Posted on March, 14 2016

The impact of bison reintroduction in Tarcu Mountains in Romania’s Carpathians will be translated in real time online and through multimedia installations in the Bison Hillock Visitor Centre in the local village of Armeniş. The work is part of a new project implemented by WWF-Romania, Modulab (an interdisciplinary laboratory for art, technology and design.), the local community association AMZA and Armeniș City Hall. The project is co-financed by a grant from Switzerland through the Swiss Contribution to the enlarged EU. 

In the same area, WWF-Romania and Rewilding Europe have been leading the largest national bison reintroduction plan in Europe since 2014. Bison disappeared from Tarcu Mountains over 200 years ago. Today, they are rarer in the wild than black rhinos.

The project aims to bring conservation research closer to people by using artistic innovation that mixes technology, hardware and software. An interactive online platform will become the go-to place for observing the dynamic process of the bison population’s adaptation to the ecosystem. Meanwhile, three multi-sensory installations will transform the visitor centrе into an interdisciplinary space for applied ecology.

The Bison Hillock Visitor Centre will become a place for the local community, tourists and specialists in nature conservation to come together, share and get inspired. The installations are designed to interpret conservation insights so that locals and tourists can learn about the bison’s impact by interacting with them. Local community events, specialized workshops and classes for students will no doubt also put the centre on everyone’s map.

Early next year, the project will bring together practitioners in electronics, architecture, design, sociology and ecology, who will work together in an interdisciplinary hackathon, prototyping new tools for bison monitoring, contributing to our work and measuring the impact of bison reintroduction on the ecosystem.

The project in detail

The project will bring an innovative centre for applied ecology to the Bison Hillock. The centre will be used by students and practitioners from various fields who will take part in workshops ranging from electronics to driftwood furniture making. There will also be local and school events where guests can be amazed by the interactive displays put together by Modulab.

People from around the world will be able to observe the impact of bison on the ecosystems almost in real time. The data gathered though our research programme will trigger the content for the interactive platform and exhibition and tell the bison’s story in a more accessible way.

The interior design of the visitor’s centre is all about practicing what we preach. Furnishings will be made from local materials. We will upcycle driftwood from the local community. Ciprian Manda, a renowned interior design architect will work side by side with a family of carpenters from Armeniş and a small army of volunteers to give new life to materials that would otherwise become firewood.

A green space around the centre will give tourists the chance to relax after visits to the bison area while indulging in locally made syrups or hand-picked medicinal teas. Most of the plants used will be local species specific to the Ţarcu Mountains and offer an additional learning experience about the habitats of this Natura 2000 protected area.

The outside of the visitor centre will tell the story of the bison’s comeback to the Southern Carpathians. We’ll be working with Alexandru Ciubotariu (renowned illustrator and street artist known as Square Cat) who will paint an original interpretation of the food chain with the help of kids from the local area. The design will show the role of bison in the ecosystem and honour the cultural symbols of the region.

A research station offering accommodation and office facilities for students and practitioners from around the country will make the Bison Hillock a great place for internships and offer young professionals a chance to gain practical skills in conservation.

Two hackathons dedicated to wildlife monitoring will bring together experts from multiple disciplines in this rural community in the Southern Carpathians in an effort to incubate out-of-the-box ideas to take our nature conservation work one step further.

WWF-Romania and its partners are working towards a sustainable model for developing the local communities through nature-friendly enterprises connected to bison reintroduction. By creating better infrastructure for wildlife research and bringing science closer to people, the project hopes to increase visits to the area and create direct benefits for the local community.