Between April and September 2026, many people learned about the nocturnal tales of the bats living in the gorges. Through the varied activities of the MOL project, implemented by CCCL in partnership with Defileul Jiului National Park and Iron Gates Natural Park, people came closer to bats and gained a better understanding of their role around us. They also left behind some of the unfounded legends.
By the end of the project, we can say that at least 1,000 people learned directly about the bats of the Jiu Gorge and the Iron Gates. Of these, 500 people attended the two events in the “International Bat Night” series, held in Bumbești-Jiu and Orșova. Older and younger children, together with their parents or teachers, learned that “together” we are more curious, more responsible, and more attentive to what surrounds us. Thousands more people learned about the project and about bats online, thanks to a constant presence on the social media channels of CBRC and its partners from Defileul Jiului National Park and Iron Gates Natural Park.
The activities carried out in Defileul Jiului National Park consisted of informing local communities about bats. We organized themed excursions for students from schools in the area and a workshop dedicated to teachers. We installed information boards for tourists and artificial bat boxes along the park’s trails. The project concluded with the “International Bat Night” event, Bumbești-Jiu edition. These activities provided real support for the park administration’s conservation efforts, by raising awareness, changing negative attitudes, and reducing behaviors that can harm bats. Overall, the implementation of the project contributed to developing a favorable attitude toward protecting biodiversity and encouraging community involvement in conservation actions within the protected natural area. The materials produced during the project (such as information boards and posters featuring bat fauna) support a greater sense of responsibility among the local community and visitors toward the natural values of Jiu Gorge National Park.
For our colleagues at Iron Gates Natural Park, the project was further proof that collaboration can achieve meaningful things that matter for the ongoing work of educating, raising awareness, and informing the wider public about the need to protect and conserve biodiversity in general, and bats in particular. The connection between the two partner parks and CBRC is not limited to the fact that both are located in gorge areas, but also extends to the people involved: the volunteers, the staff of the two park administrations, the children and teachers involved, and the glue holding this network together — the CBRC experts. One of the results that will remain in the public eye for a long time is the Interactive Bat Corner at the park’s visitor center in Orșova: a place envisioned and wanted both by the people who have come for years to monitor bats in the park area and by us at the park administration — a place that took shape and became reality through the implementation of this project.
But the project’s impact does not end with its completion. The Interactive Corner in the Iron Gates is only now truly beginning to become visible to visitors. The artificial bat boxes are soon to be used by bats from the Jiu Gorge. Combined with the information panels placed near the boxes, they will offer visitors to the area a closer experience with bats. The photo exhibition created by the project, on the theme of bats in Romania, is beginning its journey across the country. Having already been shown at Făgăraș Fest 2026 and at the International Bat Nights in Bumbești-Jiu and Orșova, its next stop will be Cozia National Park. The tales of bats fly onward.
We thank all our colleagues and volunteers for their support in carrying out the project!
The project “Bats in the gorges: nocturnal tales in protected natural areas” had a budget of 39,907.50 RON, and aimed to improve the conservation of natural values in Iron Gates Natural Park and Jiu Gorge National Park, by involving local communities in bat conservation, as well as by raising visitors’ awareness of the importance of bats and their role in ecosystems. The project was implemented by the Centre for Bat Research and Conservation, in partnership with R.N.P. ROMSILVA – Administration of Iron Gates Natural Park R.A. and R.N.P. ROMSILVA – Administration of Jiu Gorge National Park R.A. The project was funded by the Environmental Partnership Foundation and MOL Romania.
