Sebezh Wetland Centre

About

The Sebezhsky National Park is located in the Pskov Region, northwestern Russia, on the border with Belarus and Latvia, and covers 50,021 ha. There are 115 lakes in the area, some of them are largely overgrown with aquatic vegetation.

Funding support: The wetland centre was developed with the financial support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Moscow through the project on Creation of a Wetland Centre at the Sebezhsky National Park as a platform for management and public awareness activities. Future activities of the centre will be supported by the Sebezhsky National Park, visitors and additional grants.

Number of staff: No permanent staff. The Centre is run by the Environmental Education Department of the Sebezhsky National Par

Overall aims of the centre

Management and conservation of wetlands in the Sebezh Lake Country, environmental education, awareness raising.

Description of the centre

The Sebezhsky National Park is located in the Pskov Region, northwestern Russia, on the border with Belarus and Latvia, and covers 50,021 ha. There are 115 lakes in the area, some of them are largely overgrown with aquatic vegetation. Peatlands cover 14.7% of the total area of the site and include fens with Black Alder Alnus glutinosa and herbs, raised bogs covered with sphagnum and pine-trees, and transitional sedge-sphagnum mires.

The Sebezh lake complex supports over 650 species of vascular plants and 200 bird species, including 15 species listed in the Russian Red Data Book. The site is particularly important for breeding water birds, including the Great Crested Grebe, Bittern, Grey Heron, White Stork, Mute Swan, dabbling and diving ducks, Marsh Harrier, Crane, as well as gulls and other birds. Geese occur in large flocks on migration.

The wetland visitor and educational centre was officially opened on 25 May 2010. This is a two-story wooden house that hosts a child-friendly exhibition on wetlands and wetland species protected in the Sebezhsky National Park. Here live and recorded CCTV footage can be seen of nesting grebes Podiceps cristatus, and other wildlife.

There is also a small but well equipped meeting room for 20 people. The Centre is also the ideal base from which to watch the water birds nesting at Ozeryavki Lake and to explore the surrounding forest. A nature trail starting from here goes up to the Bolshoi Grebel moraine ridge, with spectacular views.

The Wetland Centre is also the starting point of 45 km long transboundary water route along a chain of lakes, small rivers and channels connecting the Sebezhsky National Park and the neighbouring Belarusian Nature Reserve and Ramsar Site of Osveysky.