Using the Existing Resources to Increase Biodiversity

Imagine this: a pristine travel destination in the central regions of Slovakia. The accommodation area is surrounded by lawns and a pine forest. It sits next to the Gymes Castle and is near a NATURA 2000 protected area.

In recent years, the lack of water has been very sensitive. It shows itself mainly in the summer when the lawns are dry and the trees lose their needles and leaves. Storms and torrential rains often occur instead of long-lasting gentle rains. The water quickly flows into the river bed and leaves the country.  Another challenge is that the accommodation facility Gymeš tourist s.r.o. has horses and produces manure – waste that needs to be removed because it overloads the soil with nitrates, nitrites and urea. Excessively polluted soil with urea creates an unfavourable environment for the growth of pine trees. 

How to conserve water and become more sustainable? This was the challenge we aimed to solve in a Tandem project of us at Solved and with Gymeš Tourist s.r.o., with the support and partnership of Slovak Business Agency.

We came to the conclusion that by using the available resources wisely and steadily we are able to increase the overall resistance of the soil and thus enlarge the biodiversity that helps the area to mitigate most of the negatives of climate change.  With the found solutions, Gymeš will be able to create a waste-free farm, reduce costs, labour and time and to make the area more resilient to climate change and more attractive for visitors.

To solve the water challenge, Solved in collaboration with water waste expert Ing. Filip Kurek from Bio Septik conducted several advisory and training sessions with Ing. Anežka Križková (the owner of the accommodation facility) and her employees. Retention of rainwater was mentioned as the most important part of the process as in the times of global warming there is trend of negative climate change that results in reduced occurrence of rains – Gymeš were advised on the choice of the right tank in the future and the ecological and practical benefits of such rainwater retention. 

Another proposed solution was to remove the pollutants from collected rainwater by using 100% natural bacterial products that are completely safe for the environment, animals and people and are able to treat the rainwater. To ensure the water treatment, Mr. Kurek explained the need for water aeration that provides oxygen for bacteria and puts water into motion that keeps it fresh and mixed that prevents debris sedimentation in the corners of the tank.

Furthermore, we focused on the removal of unpleasant odours and organic waste from rainwater and soil and the removal of heavy metals and poisons from rainwater and soil by using the right ecological bacterial products.

EU Eco-tandem is a project co-funded by the European Union. This project aims to boost sustainable tourism development through transnational cooperation and knowledge transfer in socioeconomic, cultural and environmental impacts. Ecotandem is based on cooperation between innovative SMEs and hotels as an initiative between Slovakia, Italy, Austria and Germany. Solved with the cooperation of Slovak Business Agency has formed a Tandem partnership with Gymeš Tourist s.r.o. – which is a recreational facility situated in a pine-oak forest near a tourist attraction of the ruins of Gýmeš Castle, near the NATURA 2000 protected area. 

To find the full report and learn more about the proposed solutions please click here.

“This post and report were co-funded by the European Union’s COSME Programme.”