GACEK is a polish project based in an ongoing effort of raising people’s awareness about bats, their habitats and ecosystems and how to deal with them in case of contact. Gacek is a colloquial name for bat in polish. The project began at the end of 2021 and its resolution was planned for the end of march 2024.

It was proposed and is led by the Polish Society for Nature Conservation “Salamandra”. Their aim is to preserve the environment in Poland and educate about ways people can aid in their efforts.They have multiple ongoing projects, one of them being protection of the bats. They own a magazine and internet website both about environmental issues, they prepare competitions about environmental knowledge for the youth, publications, exhibitions, trips, conferences etc. As one of their goals is to protect bats and their habitats it was passed onto the project in ways of expanding knowledge and ecological education of children and youth, tourists and local communities in the area of bat habitats, ecosystems in which they occur and promoting positive attitudes regarding the protection of these animal species.

A lot of bat species in Europe are endangered and under protection by law which makes it important for people to know with which they are interacting and how to do it properly. There are a lot of misconceptions about bats in Poland, one of the most popular is that bats get tangled in people’s hair. It comes from lack of knowledge and urban or folk legends. Everybody in Poland knows a person whose aunt got a bat stuck in their hair but nobody ever knows them first hand, because it never happens. This misconception comes from stories told to young women in old times to dissuade them from sneaking out to meet their lovers in the night.

There are also  misconceptions about bats carrying diseases like rabies which was reignited during COVID pandemic. The most common symptoms of rabies in bats are different from the ones known to people (like a rabid dog). They don’t look for victims to bite, they lack energy or even are unable to fly. Bats also only bite people if they feel threatened, for example if they are being held even though they are trying to break out of the grasp. So if one has to deal with a bat, get it out of their house, the safest way is to let it fly out on its own or put it in a box and release it outside during the night. One can also try picking it with a thick rag or kitchen gloves, never with bare hands.

During the project implementation training, workshops and media campaigns were held; education films and publications were created. Thanks to the project there have been more funds allocated to projects concerning all things bat related. Thanks to the project there have been at least twelve articles regarding bats and their habitats on the Salamandra´s page and multiple more created by other news sites basing their information on Salamandra´s posts. Their main goal was educating people on ways of interacting with bats; the main topics were when one has entered their habitat, encounters in the night and also dealing with bats that have entered the house and how to get them out with minimal risks. Salamandra took part in a conference in Poznan in the middle of September of 2022 which regarded chiropterological (flying mammals) matters. During the event they led an extensive workshop regarding tips on protecting bats’ shelters in buildings. It was aimed at personnel working on telephone emergency lines that deal with bat related issues; how they should lead the conversation in emergencies and  they were also given information about bats’ shelters, their requirements and changes over the year in Poland and outside.

Salamandra worked with the Gdansk Waterworks Trail to help educate youth and adults about bats as part of the waterworks in Gdansk have been chosen to be their preferred habitat. They led counting of bats in an old water tank in Gdansk which gave a result of 579. In the rest of pomeranian voivodeship the countings gave a result of 1118 individuals which shows the role the water tanks play in how bats spend their winter.

The protection of bats plays an important role in securing environmental stability in European countries. The project and ongoing efforts have already had results that are available online and implemented in bat habitats like Gdansk Waterworks Trail.

Sources

https://wltd.up.poznan.pl/sites/default/files/dokumenty/PROGRAM_XXIX-OKCh.docx.pdf

https://www.gdansk.pl/wiadomosci/Rekordowy-rok-Gdanskiego-Szlaku-Wodociagowego-ktory-zbiornik-wody-odwiedzilo-najwiecej-osob,a,211766

https://www.gdansk.pl/wiadomosci/Rusza-nowy-sezon-na-zwiedzanie-trzech-obiektow-wodnych-na-Gdanskim-Szlaku-Wodociagowym-Kazimierz-Stary-Sobieski-Stara-Orunia-GIWK,a,242039

https://magazyn.salamandra.org.pl/m27a20.html

https://www.salamandra.org.pl/component/search/?searchword=gacek&ordering=oldest&searchphrase=all&limit=25

https://www.gov.pl/web/klimat/gacek—kompleksowy-program-podnoszenia-swiadomosci-spolecznej-na-temat-ekosystemow-stanowiacych-siedliska-nietoperzy

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=430410336024429&id=100071663995424&set=a.114321914299941

Spanish Team of Eco-mmunity activators