In February 2021 the Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Nature Conservation organised two-day fieldwork with the purpose of river training structures mapping on two out of three stretches of the Mura River in Slovenia. The fieldwork was done in addition to the river bird mapping (Act. T1.1) where not all the river structures could be seen from the riverbanks and the priority is the river bird mapping. 

The field gathered data in Slovenia will supplement the river training structure mapping desk research done by the responsible project partner WWF Austria. The fieldwork was carried out by the representatives of project partners IRSNC and VGP Pomgrad. The mapping was done by a rubber boat paddling down the Mura River.

The river structures mapping included groynes, bank reinforcements (riprap, concrete support walls), dams as well natural river structures (gravel bars, steep slopes, river islands, side branches and river affluent). The methodology included photography, map positioning and GPS positioning as well as a short description of the structures. All the gathered data is now being digitalized. 

On the first day, we mapped the stretch of border Mura with Austria from Ceršak to Petanjci. The day started with a thick mystical fog and temperatures near the freezing point, so the mapping was quite challenging, but the weather has cleared eventually. On the second day, the stretch from Petanjci to Gibina was mapped. The weather has significantly improved from the previous day, the sky was clear and sunny. Mura is a truly mystical river, as it is known in the local environment.

The fieldwork was also an opportunity to observe and document the site for the pilot implementation of river restoration measures in Slovenia, which will be implemented in the field by the project partner VGP Pomgrad (OT2.2), as well as finding possible sites for the volunteering action (Act. C.3).

All photos by the Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Nature Conservation.