Ecovisit SKAT

Cross-border nature round table at Schloss Marchegg on the topic of ‘Visitor management in the border region to protect biodiversity’

In order to preserve the unique nature of the Morava and Danube rivers as a recreational area in the long term, Austrian and Slovakian partner organizations of the ‘Ecovisit SKAT’ project are focusing on a joint concept for visitor management. The aim is to coordinate nature conservation and recreational use.

During the meeting at Schloss Marchegg in early September, the project partners presented their measures: fthe Marchfeld Region is conducting a visitor count and a visitor survey in the project area. The Donau-Auen National Park is adapting the exhibition at the schlossORTH National Park Centre. In Slovakia, new visitor facilities in Modra and a themed trail in Svätý Jur are being implemented by the State Nature Conservation Agency. Daphne, in turn, is developing educational materials for children and organising volunteer groups and schools for nature conservation projects.

The aim of the visitor survey is to detect why people appreciate the nature along the March and Danube rivers so much. The initial results of the survey show: many seek relaxation in a walk through attractive countryside and are interested in the unique fauna and flora – observing animals is at the top of the list. What many would like to see is more information about the area and improved digital presentation of tours on the internet to help them plan their trips better.

Annual review of the project partners

On 7 November 2024, employees from the four partner organisations came together at the Čunovo Ecocentre to discuss the achievements to date one year after the start of the Ecovisit SKAT project and to coordinate further cooperation.

Project partner DAPHNE presented the current plans for a citizen science project for the city of Bratislava: Animal and plant species are to be surveyed. In addition, numerous schools have already been provided with programmes and materials for nature education.
In the Donau-Auen National Park, several focus groups were organised with visitors in order to gain suggestions for the revision of the permanent exhibition. Exhibition experts from other institutions were also involved in this preliminary evaluation. The planning of the exhibition is currently underway.

The Marchfeld Region Association reported on the planned visitor study, which will be used to count cyclists and pedestrians in various parts of the project area. The resulting knowledge will make it possible to respond even better to visitor flows in the future.
The State Nature Conservancy of Slovakia is preparing improvements to nature education facilities in the town of Modra and in the region around Bratislava. Among other things, a nature trail is being equipped with new content for display boards and hands-on stations.

One natural area - a variety of ideas for interpretation

The Ecovisit SKAT project fosters the exchange of knowledge across borders. On 10 October 2024, nature educators and other staff working in public relations from the four project partners met at the Ekocentrum Čunovo. The 18th century castle has been renovated and now shines as a nature education facility with a varied programme. The newly opened exhibition was visited in an exchange with the centre's management.

Afterwards, rangers from both countries showed how they involve the public in a variety of educational activities: In the castle garden, participants learnt how to estimate the height of an old plane tree using simple tools. To do this, they leaned a stick against the tree, moved away a little and used a special ruler with a scale. After some trial and error, everyone agreed that the tree measured around 20 metres.
Exciting things were also explained indoors: the river meanders of the March were laid out on the floor in shades of brown and the regulated river course in red.

"Listening to nature" exhibition opened

The new exhibition "Listening to nature" in the lookout tower focuses on the acoustic diversity of species in the Donau-Auen National Park. The protection of biodiversity is a central task of the national park - this also includes acoustic diversity, of which we present a small excerpt.

The exhibition at the schlossORTH National Park Centre can be visited until November 1, 2025. It was designed by Florian Puschmann, who guides visitors through the individual audio stations in his concept. Wildlife biologist Robin Sandfort works in the field of bioacoustics, among other things. Using sophisticated technical recording methods and with the support of AI, he makes the different sounds audible to us. The stations deal with sound events in the environment that are little known to humans - from the sounds of fish, bats, birds and insects to movements in trees and sound events in dead wood.

It can be visited daily during the opening hours of the schlossORTH National Park Centre.
Further information

Project Information

From November 2023 to October 2026, the "Ecovisit SKAT" project will implement cross-border cooperation between several organizations to protect nature. In the Austria-Slovakia project area, with its valuable natural areas that are sensitive to human disturbance, visitor pressure is increasing and people from the growing cities of Vienna and Bratislava are seeking recreation in nature. In the Ecovisit SKAT project, visitors are involved in nature conservation. It was submitted for funding as part of the INTERREG V-A SK-AT cooperation program.

The project has two main focuses:

Visitor offers and visitor guidance

• Creation of a cross-regional visitor study to determine the motives, interests and origins of visitors

• Further development of visitor facilities such as eco-centers or themed trails

• Exhibitions, accompanied by quality-assuring evaluations with visitors

• Development of environmental education programs and educational materials

• Awareness-raising and public relations work for the general public and experts (conferences, publications, events)

Renaturalization in the project area

• Management measures for renaturation such as reforestation, grazing and mowing

• Involvement of volunteer groups and schools in renaturation work as a nature education measure

As project partners of the Donau-Auen National Park, the Region Marchfeld, the DAPHNE organization und the State Nature Conservation Agency in Slovakia are involved in the Ecovisit SKAT project.