Biodiversity support project with ČSOB – Praha Radlice

How did it start?

Ondra lives in Prague 5, Radlice. If time permits, he likes to go back to the old gardens next to the ČSOB bank, of course, for the bumblebees.. 

This place has a special charm. The spirit of old Radlice is still present there. Previously, there was a farm, fields and orchards here. The farm was bombed at the end of the war, as were Farkáň, Smíchov and other parts of Prague. Gradually, a gardening colony was established here, which gave way to the construction of the bank headquarters.

The educational trail, built by the Farkáň Association with the support of ČSOB, will show you what it used to look like here. Come and see these places, or take a virtual walk from the comfort of your home .

Nature is gradually reclaiming the land. Places where you could once walk, play with children, sled, and even ski are now overgrown with invasive trees. 

In the areas of the garden colony, the grass was always cut all at once. As a result, the flowering plants disappeared overnight, and without them, life here died down..

That was the case in 2021. One day, Ondra took the plunge and started asking around for the bank's land manager and who he could talk to about changing the mowing method. That's how Ondra got to the bank's ecologist, Paulína.

She was open to discussion, listening to ideas and suggestions: "Let's get together and talk about changing grass management." Soon, Ondra received an invitation to the meeting.

Wow – that's a challenge, but anyone who is afraid is not allowed in the forest, let alone on ČSOB land. 😀

We quickly agreed with Vojta, who would take on the grass management and the changes we wanted to propose. As part of the preparation with Paulína, we were challenged to look at the parts of the land overgrown with trees, design insect houses and prepare seminars. We also wanted to involve the employees.

Ugh, we have to expand the project team. So we invited Michal, an arborist. Who will manage it all? We are also involving Petra. What's the point of her being from Polička? She is an experienced project manager and with her good soul and dedication she will create the necessary balance.

Nothing can be left to chance, so we call David. We need someone to take care of the insect houses. David is no slouch, so the houses are becoming insect villages. Various species of bees will live on the property, so we are planning places for them to nest in the ground, rocks, and wood. The insect villages are expanding into beetle colonies and many other places for other "goblins" to live. Simply biodiversity in practice!

We are working on the concept, fine-tuning the details, and looking forward to meeting with the bank. How will they receive it? Will they like it?

See for yourself what we took to the bank with, at least part of the presentation.