At the beginning of October, I went mushroom picking with a friend. We took the red bus, number I, all the way to the village of Dobra. The mushroom picking went quite well. We collected full buckets of fine green russulas and bay boletes. There was plenty to be happy about, especially since the weather was favorable and the forest was full of autumn colors. But our joy was short-lived. By chance, as we were getting off the bus, we met the wife of the forest ranger from Dobra, who was returning home.
“People,” she called out in greeting, “throw those mushrooms away immediately, because yesterday airplanes sprayed the forests with an insecticide. The mushrooms may be poisoned; they must not be eaten.” We were stunned, and a moment later we threw away our harvest. There were dozens of mushroom pickers like us, however. Not everyone was lucky enough to meet the forest ranger’s wife...
Why, for example, were there no warnings at MZK stops serving routes toward the forests—or even on the buses themselves, on local television, in the press, and so on?
It is true that this year the Lower Silesian Forests were attacked by dangerous, voracious larvae and caterpillars of dangerous insects. The devastation caused by these creatures is appalling.
But, for heaven’s sake, let us not harm people in the process! From the information I obtained, I learned that the Bolesławiec Forest District had notified the Municipal and Commune Office in Bolesławiec about the planned spraying of the forests. A few warning notices appeared on tree trunks in the forests, but decidedly too late—and, besides, at widely spaced intervals.
In cases like this, there can never be too many warnings.
How many times has the saying “A Pole is wise after the damage is done” proved true—is it only human tragedy that makes us feel the gravity of a situation and take responsibility? What does SANEPID have to say about this?
(name and address held by the editorial office)