Warsaw has two natural axis – one is the Vistula river, and another one is the Warsaw Escarpment, which is a clear border of the upland part of the city. The Escarpment is elevated some 20 m above the Vistula valley and stretches from south to north along the entire city. The excursion will explore the Warsaw Escarpment greenway – one of the key landscape structural and visual elements of Warsaw as a specific green corridor with many natural and cultural heritage sites, such as nature reserves and manor parks.

We will visit the two most valuable sites: the Natolin Manor Park and Bielański Forest, both of them being Nature Reserves. They bring the atmosphere of Białowieża Forest to the capital of Poland with over 300 years old oaks dominating in the well-formed forest communities – and as a buckle they bind the northern and southern outskirts of Warsaw. In the southern part of the city Miasteczko Wilanów is located, one of the newest housing estates with examples of good practices in green infrastructure. We will take a closer look at bioswales, green walls and rain gardens, and learn about local spatial conflicts in the suburbs between residential, recreational and agricultural functions.

During the trip, we will also visit The Royal Łazienki Park, the most visited park in the capital of Poland, also located on the Warsaw Escarpment, where you can see plant communities gradually changing along the slope. It is one of the best examples of an English-style garden in Warsaw with the elements of the baroque style. The seventy-nine-hectare Park is located in the city centre, and it is one of the key biodiversity hotspots popular not only with tourists but also with squirrels, hedgehogs and birds. Next to The Royal Łazienki Park, there is Jazdów – the unique estate of single-family houses hidden on the edge of the Escarpment. It is a complex of 30 wooden houses, full of greenery, which were built in the 1940s as the first housing estate after World War II. Currently, you can see there an interesting example of urban farming community with beekeepers and vegetable gardens. Then, we will visit another remarkable element of green infrastructure in the city centre – the green library of the University of Warsaw. It is green because of 2 hectares of green roof and vast green walls, but also sustainable drainage system that collects rainwater.

This excursion will allow us to get acquainted with the traditional and modern elements of Warsaw's green infrastructure, to observe adaptation to climate change in the city, but also to discuss contemporary spatial conflicts and to recognise the ecosystem services provided by Warsaw's greenery.