Romania: The hills are alive with the sound of life

Another group, another arrival, introductions and training day. Another night with our two ferocious guard dogs, Labuși and Lucia standing watch against bears 😉

After some some more training on day 2, including hunting for gold on our GPSs, we set out in three teams to look for signs of bears and other animals. Team one began in the orchards above the village of Podul Dâmboviței, then to the meadows and forest margins above. Team two covered mixed meadow and forest terrain. Team three’s route took them through beech forest.

Our haul across the groups were signs of the high biodiversity we have in these mountains: all sorts of signs of deer, wild boar and of course bear. Birds of all sorts flitting about, mushrooms (including parasol and chanterelle, which we enjoyed back at base), the humming of a multitude of insects and birds, the sun shining on us, with mountains high and valleys low, and a group fully engaged. These hills are indeed alive with the sound of life and the work of citizen science.

Tonight were delighted to receive a visit from Christoph and Barbara Promberger, the founders of Foundation Conservation Carpathia, whose vision is to create Europe’s largest wilderness reserve, here in the Făgăraș Mountains. It’s great to be a part of this effort.