From the 5th to the 8th of December 2022, we stayed in the "Harkály Ház", which means "Woodpecker House". This is a visitor centre in Mátrafüred. The Mátra region is not part of the Bükk National Park. Still, the nature protection areas in this region are managed by the directorate of the national park. Therefore, we could help the people working there for a few days.
On Monday afternoon, the ranger Gábor took us to
the Harkály Ház, where we familiarised ourselves with our new surroundings.
The following morning was supposed to be filled with work outside. Still, since it was raining cats and dogs, we switched to preparations for a celebration later that day. The festival was on the occasion of the year ending and an employee having married. During these preparations, we got to talk to ranger Márton and employee Dóra about their work and daily life. In addition, we tried the so-called "Palacsinta" – some kind of flat pancake. When we looked outside the window on Wednesday morning, it had stopped raining, and the sun was shining. Thus, we could support others by working around the house, especially gardening. Our last day in the Mátra region began with doing grassland management with four other rangers. This means that the rangers have piled up pine trees that have been felled and cut into smaller pieces. The pine wood has to be felled because it is an invasive species in Hungary. Therefore, it has no natural enemies and an advantage compared to the domestic species, from whom they take up space, light and minerals. After the work had been done, we went from Gyöngyös back to Eger by bus.
