"Adopt a Dracula"
- a bat conservation project in Transylvania -
2022
Introducing our 2022 bat conservation project in Transylvania, Romania!
Helping communities and giving back to people has always been our objective that we strive to accomplish with each and every tour but this year we have decided to take things further!
We have partnered with a local non-profit organization that specializes in protecting bats in Romania - CBRC or Center for Bat Research and Conservation - to help raise awareness about these little creatures without which life as we know it wouldn’t be possible. Click the image to find out more about their work!
Why bats you ask...?
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They eat enormous amounts of insects and especially mosquitos!
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They help pollinate cocoa trees and agave so: chocolate and tequila!
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Winemakers love them as they protect their vineyards from vine-munching insects and can cut down on pesticides by installing bat houses around their grapes instead.
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Lots of research related to their highly sophisticated radar and anatomy that we are just beginning to understand the benefits of.
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We are in the land of vampires so what better place to help protect Dracula’s heirs than in Transylvania??
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If you want to join our cause and help us conduct this project, there are two ways in which you can get involved:
I. "Adopt a Dracula" - Adopt a Bat House
This summer we have partnered with our friends from Dabble and Travel and have installed our first bat houses and what better location to choose than Bran Castle!
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We have found a bat house model that resembles the North Tower of the Castle (see below) and have located the perfect place to install them, in the forest nearby, close to a river, which is a perfect hunting ground for them.
We installed a total of 5 bat houses. Vlad and Matt each installed two bat houses and Georgiana installed one. The height to which these houses are installed is around 4m (13 feet)!
The North Tower of Bran Castle and Georgiana with her bat house that looks just like it
How does this work?
You can “Adopt a Dracula” by adopting one of the bat houses we installed and donating towards it.
Once you become a “Protector”, your name will be engraved on the bat house and you will receive yearly updates about how many bats have moved inside. Furthermore, if you ever come to Romania in person, you will be able to visit your bat house and check for yourself!
The minimum donation to own a bat house is $49 and we are working under a “first come first served basis". Remember, there are only 5 available now!
The first person to install a bat house was Vlad, since he bears the name of Vlad Dracula himself.
Your name could be engraved on it and you could visit your "adoptive vampires" at Bran Castle!
II. Volunteer in our project coming in 2022 - two weeks in Transylvania
Starting next year, we will run our very first volunteering program, the perfect chance to visit Transylvania and to contribute to the kind of community and world you want to live in every day.
This gives you the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than yourself and use your own skills and knowledge to assist in our efforts to make a difference long-term in the life of bats in Romania.
Half-day you will get hands-on into whatever activities the CBRC has in store for you, while the other half is spent exploring the "land beyond the forest" (Transylvania), with the satisfied feeling you get after accomplishing meaningful work for the places you visit.
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If this sounds like the perfect program for you, then please sign up below on our pre-register list, to receive all the details when we finalize them.
