Public awareness
The project for root vole conservation focuses not only on its protection and habitat restoration, but also on informing the public about this rare and threatened species. Cooperation with the public as well as with various stakeholders in the area plays a key role not only in supporting the project activities and their successful realisation, but in particular in conservation of the species after the project has finished.
During the project, we carried out a number of educational activities such as lectures and excursions for the public, installation of information panels in Slovakia, Austria and Hungary and issuing educational flyers, posters and brochures. Promotional materials also include t-shirts, pens, toys, stickers and calendars with motives of root vole and its habitats. In 2014/2015 we issued new stickers, postcards, posters and a game pexeso (pairs) with motives of the root vole and its habitats, in 2016 we produced Layman report to summarize the activities done during the project and we also issued a brochure about wetland restoration. The project has been presented to local inhabitants, university students studying natural sciences, pupils and students of secondary and primary schools, specialists and scientists as well as the general public. Altogether we organized 36 presentations for 734 people and 35 excursions in project sites for 608 people. During the project we presented the actions in 6 TV shots, 4 radio interwiev and 72 articles issued in printed or online version. We also attended 22 conferences in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and Luxemburg, where we promoted the project.
In 2015 on 18th to 20th May we organized a workshop about Microtus oeconomus in Illmitz in information centre of NP NeusiedlerSee-Seewinkel. Presentations were given on Microtus oeconomus mehelyi research, management and restoration activities taken for its conservation, excursions were organized to project sites in Austria and Slovakia. There were 26 people participating from four countries – Slovakia, Hungary, Netherlands and Austria. You can see the photos here.
Travelling exhibition about the life of root vole in the wetlands of the Danube region has a shape of an over life-size root vole burrow. One part of the exposition is a panoramic cinema where a short documentary film about root vole and wetlands is shown, a video laboratory with owl pellets analysis, activities of sensory perception, food chain model or a magnetic board with interactive games. More than 9600 visitors have seen the exhibition in 3 years of travelling in 21 different places in Slovakia and Hungary. You’ll find more information about the exhibition and lending possibilities here.
We have shot a documentary film about life of root vole which has already been broadcasted in Hungarian television and was also used in travelling exhibition. The film is available also with Slovak and English subtitles.
The second film created in the project titled „The secret inhabitant of the wetlands near Čiližský potok brook – the root vole” is 26 min. long and it documents works of BROZ in the LIFE project dealing with the conservation of this rare root vole. It contains unique shots from a root vole nest, building works on the restoration of the Čiližský potok brook and sluice gates holding back the water in wetlands. Viewers can watch the life of the root vole during one year in the context of conservation actions to bring water back to wetlands in Danube region and to save these ecosystems. The film was shortly after its finishing broadcasted in several different regional TVs in Slovakia and Hungary. The film also contains Slovak, English, German and Hungarian subtitles and it is beeing distributed to public, TVs, schools in Slovakia, Hungary and Austria.
In the section “Written about us”, you can read articles published about the project and related activities.
