On January 17th, 2017, a ceremony was held, during which the Director of the Nencki Institute, prof. Adam Szewczyk, in acknowledgment of special merits for the development of the Nencki Institute, handed out the medals to prof. Jerzy Puchalski and prof. Wiesław Bogdanowicz. Prof. Puchalski was in charge of the Botanical Garden PAS in Powsin for almost 28 years. Professor Bogdanowicz for many years was the director of the Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS in Warsaw. Currently, prof. Bogdanowicz is the chairman of the advisory team for the Nencki Institute Hydrobiological Station in Mikołajki, and prof. Jerzy Puchalski is a member of this Team.