Breaking records of the Czyste Tatry (“Clean Tatra Mountains”) Made in Małopolska project

The Czyste Tatry Made in Małopolska initiative is almost over but it will surely stay in our memories for a long time. Despite quite unsettled and rough weather, 7180 volunteers cleared up 275 kilometers of the Tatra hiking trails. We picked up 420 kg of litter, leaving our precious mountains thoroughly clean!

On Thursday, June 28, the destination town was already bursting with excitement, just to become even livelier next day, when the volunteers started trickling into Zakopane. „We’ve been expecting 5000 volunteers, so we are blown away by the actual number of 7000 participants! – reported the organizer of the Clean Tatras project, Rafał Sonik, with visible enthusiasm.

Before the volunteers embarked on the trails, they were able to enjoy beautiful stories, presented by a few wonderful mountain people on Friday afternoon. Angelika Chrapkiewicz-Gądek, Artur Małek, and Krzysztof Wielicki brought to a huge tent, and it was barely the beginning of a great event.

Saturday welcomed first volunteers on the Tatra trails as early as 5:00 am. The rain, that had been hovering over Podhale for the last two days gradually made room to the warm rays of the sun, which everybody was so happy to see. Celebrities from the world of sport, TV, and the Internet abounded, and trending YouTubers called in hundreds of their young followers to Zakopane, showing the real potential of the social media. Young online communities turned off their screens and headed to the mountains to work, and to work hard.

Upon returning to Górna Rówień Krupowa, there was no time to rest. The chefs and participants of the “Master Chef” program showed their culinary skills live. YouTubers gathered their fans to enjoy some quality time together, and consequently, the guests and ambassadors were able to admire a mosaic made out of 25 000 biodegradable cups. The cups were arranged to form the letter “M”, a recognizable symbol of the main patron of the event, Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It was the world-record breaking initiative since no one has created a mosaic out of so many elements before. What’s crucial, the cups will be recycled into thrash bags that volunteers will take along during the next editions of the project.

At the end of the event, Rafał Sonik, who is the head of the Czysta Polska (Clean Poland) Association, thanked all the partners and sponsors of the initiative., while the volunteers were entertained by the energy of the bands Łąki Łan and Pudelsi. The record-breaking, rainy and so memorable edition of the Clean Tatras project became an excellent model for the rest of the country yet again. After all, the example comes from the top.