Since 2008, the Dutch organisation Natuurmonumenten and the Society of the Coast – EUCC Poland have an ongoing Eurosite twinning that has evolved into a sustainable collaboration over the years. EUCC Poland is the organisation that manages the Polish Odra Delta, a beautiful natural area in the north-west region of Poland composed of meadows, pastures and areas overgrown by sedge and reed.

In the beginning of May as well as in the beginning of June 2018, a delegation of Natuurmonumenten undertook a twinning trip to the Odra Delta to conduct a bird survey. Both delegations were composed of six Natuurmonumenten staff members. Natuurmonumenten uses these annual exchange visits to the Odra Delta as an opportunity for knowledge exchange, not just between EUCC Poland and Natuurmonumenten, but also among Natuurmonumenten staff that work in various locations across the Netherlands. Early in the morning, the delegations did their research in duos, where each duo would walk a kilometer as their transect and register every sighting and sound.

Lessons learned throughout the years are that monitoring and management plans are not interchangeably transferable from country to country. For instance, it took some research to decide what type of plan would be the most suitable for the management and monitoring of the Odra Delta. Because of the diverse area and external (policy) factors, the plan has to be adaptable and flexible. EUCC Poland and Natuurmonumenten plan to design a new plan for the long-term coming fall as part of their collaboration.