The timeline of the Centre for Bat Research and Conservation is presented in a reverse chronological order, with the most recent event at the top of the page. Navigate to the beginning of the year:
2025
The end of 2024
2024 December
– We participat in the annual meeting of the international LIFE project team in Murán, Slovenia, discussing potential future projects.
– An informational board is installed under Gaura cu Muscă Cave.
– We give an interview to Radio Agnus in Cluj-Napoca on the topic of bats.
– We start again the annual winter monitoring of bats in underground shelters across Romania.
2024 November
– We attend our first General Assembly of the Natura 2000 Coalition Federation in Băile Herculane as new members this year.
– As invited guests, we present on bats and bat conservation in Romania at the annual conference of bat colleagues in Saxony-Anhalt, held at Mansfeld Castle. This occasion also allowed us to practice our German, presenting in the language of the organizers.
– Colleagues from Iași respond to numerous phone calls about bats in spaces used by humans.
2024 October
– We organize a workshop on all topics related to bat research and conservation for biologists from national and nature parks, as well as for colleagues from NGOs and schools. The workshop took place in Cernat, Covasna County, with 25 biology colleagues from 22 conservation and education entities participating, including 15 national and nature parks.
– With 33 participants from 5 countries (Romania, Moldova, Hungary, France, Germany), we organized the 6th Romanian National Bat Research Conference from October 18–20 at the usual venue, Hanna Panzió Guesthouse, Cernat, Covasna County.
– Colleagues from Poland, together with the official monitor of LIFE projects of Poland, visited Eșelnița and the Dubova-Băile Herculane area to review the project’s progress.
– We complete our conservation and education project in collaboration with the Iron Gates Nature Park, funded by the Environmental Partnership Foundation / MOL Romania. Over 170 children from 11 schools within the park learned directly about the area’s natural values.
– Following the workshop at the Cultural Mediation Forum, we gave an interview about bats and heritage buildings for Radio România Cultural.
2024 September
– We are presenting one talk about the bats of Banat and one poster about the ChiRoHub database at the 16th European Bat Research Symposium (EBRS16) in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.
– We are consolidating the entrance to a mine gallery near Dubova and placing a warning panel at the entrance. The site is an important hibernation roost for the lesser horseshoe bat (Romania’s bat of the years 2024–2025), because the entrance showed signs of collapse.
– We are creating and publishing infographics about the fauna and flora of the Iron Gates Nature Park as part of our project funded by the Environmental Partnership Foundation / MOL Romania.
– Together with Ana, our colleague from the Bat Caravan, we presented about bats and heritage buildings in a workshop during the sixth edition of the Cultural Mediation Forum.
– We clean the entrance area of Mare from Soroniște Cave, mounted an informational board at the entrance, and placed a warning sign before the 30 m vertical drop inside. Later, we moved to Mare from Șălitrari Cave, where we installed a warning panel at the cave entrance. Thanks to colleagues Radu and Ariana for their help!
2024 August
– Our volunteers are covering new areas of Romania with bat data, contributing to our ChiRoHub project, the online database of bats in Romania and Moldova.
– Our colleagues from the Iron Gates Nature Park Administration are conducting educational activities for schools within the park area as part of our project funded by the Environmental Partnership Foundation / MOL Romania.
– The installation of traffic warning panels about amphibians and reptiles on roads crossing the Iron Gates Nature Park continues, as part of our project funded by the Environmental Partnership Foundation / MOL Romania.
2024 July
– We are placing informational and warning boards at Veterani Cave, Gaura Haiducească, and Gaura cu Muscă Caves in the Iron Gates Nature Park.
– We are monitoring the maternity colonies in the LIFE project area (Domogled-Valea Cernei National Park and Iron Gates Nature Park).
– The representative of the CBRC is participating in the Scientific Council of the Grădiștea Muncelului – Cioclovina Nature Park.
– Together with our colleagues from the Bat Caravan, we are participating with a diverse stand at the Făgăraș Fest 2024 in Sebeșu de Sus. Hundreds of people visit our stand, with the most popular activities being the children’s corner and evening walks using bat detectors.
– Our colleagues from the Iron Gates Nature Park Administration are conducting educational activities for schools within the park area as part of our project funded by the Environmental Partnership Foundation / MOL Romania.
2024 June
– At Lynx Festival, we are attending the premiere of the documentary Wild Transylvania, created by Crossing the Line and John Murray. The documentary includes several sequences with bats, where we aided the filmmakers.
– The Science and Technology magazine publishes an informative article written by us about the bats of Romania.
– We are finalizing the evaluation of the bats in the Administrative Palace of Baia Mare, noting their absence.
– As a member of the scientific council of the Portile de Fier Natural Park, the CBRC president participates in the council’s meeting in Ešelnița.
– As part of the international LIFE project, we are replacing the old gate at the Cloșani Cave with a bat-friendly one.
– We install information and warning boards at the target caves of the LIFE international project in Portile de Fier and Domogled.
– We continue to collect data on bats from data-deficit areas in Romania, this time in the center of Romania and in Banat.
2024 May
– We present about bats, bat research and conservation for master’s students of the University of Bucharest.
– We are starting the implementation of concrete conservation measures as part of the international LIFE project, by installing a bat-friendly fence at the Padina Matei Cave.
– We continue the implementation of conservation measures within the LIFE project, by deepening the riverbed at Gaura cu Muscă Cave, to prevent the access of tourists, in order to preserve bats.
– We are starting our education project together with the Iron Gates Nature Park, financed by the Partnership Foundation and MOL Romania.
– We evaluate the bats in the Administrative Palace of Baia Mare, noting their absence.
– We are publishing on the www.liliecil.ro portal an informative article about our work within the project financed by EUROBATS, which has the objective of creating the first online database of bats in Romania and the Republic of Moldova.
– Our volunteer Ana organizes the first public batwalk of the year, at Tâmpa, in Brașov.
– We present about bats, bat research and conservation for master’s students from the Faculty of Biology at Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca.
– We publish an informative article on our portal about the bat of the years 2024-2025, the lesser horseshoe bat.
– We are carrying out the first assessment of the bat fauna in the Băilor Govora area, together with Studiogovora.
– We continue to collect data on bats from data-deficit areas in Romania, within the project funded by EUROBATS, this time on the Romanian Plain.
– We conclude the joint project with colleagues from the Republic of Moldova, financed by EUROBATS. The database of bats from Romania and Moldova will be launched in the fall of 2024.
2024 April
– The President of the CBRC, the official representative of Romania, participates in the (online) meeting of the Scientific Committee of the EUROBATS Agreement.
– We are collecting data about bats from data-deficit areas in Romania, within the project financed by EUROBATS, currently in Maramureș county and Transylvania.
– We publish on the www.lilieci.ro portal an informative article about our work within the international LIFE project.
– The general assembly of CCCL members takes place, online.
2024 March
– With fellow chiropterologists from the United Kingdom and Germany, we monitor bats in central and southern Romania.
– We monitor hibernating bats in the target caves of the international LIFE project.
2024 February
– We continue to monitor hibernating bats with the participation of fellow chiropterologists from Hungary.
– With a team from France, which is developing a documentary about the Bran Castle, we film bats in the Piatra Craiului National Park.
– We continue to implement conservation measures in the target caves of the international LIFE project, through site visits and accurate planning / measurements.
– Based on the public’s vote, we designate the lesser horseshoe bat as the bat of the years 2024-2025 in Romania.
2024 January
– We launch the public vote for the designation of the Bat of the Years 2024-2025 in Romania.
– We are resuming the monitoring of hibernation roosts at the national level.
– As part of the international LIFE project, we are carrying out the first conservation measure, i.e. we are cleaning the Despicătură Cave from the remains of the former thermal pipelines.
2024
The end of 2023
2023 December
– Zsófia, a CBRC member, gives a presentation about bats for students from classes VII-VIII of Bonitas Special School, Oradea.
2023 November
– We participate at the online meeting to monitor the implementation of the international LIFE project, where we present the activities carried out and those in the future.
– We are working on finalizing the details of the bat conservation measures of the international LIFE project in our target caves, and the information and warning signs to be placed at the these. We will apply bat conservation measures at a total of 5 locations: we will place a bat-friendly gate at the entrance of 2 caves, prevent access to 1 cave by deepening the riverbed, close access to 1 cave with a fence along the path, and consolidate the entrance to 1 mine gallery.
– The CBRC president participates as a member in the meeting of the scientific council of Grădiștea Muncelului – Cioclovina Nature Park.
– The CBRC president participates as a member in the meeting of the scientific council of Semenic – Cheile Carașului National Park.
– We continue the efforts of the CBRC and the Myotis Group, to create an online database for bats in Romania, but also together with colleagues from the Republic of Moldova. The project is financed by EUROBATS.
2023 October
– We are participating in the 14th Hungarian Bat Protection Conference, organized in Szaporca, with three presentations about bats in Romania, respectively about (1) the recently completed cross-border project, (2) the situation of artificial bat boxes in NW Romania, and (3) the presence of WND (white-nose disease) in Romanian caves.
– We are participating in the annual meeting of the international LIFE project team, organized this time in Olomouc, Czech Republic.
– The CBRC president participates as a member in the meeting of the scientific council of the Iron Gates Nature Park.
2023 September
– We are finalizing the Romanian-Serbian cross-border project in Banat and the Iron Gates, and we launch the first interactive corner about bats in Romania, at the visitor center of Domogled – Valea Cernei National Park.
– Over 400 children and adults stop by the Bat Corner tent organized by the Bat Caravan and our volunteer Ana, as part of the Green Cities Forum event.
2023 August
– With the multi-award winning documentary film team from Crossing the Line, we film the bats of Betfia Pothole, for a documentary about the wild animals and nature of Transylvania.
2023 July
– Together with the Bat Caravan, and our volunteer Ana, we participate in Făgăraș Fest 2023, where over 300 children and adults visited us at the Bat Corner. In addition, we organized activities about bats for the little ones and built an audio-visual trail about bat ultrasounds. There were also 3 nocturnal tours about bats (bat walks), where we had over 100 curious people with whom we identified bats in flight.
– Through Zsófia, a CBRC member, we were invited to present the life of bats and the activity of the CBRC during the PermaCool summer school, organized by the Grund School Association in Oradea. For a month, every Tuesday was dedicated to bats. Bat Day participants (approx. 120 children aged 5-14) discovered the world of bats with the help of games and interactive presentations.
– Our colleague Gyopár is successfully completing her degree at the Faculty of Biology-Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, by the study artificial bat boxes in North-Western Romania.
– We monitor the maternity colonies in the two target Natura 2000 sites (PN Domogled – Valea Cernei, PN Portile de Fier), where direct and indirect bat conservation measures will be implemented, within the international LIFE project.
– The Bat Caravan, and our volunteer Ana is at the “International Chocolate Day” event, with the Bat Corner from the Brașov Science Museum.
2023 May
– We are talking about Romanian bats and their conservation for the students of the University of Bucharest, the event being organized by Prof. Dr. Virgil Alexandru Iordache.
– We are developing a bookmark series about the target bat species of the international LIFE project.
2023 April
– We talk about Romania’s supercolonies for the online audience of the Winged Wednesday event series, organized by Bats without Borders.
– We obtain the necessary permits for the implementation of bat conservation measures in the Domogled – Valea Cernei National Park and Iron Gates Nature Park.
– Our volunteer Ana, through her Bat Caravan initiative, presents about bats to 352 primary and secondary school students from Dolj county. During the workshops, the little ones discovere more about the fascinating world of bats with the help of programmable robots.
– The General Assembly of CBRC members takes place online.
2023 March
– We monitor hibernation colonies in several regions of Romania, together with colleagues from abroad.
– The CBRC president, being the scientific focal point for Romania within the EUROBATS agreement, participates in the Advisory Committee meeting in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
– The CBRC president, being the coordinator of the Romanian bat expert group in the elaboration of the Atlas of European Mammals, participates in the meeting of the working group in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
– We finalize the concepts for the conservation measures at caves, for the protection of resident bat colonies in frame of the international LIFE project, for the two Natura 2000 sites. A total of five locations will benefit from direct conservation measures (ex. bat-friendly closing, consolidating entrance etc.), while a total of seven sites will benefit from indirect conservation measures (information and warning boards, cleaning of the cave environment).
2023 February
– We are carrying out the last fieldwork in Banat, in frame of the Romanian-Serbian cross-border project financed by the Conservation Leadership Programme.
– We monitor hibernation colonies in frame of the international LIFE project, inside the two target Natura 2000 sites in Romania (NP Domogled – Valea Cernei, NP Portile de Fier), where direct and indirect bat conservation measures will be implemented.
2023
The end of 2022
2022 December
– We travel to the Crișul Alb, Goroniște and Crișul Negru areas, to check artificial batboxes, as part of the development of a bachelor’s thesis on bats.
2022 November
– The CBRC team attends the annual meeting of the ongoing international LIFE+ project in Iwkowa, Poland.
– We are visiting several caves with significant colonies in Transylvania as part of an international study with fellow bat researchers from Hungary.
– We travel to several Natura 2000 sites in North-West Romania, to check artificial batboxes, as part of a bachelor’s thesis on bats.
– We are organizing a workshop for CBRC volunteers, with presentations and discussions about bats, bat conservation, ongoing projects and possible bachelor and master thesis topics.
– We monitor the artificial batboxes in Făgetul Clujului, noting that even the new batboxes of the Squirrel Trail are already used by the Barbastelle, a typical species for valuable forests.
2022 October
– Together with the Myotis Group, we are organizing the 5th Romanian Bat Research Conference, at the Hanna Guesthouse, Cernatu de Sus, Covasna county, between October 21-23. There are 18 presentations, the 1st prize being obtained, based on the vote of the participants, by the presentation on artificial batboxes from Natura 2000 sites, presented by Sonia-Gyopár Poștoacă.
– In Cernatu de Sus, Covasna county, the CBRC General Assembly takes place, during which we discuss current issues, but we also welcome 2 new members from the Iași area to our team.
2022 September
– Together with the Alexandru Borza Botanical Garden of Cluj-Napoca, the City Hall of Cluj-Napoca (through the Tourist Information Center of the Municipality) and the “Emil Racoviță” Cave Research Institute Cluj, we are organizing the 2022 edition of the International Bat Night. Despite the bad weather, hundreds of participants visit the event sections. We also thank the CBRC volunteers for their involvement!
– Together with several bat researchers from Romania and the representative of the Ministry of Environment, we are preparing the national report for Romania, within EUROBATS, for the 2019-2022 period.
– We travel to several areas of Transylvania and Banat, as part of a scientific research together with fellow bat researchers from Hungary.
– We write about the bats of Cluj.
2022 August
– We present about bats and bat conservation for the participants of the caving course organized in Padiș by ARES.
– We travel to several areas of the country (Retezat, Moldova, Călimani) as part of the EMMA2 project, to collect data on bats from unstudied areas.
2022 July
– We are monitoring the known nursery colonies in the caves and buildings of Transylvania, together with bat researchers from the United Kingdom.
2022 June
– The CBRC’s most active volunteer, Ana, holds a series of presentations for nearly 100 students from the Brașov, Vâlcea and Prahova areas. Thank you!
– We monitor known nursery colonies in the caves and buildings of the Banat region, together with bat researchers from the United Kingdom.
– We travel to the Domogled – Valea Cernei National Park and the Iron Gates Natural Park, to monitor the nursery colonies at the locations where conservation measures will be implemented as part of the international LIFE+ project.
2022 May
– We are starting the study of artificial houses from the Natura 2000 sites in North-West Romania, as part of the elaboration of a bachelor’s thesis on the subject of bats at UBB Cluj-Napoca.
– We represent Romania at the Advisory Committee meeting of the EUROBATS (online meeting).
2022 April
– We are going to the Domogled – Valea Cernei National Park and the Iron gates Natural Park, to evaluate the locations that will benefit from conservation measures within the international LIFE+ project.
– Our colleague Vela, from Germany, writes about her experiences during the CBRC winter internship.
2022 March
– As part of our cross-border project implemented together with colleagues from the Myotis Group and bat researchers from Serbia, the protective grill is being installed at the Despicătura Cave. The project is funded by the Conservation Leadership Programme.
– As part of the cross-border project implemented together with colleagues from the Myotis Group and bat researchers from Serbia, we are monitoring known winter colonies, and look for ringed specimens from Serbia.
2022 February
– We publish our 2017-2021 anniversary report, of 4 years of CBRC activity.
– Together with colleagues from Poland and Germany, we monitor the winter colonies in several areas of the country, including in the Grădiștea Muncelului – Cioclovina Natural Park.
– The gray long-eared bat is chosen as the Bat of the Years 2022-2023 in Romania, with over 50% of the public’s votes.
2022 January
– We are starting the annual winter monitoring of bat colonies in Romania’s underground roosts.
2022
The end of 2021
2021 December
– For the end of the year, we started cleaning the Orthodox Church of Oravița of the guano accumulated under the nursery colonies
2021 November
– We organize the CBRC General Assembly, celebrating 4 years of activity. At the end of the GA we have a new secretary and a new member.
– Together with our colleagues from Cultivă Orașul, we clean the Catholic Church of Vlaha (Cluj County) from the guano accumulated under the nursery colony.
– We present about bats, research methods and bat protection for the students at the Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, UBB Cluj.
2021 October
– We participate in the XIIIth Hungarian Bat Research Conference, organized in Lakitelek, with a presentation about the bats of Banat and a poster about the database of Romanian bats.
– We participate in the 6th EuroSpeleo Cave Protection Symposium, organized on Vilm Island, Germany, with a presentation on bat conservation in Romania’s caves.
– We participate in the International Bat Conference: Protection of bat populations – threats, problems, practices, solutions, with a presentation about bats in man-made roosts in Romania.
– In partnership with the Natura Transilvaniei Association and with a sponsorship from Betfair Romania Development, we inaugurate the thematic route “Squirrel Route” in Făgetul Clujului forest.
– We present about bats, research methods and bat protection for students at the Faculty of Biology – Geology, UBB Cluj.
– On the occasion of BatWeek, our volunteer Ana creates a series of informative posts about bats.
2021 September
– We are finalizing the study of bats in the East Park, Cluj-Napoca, contributing to a more bat-friendly infrastructure of the park.
– Ana, one of our volunteers, gives an online presentation about bats for the firstgraders of Giurgiu and Valea Doftanei in frame of the Meet and Code Robo-Bats event.
2021 August
– We continue to monitor bats in Călimani National Park.
– We start the study of bats from hollow trees, in frame of a master’s degree on bats.
– We offer the public a vision about bat research, through the video made in the Iron Gates Natural Park, at the initiative of ProPark – Foundation for Protected Areas and under the coordination of Cosmin Dumitrache. Thanks for the opportunity!
2021 July
– We monitor nursery colonies nationwide, in tens buildings and caves.
– We continue our field trips as part of the cross-border project in the Banat area, with colleagues from Serbia.
2021 June
– We publish on the portal the first article about the cross-border project in the Banat area, carried out together with colleagues from Serbia, and funded by the Conservation Leadership Program.
– We continue the monitoring of the artificial bat boxes in Făgetul Clujului forest, observing the Barbastelle colony in its usual box.
2021 May
– Together with the experts of the Department of Environmental Sciences of the Sapientia University, we participate in the European Bat Research Symposium (online, 4-7 May 2021) with the results of an online questionnaire about the opinion of stakeholders (cavers, protected area managers, foresters, government agencies, bat experts). on bats and bat conservation in Romania.
– We finish our cross-border project together with our colleagues from the Republic of Moldova, financed by EUROBATS.
– Together with our Serbian colleagues, we continue the synchronous field work on both banks of the Danube within the framework of our joint cross-border project.
– At the initiative of the ProPark – Foundation for Protected Areas, under the direction of Cosmin Dumitrache, we are involved in the production of an educational film about bats in the Iron Gate Nature Reserve.
2021 April
– With the occasion of International Bat Appreciation Day, we are doing exactly that. :)
– We discover new colonies in the Iron Gates Natural Park.
– Together with the Iron Gates Natural Park’s team, we clean the guano gathered in the attic of the Serbian Church of Divici.
– We start monitoring the bats in the Jiului Gorge National Park.
2021 March
– We continue to monitor bats in the Grădiștea Muncelului – Cioclovina Natural Park.
– Regardless of the current COVID-19 scenario, our volunteers continue to present (online) in schools about the importance of bats.
2021 February
– We are carrying out the first synchronous field trip on the two banks of the Danube, as part of our cross-border Romanian-Serbian project in the Iron Gate region financed by the CLP.
2021 January
– We talk about bats and urban bats at the lectures organized by the Cluj-Napoca Zoological Museum (in Romanian and Hungarian).
2021
The end of 2020
2020 December
– We are working on the administrative details of our Romanian-Serbian project, funded by the Conservation Leadership Program, in order to start synchronous field trips in 2021.
2020 November
– On Halloween, EBS Radio and Ioana Botezan interview us about the real face of bats.
– The Brazilian Society of Cavers publishes a short article on Romanian bats.
2020 October
– We launch our project entitled “Transboundary conservation of horseshoe bats in the Romanian-Serbian Iron Gates”, financed by the Conservation Leadership Programme, in partnership with the Myotis Group for Bat Conservation (Romania), and the Natural History Museum in Belgrade (Serbia).
– We organize the 4th Romanian Bat Research Conference together with the Wilderness Research and Conservation NGO, and with the support of Pettersson Elektronik AB, Lotek, Natural Timber and EUROBATS:
– We launch a cross-border project together with our colleagues from the Republic of Moldova, financed by EUROBATS.
2020 September
– We continue to monitor bats in the Călimani National Park.
– We continue to monitor bats in the Iron Gates Nature Park.
2020 August
– Our colleague Flaviu discovers a barbastelle (B. barbastellus) colony of 12 bats in one of the artificial bat boxes of the Făget forest near Cluj-Napoca.
2020 June
– We start the summer / maternity monitoring of bats, including the artificial bat boxes placed by the CBRC in the Făget Forest.
– Our colleague Henrietta successfully defends her bachelor’s thesis at the Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, about new bat colonies in the Pădurea Craiului Mountains.
– Due to the fact that 2020 is an out of the ordinary year, we extend the designation of the Barbastelle to Bat of the Years 2020-2021, thus synchronizing with Europe.
– We are happy to learn that together with our colleagues from Serbia, we won funding from the Conservation Leadership Program for a project on the transboundary conservation of horseshoe bats in the Romanian-Serbian Iron Gates.
2020 May
– We go to the Iron Gates Natural Park, to evaluate the bats during the spring period.
– The online presentations during the pandemic / state of emergency gather over 200 participants, especially children and teenagers.
– We present about the bats for the children from Grund School (Oradea).
– Ana, our volunteer from Bucharest, gives a series of presentations for young people from the Romanian National Scout Organization.
– The president of CBRC presents online about bat monitoring methods to the students of the Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University.
– The Europarc Federation publishes a case study about our project aimed at Romanian cavers.
2020 May
– We go to the Iron Gates Natural Park, to evaluate the bats during the spring period.
– The online presentations during the pandemic / state of emergency gather over 200 participants, especially children and teenagers.
– We present about the bats for the children from Grund School (Oradea).
– Ana, our volunteer from Bucharest, gives a series of presentations for young people from the Romanian National Scout Organization.
– The president of CBRC presents online about bat monitoring methods to the students of the Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University.
– The Europarc Federation publishes a case study about our project aimed at Romanian cavers.
2020 April
– We publish our annual activity report for 2019.
– We present online about bats for master students from the Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University.
– We are republishing an article about bats in the context of COVID-19, with the consent of the author of the original article, Merlin D. Tuttle.
– The Transindex portal conducts an interview (in Hungarian) with the president of the CBRC, on the subject of bats and COVID-19.
2020 March
– At the end of March we rested a little bit, but the pandemics came over the world…
– In partnership with the Wilderness Research and Conservation, we initiate the organization of the 4th Romanian Bat Research Conference.
– Our colleague Flaviu writes an article about the colonial life of bats, for the lilieci.ro portal.
– Bats on the public’s vote, the Barbastelle (Barbastella barbastellus) is designated Bat of the Year 2020 in Romania.
2020 February
– We discover new bat colonies for science together with our colleagues from Poland, Germany and the United Kingdom.
– We monitor the hibernation colonies of the Iron Gates Natural Park.
2020 January
– We discuss about bats in Blériot Cafe, Cluj-Napoca.
– We are invited to Paleu, Bihor County, to talk about bats to kids.
– We are present at the event “Expedition – Call of the Unknown” (Oradea), with a talk about bats.
– We continue to monitor hibernation colonies in Romania’s key underground roosts. .
2020
The end of 2019
2019 December
– We talk about bat monitoring to the students at Sapientia University, Cluj-Napoca.
– We are invited to talk about bats to the children of the Happy Train Kindergarten, Cluj-Napoca.
– Together with our colleagues from the Romanian Permaculture Association, we clean the loft of the Roșia Montana Greek-Catholic Church.
2019 November
– We celebrate the 2 year anniversary of establishing of the Center for Bat Research and Conservation.
– We are present at the 9th Karst Protection Symposium, in Belgrade, Serbia, with a presentation about the cave-dwelling bat fauna of Romania.
– We are invited to talk about bats to the children of the Happy Train Kindergarten, Cluj-Napoca.2019 October
– We are present at the Hungarian Bat Research Conference, organized in Alsódobsza, with a presentation on the situation of bats in Romania (2010-2019), and with a poster about the caves of the Pădurea Craiului Mountains.
– We organize our General Assembly in Brașov, in the end the organization having 14 members and 2 honorary members.
2019 September
– Based on the invitation from our colleagues from the “Live the City” initiative, we talk about urban bats during the guided tour “Nature in the city“, Cluj-Napoca.
– At the request of the Babeș-Bolyai University, we chat with high school students from all over the country about bats, during the “Long weekend of highschoolers” event.
– The CBRC team participates at the Sinaia Forever event with a small exposition (informative materials, ultrasounds, etc.).
– Based on the invitation of the Retezat National Park, we present to biologists from the national and natural parks of Romania aspects about forest-dwelling bat species, and their monitoring.
– We organize the International Bat Night from 2019 in three locations: Cluj-Napoca, Făgăraș and Constanța. Also, we aid in organizing the events from Suseni (Harghita County) and Petrila (Hunedoara County).
– We continue to monitor bats in frame of the the study “Monitoring of Chiroptera in the Iron Gates Natural Park, along the Danube Green Corridor”, this time during the migration and mating period.
2019 August
– We are present at the National Congress of Cavers, organized in Șuncuiuș, with a presentation about the cave-dwelling bats of Romanian, and a poster with the results of the mixed chiro-speo teams.
– In collaboration with the Amateur Cavers Club of Cluj, we continue the bat survey of the forgotten caves of the Pădurea Craiului Mountains, with the summer period.
– In collaboration with several entities, we finalize the national summer monitoring of the most important bat roosts in the maternity period (caves and buildings).
– Through our colleague Georgiana, CCCL participates, together with the “Karios” Biology Circle and the Mediaș Municipal Museum, at the Flyers Research Camp, where we learn (again) that children know it better.
2019 July
– We initiate the summer monitoring of bats in frame of the the study “Monitoring of Chiroptera in the Iron Gates Natural Park, along the Danube Green Corridor”, in the Iron Gates Natural Park
– We monitor colonies of continental importance in Romania, with the participation of several bat researcher colleagues from the United Kingdom.
– We signal authorities (EPAs, Environmental Guards) the existence of bat colonies in historical monuments in several counties, and their vulnerability in case of uninformed renovations. Unfortunately, we also have to file notifications in case of several intentional colony destructions during renovations.
– We discover a new maternity colony, with over 3000 bats of 2 strictly protected species.
– We go to Călimani National Park, to monitor bats during the summer.
2019 June
– We continue the bat study of Făgetului Clujului forest, finalized with a Bachelor’s degree by our colleague Flaviu, at the Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University.
– We continue to monitor the bat roosts in Dobrogea, finalized with a Bachelor’s degree by our colleague Claudia, at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Agricultural Sciences, Ovidius University, Constanța.
– Together with cavers, we are looking for new maternity colonies in the Banat region, as part of the project financed by the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium.
– We create the tough ID key about cave bats, for cavers, in frame of the project funded by Columbus Zoo & Aquarium.
– We supplement the number of artificial roosts in Făgetul Clujului forest, including a special bat box designed for barbastelles, offered by NaturalTimber.ro. Thank you!
– We present about bats and bat protection in several schools in Baia Mare (Maramureș county).
2019 May
– We evaluate the Chesău Reformed Church (Cluj County) for the presence of bats, as part of a renovation initiative.
– We present to the children from Băița School (Hunedoara County) information about bats and bat protection.
– We participate in the conference “Rediscover Romania“, organized by ProPark – Foundation for Protected Areas, in Poiana Brașov. We start the activities within the “Mentoring for Nature” program, a ProPark initiative.
– We publish an awareness raising article in the Unitarian Church’s Newspaper, about the importance and protection of bat colonies from historic buildings.
– Together with colleagues from Hungary, we carry out a field trip for the study of the bent-winged bat, in frame of a project funded by EUROBATS.
– We present data on bat research in Dobrogea during the “XXII Session of Scientific Communications of the students of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Agricultural Sciences”, Ovidius University, Constanța.
2019 April
– We officially represent Romania at the annual meeting of the EUROBATS Advisory Committee, in Skopje, Macedonia.
– Presentation about cave-dwelling bats of Romanai, during the initiation course in speleology, organized by Speo Cristal Oradea.
– Scientific presentation of the results obtained with the Amateur Cavers Club and Speo Cristal Oradea, at the Cluj Biological Days, ed. XX.
– Completing the cleaning of the Orthodox Church in Zeicani.
2019 March
– Completing the cleaning of the Reformed Church in Leghia, in partnership with the Romanian Permaculture Association.
– Visit to Poland at the invitation of polish bat researcher colleagues, in Szachownica and Nietoperek Chiropterological Reserves.
– Field trip in collaboration with the Amateur Cavers Club of Cluj.
– Presentations about bats at Ovidius University in Constanța.
2019 February
– Presentation about Romanian cave-dwelling bats during the “Call of the unknown” event, organized by Speo Cristal Oradea.
– Field work in frame of the Columbus Zoo funded project, along with caverss from the Banat region, to identify new hibernation colonies.
2019 January
– Field trip in collaboration with the Amateur Caver’s Club and Speo Cristal Oradea.
2019
The end of 2018
2018 December
– Initiating the 2018-2019 winter monitoring of roosts with colonies of national and continental importance, in collaboration with several colleagues from Romania, Hungary and the United Kingdom.
– Cleaning the Orthodox Church in Zeicani.
– Celebrating the 2-year anniversary of launching the Lilieci.ro portal, and crating the first CBRC annual report for the 2017-2018 period.
– Publishing an article about the cave-dwelling colonies of Romania, in the Bat News magazine, through the Bat Conservation Trust.
2018 November
– Presenting about bats for children at Someşul Rece, Cluj county, in collaboration with the Someșul Rece Orthodox Parish.
– Cleaning of the Leghia Reformed Church, in partnership with the Romanian Permaculture Association.
2018 October
– Presenting about bats at the Lucian Blaga High School in Cluj-Napoca, during the “The Other Kind of School” week.
– The Romanian Ministry of Environment nominates the president of the CBRC as the scientific focal point for Romania, within the implementation of the EUROBATS agreement.
– Organizing the 2018 edition of the International Bat Night in Lisa, Brasov County, with over 100 visitors, in partnership with the Radu Negru National College Făgăraș, Braşov County, and the Lisa Orthodox Parish.
– Organizing an ecological education called “Our Bats!” for the students from the Special School for the Visually Impaired, Cluj-Napoca, within the event “Protected Areas Week”.
– Organizing and participating at the 3rd Romanian Bat Research Conference, Cernatu de Sus, with the generous sponsorship of Pettersson Elektronik AB.
2018 September
– Organizing, in collaboration with the Myotis Group for Bat Conservation, a training for cavers in Banat, within the frame of the project funded by the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium.
– Organizing the 2018 edition of the International Bat Night in Cluj-Napoca, with more than 800 visitors, in partnership with several organizations and institutions from Cluj-Napoca.
– Participating at the National Bat Conference in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with a presentation on the cave-dwelling bat colonies of Romania.
– Experience exchange in the United Kingdom, with bat researchers from different parts of the country.
2018 August
– Partnering with the Matei and Friends Association, to organize of the International Bat Nights in Petrila, Hunedoara County.
– Initiating a collaboration with colleagues from Hungary to study the spread of Lloviu virus.
– Participating in the annual cave exploration camp, organized by the Amateur Caver’s Club Cluj, for the identification of new colonies.
– Presenting about bats for children at Damiş, in partnership with ECOTOP Oradea.
– Initiating the detailed bat study of the East Park from Cluj-Napoca.
2018 July
– Participating in the SpeoArta photo contest, at Balcan Camp, Baru Mare.
2018 June
– Running at the “Run for Wildlife” competition, organized by Matei and Friends Association.
– Initiating the 2018 Summer monitoring of roosts with colonies of national and continental importance, in collaboration with several colleagues from Romania, Hungary and the United Kingdom.
– Presenting about bats at the Betfia Pothole, in partnership with ECOTOP Oradea.
– Starting to implement the project “Enhancing conservation efforts in the bat diversity hotspot of South-Western Romania”, funded by Columbus Zoo & Aquarium.
– Initiating a collaboration with bat researchers from Luxembourg on the study of Myotis emarginatus.
2018 May
– Presenting about bats in two high schools from Oradea, in partnership with ECOTOP Oradea.
– Participating in the 2018 EUROBATS Advisory Council meeting in Tallinn, Estonia.
– Participating in the Tech4Stories training organized by TechSoup Europe in Bucharest.
– Educational activities for children from Făgăraş area, Braşov county, in collaboration with the Foundation Conservation Carpathia.
2018 April
– Participating in the working group meeting for the 2nd edition of the Atlas of European Mammals, Prague, Czech Republic, as national bat data coordinator.
– Participating in the XIXth edition of the Cluj Biological Days, with a presentation about Bat of the year 2018, Rhinolophus mehelyi.
– Initiating the study of White Nose Syndrome (WNS) in collaboration with several foreign institutions.
2018 March
– Presenting about bats at Ovidius University in Constanța, Constanța County.
– Presenting about bat evolution at Darwin Day, Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Biology.
2018 February
– Designating the Méhely’s horseshoe bat as Bat of the year 2018 (second edition) in Romania.
2018 January
– Initiating the 2017-2018 winter monitoring of Romanian bat roost with national and continental importance, in collaboration with several colleagues from Romania, Hungary and the United Kingdom.
– Presenting about bats at the Györkös Mányi Albert Memorial House (EMKE), Cluj-Napoca.
– Cleaning the Fortified Church in Moşna, in partnership with the Romanian Permaculture Association.
2018
The end of 2017
2017 December
– Celebrating the 1 year anniversary of launching the Lilieci.ro portal.
– Participating at the Gala of Protected Areas, Poiana Brașov.
2017 November
– Initiating a partnership with the Romanian Permaculture Association, in order to clean the guano from several anthropic sites, that are important roosts for bat colonies, and cleaning the Unitarian Churches of Moldovenești and Vălenii de Arieş, as well as the Orthodox Church of Someșul Rece.
– Official establishment of the Center for Bat Research and Conservation.
2017 October
– Participating at the XIth Hungarian Bat Research Conference, at Vámoselőd.
2017 September
– Organizing the 2017 edition of the International Bat Night in Cluj-Napoca with over 800 visitors.
– Finalizing the collaboration with the ABUN – Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature Group, to popularize bat species through artwork.
2017 August
– Participating at the European Bat Research Symposium in San Sebastian, the Basque Country.
2017 June
– Initiating the 2017 Summer monitoring of Romanian bat roosts of national and continental importance, in collaboration with several colleagues from Romania, Hungary and the United Kingdom.
2017 April
– Launching the lilieci_ro Instagram page.
– Participating and presenting at the LIFE+ Szachownitza project conference in Poland.
2017 March
– Participating in the EUROBATS Advisory Committee meeting in 2017 in Belgrade, Serbia.
– Designating the brown long-eared bat as Bat of the year 2017 (first edition) in Romania.
2017
The end of 2016
2016 December
– Launching the Lilieci.ro portal in three languages (romanian, hungarian and english).
2016 November
– Participating in the 25th edition of the Polish National Bat Research Conference, in Morsko.
2016 October
– Organizing and participating in the 2nd edition of the Romanian Bat Research Conference, Plaiul Foii, Braşov County.
2016 May
– Initiating the bat research of Făgetul Clujului Forest.
2016 February
– Launching the Lilieci.ro Facebook page.