New Information Boards in the Meadows of Lake Burtnieks

As the date of the Burtnieki Park celebration is nearing, activities around Burtnieki do not cease. The municipal government has invested in restoration of paths around the park; yet the biggest news is the recently opened Vīsraga trail.

Information board near

the Vīsrags tower

New Information Boards in the Meadows of Lake Burtnieks

As the date of the Burtnieki Park celebration is nearing, activities around Burtnieki do not cease. The municipal government has invested in restoration of paths around the park; yet the biggest news is the recently opened Vīsraga trail.

It starts at the Silver Gate of the Burtnieki manor park and it encompasses both cultural heritage sites and nature objects. The trail ends in Vīsrags where a bird and landscape watching tower has been recently built; only yesterday information boards were placed next to the tower. They feature information on birds found in the vicinity and on floodplain meadows of the Ēķinupe River. Another information board offers information on pastures and horses of the Burtnieks Stud-farm that graze in the restored meadows on the banks of the lake. A comprehensive plan of the trail found at its beginning gives a good overview of the area and informs that the walk would take at least 45 minutes. In the nearest future the trail would host 11 smaller information boards offering information on Lake Burtnieks, the castle remnants, the park, and wildlife found in the forest, among others.

Local inhabitants are pleased with the improved environment and landscape around them. Brief discussions with some local people demonstrated that they are surprised to learn about nature values they are surrounded by. Some even share nostalgic memories of outdoor dance parties and mid-summer bonfires the place once had. The head of the municipal council, Māris Rika, is please with the achieved; yet he hopes that the new information boards will last long and would not be damaged. The Burtnieki Municipal Council also has to be thanked for the resources invested in bettering the area.

Local inhabitants actively participate

in placement of the boards

The Vīsraga trail has been established in the framework of two projects, the Protection of Biodiversity in the North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve and the Restoration of Floodplain Meadows administered by the Latvian Fund for Nature; the official opening of the trail is still to come. Financing for this activity was provided by the UNDP/GEF and the LIFE-Nature program. The Burtnieki Municipality Council has also contributed its resources toward improvement of the area.

The Meadows of Lake Burtnieks Nature Reserve

The Meadows of Lake Burtnieks Nature Reserve was established in 2004; it covers an area of 432 ha and falls under the jurisdiction of the Burtnieki parish. It is also designated as a Natura 2000 site – an internationally recognized specially protected nature area. The nature reserve is included in the North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve. The Southern and Eastern coastlines of Lake Burtnieks and floodplain meadows of the Briede and Ēķinupe Rivers that discharge into the lake are important breeding areas for such rare and protected bird species as the corncrake, the great snipe and the spotted crake.