Creek students going bats

Roberts Creek Elementary students including: Ben Millar-Volmar, Aidan Woolliams, Gavin Lynagh  Ava Dugal, Hanna Barons and their classmates join Sunshine Coast Wildlife Project’s Restoration Specialist Anayansi Cohen-Fernandez in building houses for bats.  Photo submitted

If you were a bat, would you choose to roost in a giant condo with thousands of other bats, or in a nursery box where moms raise their babies together? Would you prefer a single roosting chamber, for everyone to share, or perhaps two or three separate chambers? Do you like the Rocket box? Definitely cool looking with a space age design! And what about the Uncle George house?  It is a bat favourite! In the wild, bats roost in a variety of locations from caves and rock crevices, to tree cavities and beneath bark. As natural roosting habitat becomes more limited, many species will also use human structures like barns, bridges, attics and man-made bat boxes. Scientists are still learning how to create suitable roosting habitat for bats, and you can help with the Sunshine Coast Wildlife Project’s “Homes for Bats” study. For a limited time, receive a free bat house for installation on your property. Or build your own bat house from our selected models and install it and the Wildlife Project will reimburse the cost of the materials.

BC bats play an essential ecological role as controllers of insect pests and are also among the most threatened species in the province; these fascinating night-fliers need our help! To learn more about “Homes for Bats” please visit our website at www.coastwildlife.ca, email us at coastwildlife@gmail.com or call Ana at 778-239-9231. The Wildlife Project gratefully acknowledges support from Canadian Wildlife Foundation, Gencon Foundation, Public Conservation Assistance Fund, and Environment Canada’s EcoAction Community Funding Program.

Submitted