Reeds grow in shallow, mostly stagnant waters. So why does it grow here on the river, which is flowing? The Ryck is a lowland river. It has very little gradient. This means that the water only flows from a low height (just a few centimeters in the case of the Ryck) down many kilometers to the mouth in the sea, i.e. via the Danish Wieck into the Greifswald Bodden. When the wind blows from the east, even the brackish water of the Bodden is pushed into the river and it appears to flow backwards. However, its name does not come from this, but from the West Slavic word "rjeka" for river.
Reeds can grow to water depths of up to 2 meters, and through their long underground runners even into dry places.
What is also striking at this point are the trees. Some are no longer standing, and others, such as the birch, look very strange. If you can catch a glimpse of the trunk above the ground, you can see why. A large rodent has left its tooth marks here - the beaver.
The beaver is a protected species because it was almost extinct 50 years ago. Today, beavers have multiplied and spread again, especially in our district. With the many ditches and rivers, it has plenty of places to live.
Its favorite food is young bark and leaves from riverside trees, especially willows. It fells trees with its long, regrowing teeth. You can tell how wide they are by the feeding marks.