Among the CBRC’s objectives, nature and bat education hold special importance. We always strive to improve and enrich our workshops and activities. With this purpose, within the LIFE+ Podkowiec Towers project (you can learn more about it here), three of our volunteers (our new members) participated in the “Podkowcarnia 2025” trip, organized by PTPP “Pro Natura”. The goals of this trip were to observe good practices in bat education and conservation in Western and Central Europe, with a special focus on the lesser horseshoe bat — the species of the year 2024/2025 in Romania and the main target species of the LIFE+ Podkowiec Towers project.
The trip began in Krakow, Poland, where our volunteers met the organizers and other participants — people with diverse experiences in biodiversity conservation — from whom they learned a great deal during the week. The first stop was a park in Olomouc, Czech Republic, where zoologists Evzen Tosenovsky (Palacky University Olomouc) and Jizim Safar (AOPK CR, the Czech Nature and Landscape Protection Agency) gave an outdoor presentation about bat protection in urban spaces.
The visited park is an important location for bats because it offers roosts through old, hollow trees and through a bridge that hosts a colony of 300 noctules. Interactive plaques were installed on tree trunks to inform both tourists and park administration about the presence of bats. These hollow trees provide winter shelter for noctule bats (Nyctalus spp.) and protecting them by avoiding cutting and practicing responsible pruning is vital for the survival of these nocturnal fliers.
In cases of illegal logging or destruction of natural roosts, bat relocation and rehabilitation is used. After an on-site evaluation, specialists decide whether bats can safely complete hibernation. If so, they are released into specially chosen trees, such as ones with deep cavities. Weakened bats are sent for recovery to a veterinary clinic. If the colony’s integrity is not affected after tree cutting, the sections of wood containing roosting bats are transformed into natural “bat boxes.”
In Olomouc, we also saw the creativity of our Czech partners in action through an impressive initiative that brings the public, especially students, closer to bats. Teachers are encouraged to organize thematic field trips to explore the world of bats through acoustic monitoring activities in designated locations. For these trips, backpacks equipped with detectors, educational materials, identification guides, and maps can be borrowed free of charge from educational centers or tourist points.
The second day brought a new destination, this time in Austria — Feistritz an der Gail — where our volunteers joined a guided tour of the Fledermaushaus (“Bat House”). The building hosting this facility is a former power plant whose attic shelters a maternity colony of 170 lesser horseshoe bats. In 2008, it was turned into a bat observatory and a thematic museum. This exceptional place for nature education welcomes anyone wishing to spend a fun day learning.
There is also the opportunity to walk through the nearby rustic village and admire scenic views of the Austrian Alps. Fledermaushaus is not the only local bat-related attraction — the village church hosts a colony of about 150 bats. Their emergence just after sunset is a sight worth seeing!
The next day’s destination was Herreninsel, the largest island of Germany’s Chiemsee Lake — a tourist spot rich in biodiversity, designated a protected site mainly for its bat populations, as well as its numerous birds and amphibians. The island is home to 15 of Bavaria’s 23 bat species, including lesser horseshoe bats, Daubenton’s bats, and common pipistrelles. This abundance earned it the nickname “Bat Island”. Human intervention is strictly prohibited in the island’s forested area. In the Herrenchiemsee Palace — a key tourist attraction — visitors can explore a permanent bat exhibition designed to bring people closer to these fascinating creatures. The exhibition is both informative and interactive, impressive through its creativity and the dedication of the well-trained staff who explain everything in an engaging way.
On the fourth and final day, our volunteers toured the small village of Hohenburg in eastern Germany — a special place combining bat and biodiversity conservation with sustainable rural development. One of the historic houses hosts the largest greater horseshoe bat maternity colony in Germany. The house was adapted to favor bat activity by adding tunnels and special passages. It also serves as a research station, with bats continuously monitored through video cameras installed inside the colony. Part of the building functions as a thematic museum, with interactive exhibits about bats’ life cycles and adaptations.
However, the area also hosts bat predators such as kestrels and hobbies. To protect the colony, biologists use a personal invention — a device that mimics the look and sound of a harrier — to scare away predators. This invention highlights the vulnerability of this only German greater horseshoe bat population and the need for conservation efforts.
Local villagers also play a role in bat conservation. Through a European project aimed at strengthening the horseshoe bat population and improving feeding and flight habitats, local farmers collaborated to acquire Dahomey cattle (a breed native to Africa). A key goal is to enhance feeding habitats and create flight corridors by maintaining a traditional extensive grazing system across over 60 hectares. The cows help conservation by producing manure that supports insects — the bats’ food. The limiting factor for the colony is not space (the house is large enough) but food availability.
Dahomey cattle are special because they eat dry vegetation avoided by European breeds, thus maintaining these corridors. Their grazing also restores valuable grasslands, benefiting rare plant species. The cows are kept in fenced areas for controlled grazing and vegetation monitoring. In other zones, manure is spread manually to expand bat feeding habitats and support the growing population. Thanks to the Dahomey cows, both the local bat population and the rural economy are supported — farmers use the products in their traditional restaurant, attracting tourists. The trip ended with a dinner at this restaurant, where only seasonal and local products are served. Bats truly prove to be a fitting emblem for promoting sustainable, eco-friendly agriculture!
The “LIFE PODKOWIEC PLUS: back to the forest – holistic conservation of bat breeding habitats” (LIFE+ PODKOWIEC TOWERS, LIFE20 NAT/PL/001427)” project is implemented between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2026, with a budget of EUR 4,924,974, of which the European Union’s contribution is EUR 2,954,984, and that of the National Fund for Nature Protection and Water Management (Poland) is EUR 1,656,349. The CBRC / Romanian budget is EUR 64,147, of which CCCL’s own contribution is EUR 3,000. The objectives of the project are (1) protection and improvement of conditions of the important roosts for nine bat species, (2) change from a reactive to a proactive approach to the protection of bats and (3) enhancement of institutional support for bat conservation.
