Representatives of the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection of the University of Lodz, the UNESCO Chair and the Hydroidea company, participants of the meeting at the faculty after signing the cooperation agreement.
The Master's thesis by Patrycja Chamczak, a student of Environmental Protection study programme, who will examine the effectiveness of materials provided by Hydroidea in Ecohydrological Solutions Close to Nature is the first step of cooperation. The work results will help in planning future joint investments in the area of water purification. As a result of the cooperation commencement, Hydroidea will also be included in the Business Council of the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection of the University of Lodz.
The UNESCO Chair fights phosphorus in water reservoirs
Removal of phosphorus from water is a new area of research at the UNESCO Chair, developed by Dr Paweł Jarosiewicz. It is phosphorus flowing from fertilized fields and lawns to rivers and water reservoirs that is the main cause of the so-called eutrophication and occurrence of toxic cyanobacterial blooms in water reservoirs.
Ecohydrological water purification systems use a number of natural processes, including sorption, i.e. "catching" pollutants by appropriate materials. That is why the Chair establishes cooperation with Hydroidea, which is the first Polish producer of unique natural biological products, as well as mixtures of minerals and deposits for various types of water reservoirs and treatment plants
– explains Dr Paweł Jarosiewicz.
Hydroidea operates in the field of hydrotechnical construction, with particular emphasis on specialist facilities. It offers a complete range of services – from consulting, to design and implementation, and finally the maintenance of swimming ponds and other water reservoirs.
After signing the agreement, the participants of the meeting visited Arturówek in Lodz, where the UNESCO Chair of the University of Lodz coordinated the LIFE EH-REK project and the ecohydrological solutions used in it still function perfectly.
LIFE EH-REK Project
The meeting which inaugurated the cooperation between the UNESCO Chair and Hydroidea was attended by the company representatives – Roman Bloch, CEO at Hydroidea as well as the Dean of the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection of the University of Lodz, Prof. Andrzej Kruk; Prof. Tomasz Jurczak, Head of the UNESCO Chair, Representative of the Dean of the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection for Cooperation with Business, Prof. Małgorzata Posmyk and Dr Paweł Jarosiewicz – the initiator of the cooperation.
After signing the agreement, the meeting participants went to Arturówek in Lodz, which was the implementation area of the LIFE EH-REK project, coordinated by the UNESCO Chair of Ecohydrology and Applied Ecology in the years 2010-2015. This project was awarded the "Best of LIFE Projects" award by the European Commission in 2018, and the eco-hydrological solutions used in it continue to protect the quality of the local reservoirs, supporting both biodiversity and local tourism potential.
Other solutions of the UNESCO Chair were applied, inter alia, in the project of adapting the city of Radom to climate change through sustainable water management.
Source: Dr Paweł Jarosiewicz
Photo: Natalia Naworska, Communications and PR Centre, University of Lodz
Edit: Marcin Kowalczyk, Communications and PR Centre, University of Lodz
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