Rezerwat Polesie Konstantynowskie, Łódź

Polesie Konstantynowskie Nature Reserve - a forest nature reserve established by a resolution of the Magistrate of the City of Łódź dated 23 May 1930. Recognized as a protected object in 1954 by order of the Minister of Forestry. Its area is 9.8 ha. It constitutes a fragment of the former Lodz Forest. It is one of two reserves in the city of Lodz.

"Polesie Konstantynowskie" is one of the oldest reserves in Poland and the first reserve in the country created within the administrative borders of the city. It was created at the time when the urban forest of Łódź was being transformed into a leisure and entertainment park. The creators of the reserve wanted in this way to save the remains of a natural forest ecosystem and leave it for scientific and didactic purposes.

The object of protection is a fragment of forest with natural features, including remnants of swamp alder forest, patches of oak-hornbeam forest which covers the largest area, and ash-alder forest streaks. The tree stand is dominated by black alder, common hornbeam, common birch and English oak.

The undergrowth includes: common reed, elderberry, red elderberry, buckthorn, bird cherry, and common hazel. The following are also abundant: common marsh hellebore, common ivy, wood anemone, woodruff, and buttercup.

The reserve is home to many species of birds, small mammals and insects, and there are numerous fungi.

The reserve is not accessible to the public. Only once a year on World Environment Day, with the permission of the provincial conservation officer, can volunteers enter the area to pick up trash.

The forest has a specific microclimate, and movement is made difficult by fallen trees, pervasive dampness, twilight, an undergrowth of thorny plants, and collapsing mulch.