopatowiec - charming and inspiring place for those who want to get away from it all www.guidemegreen.com www.kulturanova.org.yu - AAC kulturanova ("Association for Alternative Creation") is a non-government, non-profit organisation founded for popularisation and affirmation of art and cultural spirit. Organization' focus is on development of urban youth culture and raising awareness on relevant social issues, with the vision of building creative platforms for youth in Novi Sad and in region. www.emagazine.com - "E -- The Environmental Magazine", the Nation's only non-profit, independent consumer publication on the environment, is a clearinghouse of information, news & commentary on today's environmental issues. It's our intent to inform and inspire individuals who have concerns about the environment and want to know what they can do to help bring about improvements. www.hospitalityclub.org - The aim of Hospitality Club is to bring people together - hosts and guests, travelers and locals. Thousands of Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling - be it with a roof for the night or a guided tour through town. Joining is free, takes just a minute and everyone is welcome. This project is non-commercial and led by volunteers. www.bergwaldprojekt.de - The Bergwaldprojekt's aim is to help forests. It wants to draw attention to their problems and go to their assistance in a targeted, hands-on way. That is why are offering people from various walks of life and organisations the chance to work with us as volunteers during organised project weeks. The goal of the project weeks is to improve the situation of the forest at different project sites. In that way, project week workers become enthusiastic about Nature and we can foster understanding for the forest as an ecosystem. www.travelhive.org - Travelhive.org is the new and free website directory including contents of tourism, travel and recreation. It is very rewarding source of information for active people, who love travelling and adventure. www.optik-pro.de - Ferngläser & Spektive bei Optik-Pro.de - große Auswahl an optischen Geräten zur Naturbeobachtung www.asia-tourist.com - Tours in Vietnam, Vietnam Leading tour Operator offers high quality tours in Vietnam www.4ecotips.com - Environment Education News - 4ecotips provides Global Warming News and Tips, Environment issues news articles, global warming information and eco travel with eco friendly tips, Environmental and Economics history from UK, Europe. Krakow Poland - A comprehensive guide to Krakow with essential travelers information. Krakow Life - Krakow travel guide which includes city overview, nightlife, hotels, culture, maps, major attractions and practical information for Krakow, Poland. A Peruvian Travel Agency focused on development of sustainable tourism, environmental and culture protection. We promote cultural and eco-tourism. We offer adventure trips to show our clients a variety of alternative destinations that allow them to know Peru in its broader context. In Peru, we are located in the city of Cusco.

ORGANISER THE CIVIL AFFAIRS INSTITUTE (ISO) The Civil Affairs Institute is an independent non-governmental organisation not connected to any political party or government. The Institute is a think tank; we are a non-profit organisation. Our aim is to provide information enabling Polish citizens to address issues with an impact on the general quality of life. We aim to promote civil society, independent media and sustainable development. The Institute was established in connection with the "Nationwide campaign for the promotion of sustainable transport", which was conducted in 1996-2003 with financial support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and substantial content-related support from New York's Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. In our nine years of conducting campaigns, we brought together a team of people with tremendous experience, knowledge and qualifications - social activists, scientists, local authorities, lawyers, journalists, former and present parliamentarians, economists, sociologists. These people are now the Institute's main strengths and guarantee our effective and thorough work in the name of the public good. The Institute actively accomplishes its goals by offering workshops, consultancy activities, publications, and working to influence public authorities. Our target groups are local communities, non-governmental organisations, universities, mass media, public administration, local government, and business. Of special importance are independence and the high quality of the tasks performed. Our campaigns are conducted on both the local and national level. We focus not only on education, but primarily strive for protection of nature. Many of our projects and campaigns significantly contribute to raising awareness about the environment. Natural Heritage Campaign and Eco-tourism are one of the projects carried out by the Institute of Civil Affairs A crucial element of our work is concern about nature and environment, as we believe that these have an intrinsic value. The state of the environment is an integral part of the quality of life, especially when seen in the broader context. One goal of the Institute's work is to preserve Poland's natural heritage by protecting naturally valuable places. Our website: www.iso.edu.pl CONTACT If you have questions, doubts or want to find our more about our trips, please contact our office in Poland. Office Director and Project Co-ordinator Agnieszka Górczyńska The Civil Affairs Institute (Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich) ul.Więckowskiego 33/127 90-734 ŁódĄ Poland tel/ fax: +48 42 630 17 49 mobile: +48 512 377 856 ecotourism@iso.edu.pl http://www.ecotourism.org.pl Please contact us between 10.00 - 17.00 at the office phone number.

OUR STAFF Agnieszka Górczyńska (1981) project manager My adventure began a couple of years ago, as I think that life is a mysterious and exciting adventure. Since then I have done many different things. I am a ceaseless traveller, although home is of great value to me. I have participated in many bike-trips, organised in Poland and Europe. I have co-organised east route of Bike+10 bike-ride towards the World Summit in Johannesburg. I took part in international workshops and trainings regarding youth work and self-development. I co-operate with a magazine "Obywatel" ("Citizen") and work for a non-governmental organisation The Civil Affairs Institute. I really enjoy my work, since I can join my passion for nature and its protection with a natural drive to increase my linguistic competence. My job involves international liaison between NGO's. I am a representative of The Civil Affairs Institute on international conferences and trainings. I conduct workshops and film viewings on sustainable transport policy. I gained experience working for an international non-governmental organisation called A SEED Europe based in The Netherlands. I have graduated from The University of ŁódĄ with a Bachelor degree in German. Now I study German translations at the Department of Languages for Special Purposes at the Faculty of Applied Linguistics and East-Slavonic Languages in Warsaw. I have a very good command of English and German. Driven by a dream about travelling to Peru, I started learning Spanish. Someday my dream will fulfil. Not being afraid of challenges I set myself goals to achieve, one of them is to successfully co-ordinate the office of Eco-tourism project. Bartosz Malinowski (1980) logistics I have graduated from a tourist service technical school. My passion is photography. I am an independent reporter, I work for the Civil Affairs Institute. I love to travel, I have organised trips to Siberia, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and to Caucasus. Not only do prefer walking to driving, but I also passionately ride my bike. I have participated in many bike trips, I have biked over 50 thousand kilometres during the past 10 years and co-organised bike rides in Poland and abroad. I am a person responsible for logistics of the Eco-tourism project, and in charge of managing the trips. I have tremendous experience in field of conducting ecological campaigns and projects. During the past several years I have worked for travel agencies. Guiding and managing trips is familiar to me. Mountains is the place where I feel best. I am an active member of Polish Tourist Country-Lovers' Society. Silence, calmness, wild nature and adrenaline connected with adventurous events are really important to me. My dream is to buy someday a house in the mountains. Maciej Kronenberg guide I was born in 1981, a few days before an introduction of martial law in Poland. I live in ŁódĄ and I could not imagine to live somewhere else. I have graduated from geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. At present I work at the University and write a PhD thesis on tourism in ŁódĄ. I have been travelling since a long time, I mainly travel around Poland, but not only. I have visited the majority of European countries, as well as for instance: Turkey, Jordan, Northern Cyprus, and Libya. I am discovering Polish areas mostly on my bicycle. I must admit, up to now I have wandered quite a lot of them. Since 2003 I work as a guide in ŁódĄ. Revealing the treasures of my city to abroad tourists gives me pleasure and I really enjoy it. I also work as a guide nationwide. I often engage myself in ecological initiatives regarding sustainable transport solutions. I am a co-author of a book entitled "500 riddles about ŁódĄ and its region". Witek Kopeć (1978) guide I began to get around Poland by foot or by bike when I was 12 years old. Not only do go to places popular among tourists, but also to remote and unspotted ones. I like to reveal unknown regions, which are not familiar for tourists, for example those in the vicinity of my home city, situated in the lowland areas of ŁódĄ. I sometimes go on longer bike rides, three years ago I travelled with my friend around North Sea. It took us 80 days, we traversed 6000 km. Work at the University of ŁódĄ is my bread and butter. I am doing a PhD in leisure and tourism studies. Apart form exploring hidden and secluded places, I really like to celebrate special, unplanned situations. One of such astonishing moments is when you encounter somewhere in the North-eastern Poland a herd of wild European bisons while riding your bike. Just imagine how you feel when you see them standing 100 metres away from you. This is Poland I want to show to you. Explore with me remarkable landscapes in the North-eastern Poland, existence of which are not aware many citizens of Poland. Justyna Piejko (1982) guide I come from the south-east part of Poland, just few steps from wonderful Bieszczady mountain range, part of East Carpathians. Those were the first mountains I met and fell in love with. Next came time for discovering more distant nooks of Poland, Europe and other continents. I managed to visit many of them, but still, there are so many to experience. I graduated from University of Lodz, geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. Now I am about to graduate from postgraduate studies of marketing at Economical Academy in Cracow. Living in Cracow, the cultural capital of Poland, I will be happy to show you all the most attractive tourist highlights of south Poland... and more.

Links www.kultury.org www.informaction.org - Information for Action articles on a wide rangeof environmental issues, a lobbying facility, a searchable database of leaders, and environmental groups, an environmental quiz with cartoons and animations, free music videos and MP3s, a database of chemicals and their effects. Volunteers always needed. www.ethicalconsumer.org - the UK's only alternative consumer organisation looking at the social and environmental records of the companies behind the brand names www.ethiscore.org is a project of ECRA (the Ethical Consumer Research Association/ECRA Publishing Ltd). ECRA was founded in 1988 as a not-for-profit workers co-operative to provide information on the companies behind the brand names and to promote the ethical use of consumer power. www.ibike.org/ibike - Fascinating, small group bicycle tours to Africa, Asia and the Americas, for ordinary active people. Enrich yourself with the complexity of the history, culture and environment and enjoying beautiful cycling. http://resurgence.org - Resurgence magazine brings together leading writers and environmentalists to present topics of vital importance to our world, including ecology, climate change, sustainable development, organic living, human-scale education and conflict resolution. Resurgence offers unique insights and presents a holistic philosophy infused with spirituality and creativity. In print and on-line. www.eko-cel.pl/eng/ - The ECOCENTRE ICPPC is a member of an international network "ECOSITE."It is the only place in Poland where one can see how various ecological technologies work in practice. All the devices here work, producing electricity, heating water and buildings, or treating sewage. www.icppc.pl/eng/ - The protection of the Polish countryside is not only a vital issue for Poland but for individuals and organizations in other countries as well. In order to help realize the goal of protecting our countryside, we created the International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC). www.naturelodging.org - Naturelodging is a French non-profit and non-governmental organisation. Its objective is to promote sustainable nature tourism and ecotourism worldwide. www.worldsurface.com - Responsible adventures and sustainable travel for everyone. Search hundreds of overland trips and volunteer programs from operators around the world. Follow our members' experiences live from around the globe. Join today--it's free! Add your own travel blog, stories and photos and win a trip! www.sustainabletravelinternational.org - Sustainable Travel International is a membership-based, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable development and eco-friendly travel by providing programs that help travelers and travel-related companies protect the places they visit, and the planet at large. www.worldcarfree.net - Worldcarfree.net is a clearinghouse of information from around the world on how to revitalise our towns and cities and create a sustainable future. In addition to serving the carfree movement, Worldcarfree.net offers resources for architects, planners, teachers/professors, students, decision-makers and engaged citizens. The Civil Affairs Institute is a member organisation of World Carfree Network. www.greentravelmarket.info - The Green Travel Market is a business to business service deisgned to help tour operators and other tourism suppliers become more aware of sustainable products, integrate them into their packages and services they offer, and reach relevant markets. http://lemko.org - Lemkos - website dealing with the pastoral farmers who until 1947 inhabited the Lower Beskid range of the Carpathian Mountains. www.alertonline.org/press - Croatian Environmental Press Centre (CEPC) is non-governmental organisation of environmental journalists with mission to improve reporting on environment and understanding of environmental issues in public and the media and to support journalists through networking, education and promotion of rights to information in Croatia. http://www.ekomrezabih.net/new/index.php?id=56 - EkoMrezaBiH - Environmental NGO's Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina www.dante-tourismus.org - DANTE is a network of 15 initiatives and non-governmental organisations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, specialised in tourism, environment and development. One of its members is: FernWeh - Tourism Review - committed to raising awareness and disseminating information on political issues in global tourism. Keeping in view the relations between North and South, we are concerned with the increasing social disparities and contradictions resulting from current tourism development, especially in Third World destinations. Polen - Welcome in Poland - The source of information about Poland, with the emphasis on tourism, including weather, zloty, culture, cities and regions World Travel Link Directory - Useful links to travel related sites around the world. http://www.groenoog.nl/ The Globetrotters Club, the ultimate travel club. - The Globetrotters Club is a international network for independent travellers around the world. If you'd like to join us, receive our bimonthly newsletter and membership listing offering hospitality, info and advice. www.lhump.nl - Dutch student network for sustainable development. Hotels in Lodz - Instant Reservation Service, on-line discounts available, tours, local support Sopatowiec - charming and inspiring place for those who want to get away from it all www.guidemegreen.com www.kulturanova.org.yu - AAC kulturanova ("Association for Alternative Creation") is a non-government, non-profit organisation founded for popularisation and affirmation of art and cultural spirit. Organization' focus is on development of urban youth culture and raising awareness on relevant social issues, with the vision of building creative platforms for youth in Novi Sad and in region. www.emagazine.com - "E -- The Environmental Magazine", the Nation's only non-profit, independent consumer publication on the environment, is a clearinghouse of information, news & commentary on today's environmental issues. It's our intent to inform and inspire individuals who have concerns about the environment and want to know what they can do to help bring about improvements. www.hospitalityclub.org - The aim of Hospitality Club is to bring people together - hosts and guests, travelers and locals. Thousands of Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling - be it with a roof for the night or a guided tour through town. Joining is free, takes just a minute and everyone is welcome. This project is non-commercial and led by volunteers. www.bergwaldprojekt.de - The Bergwaldprojekt's aim is to help forests. It wants to draw attention to their problems and go to their assistance in a targeted, hands-on way. That is why are offering people from various walks of life and organisations the chance to work with us as volunteers during organised project weeks. The goal of the project weeks is to improve the situation of the forest at different project sites. In that way, project week workers become enthusiastic about Nature and we can foster understanding for the forest as an ecosystem. www.travelhive.org - Travelhive.org is the new and free website directory including contents of tourism, travel and recreation. It is very rewarding source of information for active people, who love travelling and adventure. www.optik-pro.de - Ferngläser & Spektive bei Optik-Pro.de - große Auswahl an optischen Geräten zur Naturbeobachtung www.asia-tourist.com - Tours in Vietnam, Vietnam Leading tour Operator offers high quality tours in Vietnam www.4ecotips.com - Environment Education News - 4ecotips provides Global Warming News and Tips, Environment issues news articles, global warming information and eco travel with eco friendly tips, Environmental and Economics history from UK, Europe. Krakow Poland - A comprehensive guide to Krakow with essential travelers information. Krakow Life - Krakow travel guide which includes city overview, nightlife, hotels, culture, maps, major attractions and practical information for Krakow, Poland. A Peruvian Travel Agency focused on development of sustainable tourism, environmental and culture protection. We promote cultural and eco-tourism. We offer adventure trips to show our clients a variety of alternative destinations that allow them to know Peru in its broader context. In Peru, we are located in the city of Cusco.

ORGANISER THE CIVIL AFFAIRS INSTITUTE (ISO) The Civil Affairs Institute is an independent non-governmental organisation not connected to any political party or government. The Institute is a think tank; we are a non-profit organisation. Our aim is to provide information enabling Polish citizens to address issues with an impact on the general quality of life. We aim to promote civil society, independent media and sustainable development. The Institute was established in connection with the "Nationwide campaign for the promotion of sustainable transport", which was conducted in 1996-2003 with financial support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and substantial content-related support from New York's Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. In our nine years of conducting campaigns, we brought together a team of people with tremendous experience, knowledge and qualifications - social activists, scientists, local authorities, lawyers, journalists, former and present parliamentarians, economists, sociologists. These people are now the Institute's main strengths and guarantee our effective and thorough work in the name of the public good. The Institute actively accomplishes its goals by offering workshops, consultancy activities, publications, and working to influence public authorities. Our target groups are local communities, non-governmental organisations, universities, mass media, public administration, local government, and business. Of special importance are independence and the high quality of the tasks performed. Our campaigns are conducted on both the local and national level. We focus not only on education, but primarily strive for protection of nature. Many of our projects and campaigns significantly contribute to raising awareness about the environment. Natural Heritage Campaign and Eco-tourism are one of the projects carried out by the Institute of Civil Affairs A crucial element of our work is concern about nature and environment, as we believe that these have an intrinsic value. The state of the environment is an integral part of the quality of life, especially when seen in the broader context. One goal of the Institute's work is to preserve Poland's natural heritage by protecting naturally valuable places. Our website: www.iso.edu.pl CONTACT If you have questions, doubts or want to find our more about our trips, please contact our office in Poland. Office Director and Project Co-ordinator Agnieszka Górczyńska The Civil Affairs Institute (Instytut Spraw Obywatelskich) ul.Więckowskiego 33/127 90-734 ŁódĄ Poland tel/ fax: +48 42 630 17 49 mobile: +48 512 377 856 ecotourism@iso.edu.pl http://www.ecotourism.org.pl Please contact us between 10.00 - 17.00 at the office phone number.

OUR STAFF Agnieszka Górczyńska (1981) project manager My adventure began a couple of years ago, as I think that life is a mysterious and exciting adventure. Since then I have done many different things. I am a ceaseless traveller, although home is of great value to me. I have participated in many bike-trips, organised in Poland and Europe. I have co-organised east route of Bike+10 bike-ride towards the World Summit in Johannesburg. I took part in international workshops and trainings regarding youth work and self-development. I co-operate with a magazine "Obywatel" ("Citizen") and work for a non-governmental organisation The Civil Affairs Institute. I really enjoy my work, since I can join my passion for nature and its protection with a natural drive to increase my linguistic competence. My job involves international liaison between NGO's. I am a representative of The Civil Affairs Institute on international conferences and trainings. I conduct workshops and film viewings on sustainable transport policy. I gained experience working for an international non-governmental organisation called A SEED Europe based in The Netherlands. I have graduated from The University of ŁódĄ with a Bachelor degree in German. Now I study German translations at the Department of Languages for Special Purposes at the Faculty of Applied Linguistics and East-Slavonic Languages in Warsaw. I have a very good command of English and German. Driven by a dream about travelling to Peru, I started learning Spanish. Someday my dream will fulfil. Not being afraid of challenges I set myself goals to achieve, one of them is to successfully co-ordinate the office of Eco-tourism project. Bartosz Malinowski (1980) logistics I have graduated from a tourist service technical school. My passion is photography. I am an independent reporter, I work for the Civil Affairs Institute. I love to travel, I have organised trips to Siberia, Mongolia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and to Caucasus. Not only do prefer walking to driving, but I also passionately ride my bike. I have participated in many bike trips, I have biked over 50 thousand kilometres during the past 10 years and co-organised bike rides in Poland and abroad. I am a person responsible for logistics of the Eco-tourism project, and in charge of managing the trips. I have tremendous experience in field of conducting ecological campaigns and projects. During the past several years I have worked for travel agencies. Guiding and managing trips is familiar to me. Mountains is the place where I feel best. I am an active member of Polish Tourist Country-Lovers' Society. Silence, calmness, wild nature and adrenaline connected with adventurous events are really important to me. My dream is to buy someday a house in the mountains. Maciej Kronenberg guide I was born in 1981, a few days before an introduction of martial law in Poland. I live in ŁódĄ and I could not imagine to live somewhere else. I have graduated from geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. At present I work at the University and write a PhD thesis on tourism in ŁódĄ. I have been travelling since a long time, I mainly travel around Poland, but not only. I have visited the majority of European countries, as well as for instance: Turkey, Jordan, Northern Cyprus, and Libya. I am discovering Polish areas mostly on my bicycle. I must admit, up to now I have wandered quite a lot of them. Since 2003 I work as a guide in ŁódĄ. Revealing the treasures of my city to abroad tourists gives me pleasure and I really enjoy it. I also work as a guide nationwide. I often engage myself in ecological initiatives regarding sustainable transport solutions. I am a co-author of a book entitled "500 riddles about ŁódĄ and its region". Witek Kopeć (1978) guide I began to get around Poland by foot or by bike when I was 12 years old. Not only do go to places popular among tourists, but also to remote and unspotted ones. I like to reveal unknown regions, which are not familiar for tourists, for example those in the vicinity of my home city, situated in the lowland areas of ŁódĄ. I sometimes go on longer bike rides, three years ago I travelled with my friend around North Sea. It took us 80 days, we traversed 6000 km. Work at the University of ŁódĄ is my bread and butter. I am doing a PhD in leisure and tourism studies. Apart form exploring hidden and secluded places, I really like to celebrate special, unplanned situations. One of such astonishing moments is when you encounter somewhere in the North-eastern Poland a herd of wild European bisons while riding your bike. Just imagine how you feel when you see them standing 100 metres away from you. This is Poland I want to show to you. Explore with me remarkable landscapes in the North-eastern Poland, existence of which are not aware many citizens of Poland. Justyna Piejko (1982) guide I come from the south-east part of Poland, just few steps from wonderful Bieszczady mountain range, part of East Carpathians. Those were the first mountains I met and fell in love with. Next came time for discovering more distant nooks of Poland, Europe and other continents. I managed to visit many of them, but still, there are so many to experience. I graduated from University of Lodz, geography of tourism and hotel management with a master's degree. Now I am about to graduate from postgraduate studies of marketing at Economical Academy in Cracow. Living in Cracow, the cultural capital of Poland, I will be happy to show you all the most attractive tourist highlights of south Poland... and more.

Links www.kultury.org www.informaction.org - Information for Action articles on a wide rangeof environmental issues, a lobbying facility, a searchable database of leaders, and environmental groups, an environmental quiz with cartoons and animations, free music videos and MP3s, a database of chemicals and their effects. Volunteers always needed. www.ethicalconsumer.org - the UK's only alternative consumer organisation looking at the social and environmental records of the companies behind the brand names www.ethiscore.org is a project of ECRA (the Ethical Consumer Research Association/ECRA Publishing Ltd). ECRA was founded in 1988 as a not-for-profit workers co-operative to provide information on the companies behind the brand names and to promote the ethical use of consumer power. www.ibike.org/ibike - Fascinating, small group bicycle tours to Africa, Asia and the Americas, for ordinary active people. Enrich yourself with the complexity of the history, culture and environment and enjoying beautiful cycling. http://resurgence.org - Resurgence magazine brings together leading writers and environmentalists to present topics of vital importance to our world, including ecology, climate change, sustainable development, organic living, human-scale education and conflict resolution. Resurgence offers unique insights and presents a holistic philosophy infused with spirituality and creativity. In print and on-line. www.eko-cel.pl/eng/ - The ECOCENTRE ICPPC is a member of an international network "ECOSITE."It is the only place in Poland where one can see how various ecological technologies work in practice. All the devices here work, producing electricity, heating water and buildings, or treating sewage. www.icppc.pl/eng/ - The protection of the Polish countryside is not only a vital issue for Poland but for individuals and organizations in other countries as well. In order to help realize the goal of protecting our countryside, we created the International Coalition to Protect the Polish Countryside (ICPPC). www.naturelodging.org - Naturelodging is a French non-profit and non-governmental organisation. Its objective is to promote sustainable nature tourism and ecotourism worldwide. www.worldsurface.com - Responsible adventures and sustainable travel for everyone. Search hundreds of overland trips and volunteer programs from operators around the world. Follow our members' experiences live from around the globe. Join today--it's free! Add your own travel blog, stories and photos and win a trip! www.sustainabletravelinternational.org - Sustainable Travel International is a membership-based, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable development and eco-friendly travel by providing programs that help travelers and travel-related companies protect the places they visit, and the planet at large. www.worldcarfree.net - Worldcarfree.net is a clearinghouse of information from around the world on how to revitalise our towns and cities and create a sustainable future. In addition to serving the carfree movement, Worldcarfree.net offers resources for architects, planners, teachers/professors, students, decision-makers and engaged citizens. The Civil Affairs Institute is a member organisation of World Carfree Network. www.greentravelmarket.info - The Green Travel Market is a business to business service deisgned to help tour operators and other tourism suppliers become more aware of sustainable products, integrate them into their packages and services they offer, and reach relevant markets. http://lemko.org - Lemkos - website dealing with the pastoral farmers who until 1947 inhabited the Lower Beskid range of the Carpathian Mountains. www.alertonline.org/press - Croatian Environmental Press Centre (CEPC) is non-governmental organisation of environmental journalists with mission to improve reporting on environment and understanding of environmental issues in public and the media and to support journalists through networking, education and promotion of rights to information in Croatia. http://www.ekomrezabih.net/new/index.php?id=56 - EkoMrezaBiH - Environmental NGO's Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina www.dante-tourismus.org - DANTE is a network of 15 initiatives and non-governmental organisations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, specialised in tourism, environment and development. One of its members is: FernWeh - Tourism Review - committed to raising awareness and disseminating information on political issues in global tourism. Keeping in view the relations between North and South, we are concerned with the increasing social disparities and contradictions resulting from current tourism development, especially in Third World destinations. Polen - Welcome in Poland - The source of information about Poland, with the emphasis on tourism, including weather, zloty, culture, cities and regions World Travel Link Directory - Useful links to travel related sites around the world. http://www.groenoog.nl/ The Globetrotters Club, the ultimate travel club. - The Globetrotters Club is a international network for independent travellers around the world. If you'd like to join us, receive our bimonthly newsletter and membership listing offering hospitality, info and advice. www.lhump.nl - Dutch student network for sustainable development. Hotels in Lodz - Instant Reservation Service, on-line discounts available, tours, local support Sopatowiec - charming and inspiring place for those who want to get away from it all www.guidemegreen.com www.kulturanova.org.yu - AAC kulturanova ("Association for Alternative Creation") is a non-government, non-profit organisation founded for popularisation and affirmation of art and cultural spirit. Organization' focus is on development of urban youth culture and raising awareness on relevant social issues, with the vision of building creative platforms for youth in Novi Sad and in region. www.emagazine.com - "E -- The Environmental Magazine", the Nation's only non-profit, independent consumer publication on the environment, is a clearinghouse of information, news & commentary on today's environmental issues. It's our intent to inform and inspire individuals who have concerns about the environment and want to know what they can do to help bring about improvements. www.hospitalityclub.org - The aim of Hospitality Club is to bring people together - hosts and guests, travelers and locals. Thousands of Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling - be it with a roof for the night or a guided tour through town. Joining is free, takes just a minute and everyone is welcome. This project is non-commercial and led by volunteers. www.bergwaldprojekt.de - The Bergwaldprojekt's aim is to help forests. It wants to draw attention to their problems and go to their assistance in a targeted, hands-on way. That is why are offering people from various walks of life and organisations the chance to work with us as volunteers during organised project weeks. The goal of the project weeks is to improve the situation of the forest at different project sites. In that way, project week workers become enthusiastic about Nature and we can foster understanding for the forest as an ecosystem. www.travelhive.org - Travelhive.org is the new and free website directory including contents of tourism, travel and recreation. It is very rewarding source of information for active people, who love travelling and adventure. www.optik-pro.de - Ferngläser & Spektive bei Optik-Pro.de - große Auswahl an optischen Geräten zur Naturbeobachtung www.asia-tourist.com - Tours in Vietnam, Vietnam Leading tour Operator offers high quality tours in Vietnam www.4ecotips.com - Environment Education News - 4ecotips provides Global Warming News and Tips, Environment issues news articles, global warming information and eco travel with eco friendly tips, Environmental and Economics history from UK, Europe. Krakow Poland - A comprehensive guide to Krakow with essential travelers information. Krakow Life - Krakow travel guide which includes city overview, nightlife, hotels, culture, maps, major attractions and practical information for Krakow, Poland. A Peruvian Travel Agency focused on development of sustainable tourism, environmental and culture protection. We promote cultural and eco-tourism. We offer adventure trips to show our clients a variety of alternative destinations that allow them to know Peru in its broader context. In Peru, we are located in the city of Cusco.