Since 2002 she has been running a campaign for changing the planned route of the Via Baltica Expressway in order to preserve the Rospuda Valley.

[4] When Poland joined the European Union in 2004, the Rospuda Valley became a protected area thanks to the Natura 2000 programme.

[5] After eight years of fighting, in March 2009, the Polish government declared that the route would be changed and would not intersect with the Rospuda Valley.

[4] Eventually, on 20 October 2009 a rerouting was planned for these controversial route sections and these terrains were saved from destruction.

On winning the Prize, she was invited to the ceremony in San Francisco, but beforehand she attended numerous meetings, one of them with the President of United States Barack Obama.