Photography, filming, drones and geocaching in the national park

A photo safari from the grounds and paths

The national park offers ever-changing photographic subjects at every step and in every season. And it's not just ambitious nature photographers and filmmakers who can produce all types of touching images of the natural world. There's nothing stopping you, even if everyone is out and about on the paths or viewing platforms, letting nature be nature off the beaten track. In the Core Zones, paths must be strictly adhered to. Drones have no place in the protected area. They disturb animals and other visitors.

Geocaching for the sake of nature

Geocaching enthusiasts enjoy being out in nature and, like all nature lovers, are welcome in the national park. For the love the animals and plants, only search from the path - there are no caches away from them anyhow - and observe a few rules.

Gelbes Schild mit Eule am Strand, Grenze zur Kernzone — The owl sign marks the border to the Core Zone. From there, photography and filming is only permitted from the paths.
The owl sign marks the border to the Core Zone. From there, photography and filming is only permitted from the paths.

auffliegende Seeschwalbe am Strand — The national park's airspace is also an animal domain. Drones have a disruptive effect on many bird species and are ...
The national park's airspace is also an animal domain. Drones have a disruptive effect on many bird species and are therefore prohibited.

Navigationsgerät in der Hand in der Natur — Where's the nearest cache? It will certainly be along the path.
Where's the nearest cache? It will certainly be along the path.

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Photography and filming

... ideally always from the paths, in the Core Zone exclusively from the paths and without disturbing the flora and fauna - nature AND people benefit from these golden rules.

If the photo and film projects go beyond individual personal projects within this framework, a aproval is required. In principle, the National Park is not a backdrop for feature films, music or advertising.
The prerequisite for aprovals is that the film projects have the protection concern of the national park and the nature and landscape worthy of protection as their main content and that the film cannot be filmed outside the national park. Here, too, the top priority is to avoid disturbing the flora and fauna during filming.

If these requirements are met, it is sufficient to send an general request with a description of the project by email to: poststelle@npa-vp.mvnet.de.

The first step is to check whether the project is, in principle, suitable for the national park. For more detailed further consideration, a checklist must then be completed.

Please note that the approval requires a processing time of 4 weeks.

Drones

In order to give all animals in the national park their well-earned peace and to preserve what may be some animals' last retreat, the use of flying objects such as drones, paragliders, model aircraft or other aircraft is prohibited. This is governed by the Federal Aviation Regulations and the National Park Regulations.

Animals do not recognise these foreign bodies in the sky. Many species flee, use up important fat reserves or leave their breeding grounds.

Geocaching

A treasure hunt off the paths quickly leads to damaged plants and stressed animals. So there are a few rules for geocache enthusiasts.

The location ot the cache

1. No caches in the Core Zones. Unfortunately, too often in the past, there were well-trodden dirt trails leading off the paths and around the caches. Therefore, caches are generally no longer permitted in our highest protection category, with the exception of the EarthCaches, which follow the rules on keeping to the paths.

2. Caches hidden away from the paths are not permitted in the Development Zone. Caches should only be placed directly on or by the path. One foot must always stay on the path.

3. Caches are not permitted in any body of water, on the beach or in dunes.

4. Out of consideration for the animals, searching for and publicising night caches is not permitted under any circumstances in the entire Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park. Many animals need quiet at night to search for food or sleep undisturbed.

5. No animals may be disturbed and/or vegetation damaged. This also includes standing and lying dead wood. Many “residents” of the national park make it their home.

6. Hiding geocaches in breeding birds' nesting sites and caves and in trees (eg in the crown) is not permitted.

The Cache

1. The following must not be in the cache: Food or strongly scented objects that may attract animals.

2. Containers should be used that can neither be swallowed nor eaten by animals (eg no soft plastic).

3. The container used must be clearly legible on the outside and labelled with the term "Geocaching".

The official caches that have been checked by the National Park Authority can be found at www.geocaching.com. They lead to interesting places in the national park. Best of luck with the search!