BATS AND CHURCHES

(reproduced with permission from Forest Group of Churches May Newsletter)

In the United Kingdom we have 18 species of bat, all are insectivorous and a great biodiversity indicator. A single bat can eat up to 3000 midges in one night making them an excellent natural insect controller, but unfortunately over recent years their populations have declined, making each roost important for future survival. Due to their decline, bats and their roosts are protected under European law with a roost defined as any place that a wild bat uses and is protected whether bats are present or not.

Churches have been enduring features of the British landscape and due to their structure have made excellent roosting opportunities for generations of bat populations, particularly in areas where alternative roosts are scarce. About 60% of pre-16th century churches contain bat roosts and we therefore play a pivotal role in securing the future for these fascinating creatures.

I have been attending Ray Lodge Church since a small child and am currently employed by Bat Conservation Trust on the National Bat Helpline. Because churches provide an important community for both ourselves and bats it is essential that each can live in harmony with the other. At Bat Conservation Trust, and on behalf of Natural England, churches may be eligible for a free bat roost visit carried out by volunteers. I recently accompanied a volunteer who visited a local church in Woodford Green as they wished to carry out porch refurbishment works. The church appreciated the service and from the subsequent advice a letter of consent was granted by the faculty for the works to be undertaken as the bats safety was ensured.

Numerous resources are available, so if your church requires assistance or seek information relating to bats please do contact me on the National Bat Helpline, 0845 1300 228 or alternatively by email djackson@bats.org.uk. Every church’s worship is unique and with our support we can help the future survival of this unique mammal species.

David Jackson
Bat Advice Officer
National Bat Helpline - Bat Conservation Trust

BCT Visit the RSPCA

Our Bat Care Network Co-ordinator Jess Barker recently visited the RSPCA's National Call Centre. Here she shares her experience with us...

‘The RSPCA invited me to visit their National Call Centre (NCC) in my first summer as Network Co-ordinator, but the increase in my workload somewhat knocked me for six, so it never happened. This year I was determined to make it happen! I’ve worked with very skilled individuals at the RSPCA throughout my career in animal welfare charities, and also at BCT, but I did go to the NCC with my view somewhat coloured by negative things I’d heard about advice and waiting times on their Helpline.

My day was split between shadowing staff on the phones, being shown around by David (one of the quality control managers) and giving two talks to NCC managers and staff on bats and the work of the Bat Helpline.  It took no time at all to be struck by two things: how gigantic the call volumes are, and how very committed the staff are to ensuring their advice is good and cases being prioritised appropriately.

The Bat Helpline handle in the region of 13,000 enquiries a year. By 10.45am on the day of my visit, the NCC had already taken 544 calls and would meet our yearly volume within a busy few days. On back to back calls call handlers were doing all the reassurance and advising that we do on the Helpline, but also facing far greater emotional strain from hearing descriptions of cruelty, and trying to assist aggressive callers. The range of calls is very wide, so call handlers have a knowledge base with snappy information on various topics, including a bat flowchart which was developed with BCT.

The ‘tasking’ teams pick up records of calls where further action is needed, and send cases out to staff in the field. I sometimes experience frustration at the realities of prioritising limited resources, but this is nothing compared to what the RSPCA face! To help keep RSPCA Inspectors for the cases where particular experience and authority is needed, the RSPCA also has Animal Collection Officers and Animal Welfare Officers, who can take on transport and assessment work.

Anyone who has worked in a call centre will be familiar with the call board which shows how many calls are waiting and for how long, turning red after the oldest call has been waiting for a certain length of time. The NCC have these, and knowing this helped me be patient a few weeks later when I called about a trapped cat. When David talked about ensuring call quality, you could tell he had a lot of faith in the call handlers and if there was any suggestion things had gone wrong he was going to do all he could to find the facts of the matter, as we do on the Bat Helpline. Every call handler has four calls monitored and scored a month to ensure advice is being given correctly, and all calls are recorded.

I came away from my day so impressed at the attitude of the staff, the workload they cope with and the tough decisions they make. Negative stories always seem to carry more weight, but following my experience of the NCC I’d ask anyone who hears one to balance it against the thousands of calls with positive outcomes that we don’t hear about.’

If you are worried about a bat, please call our Helpline on 0845 1300 228 and our helpline officers will advise you on what to do next.

The RSPCA Helpline is a 24-hour service for reports of mistreated, neglected, injured or distressed animals. Initial advice for those concerned about an animal is available via the RSPCA online chat service (http://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare).

Overcoming old attitudes at high altitude.

BCT member Caroline Ware shares her experiences of the ‘Living With Villagers’ project helping educate young people about bats in Nepal.

The main focus of my recent trips to Sankhuwasabha in eastern Nepal was not bats but the Himalayan giant nettle. This led me along a sinuous trail through the foothills of the Himalayas, to villages where the nettle is harvested and skilfully transformed into beautiful and functional cloth.

Along the nettle trail in Sankhuwasabha – Spinning nettle fibre

There were of course several amazing distractions along the way, such as a trip to Chitwan National Park where we saw rhinos, elephants, crocodiles and many exotic bird species. But when I asked about the bats found there, I was told that Nepalis do not spend time looking at nocturnal animals, in fact they regard people who do as ‘eccentric and inauspicious’. I didn’t ask again but continued my journey with bat detector at hand. Eventually I met someone who not only spends time watching nocturnal animals but who is working positively to change attitudes towards them.

Sanjan Thapa works with the Small Mammals Conservation and Research Foundation (SMCRF) in Kathmandu. His mission is to improve the survival of bats in his country, while at the same time pioneering work to classify them. There are 53 known bat species in Nepal and work is in progress to update and validate this list. Initial results have been published in Bats of Nepal, A SMCRF Field Guide, by Sanjan and his colleagues. Sanjan is now focusing on the taxonomy of four genera Pipistrellus, Eptesicus, Hypsugo and Myotis.

Hypsugo sp © Sanjan Thapa

Parallel to this taxonomic research, Sanjan is working on an educational and engagement project in the more remote areas of Nepal, because, as he says, ‘understanding and influencing people’s attitudes towards bats is the foundation of successful conservation’.

On the advice of Malcolm Pearch of the Harrison Institute (http://www.harrison-institute.org), I’d sent Sanjan a few echolocation records that I’d collected along the nettle trail in 2010. Almost by return I was sent a draft of Altitudinal Variation in Bats, Understanding People’s Perceptions to Bats and Creating a Bat Conservation Awareness in Sagarmatha (Everest) Zone, Eastern Nepal, by Sanjan and others.

While I was in Nepal this time, he invited me to drop in on a project he was running in the village of Madi, a ‘two-hour walk’ from Chainpur – the former capital of Sankhuwasabha and a short detour from the nettle trail.

            The project is called Living with Villagers, a volunteering scheme attached to the SMCRF and Sanjan’s personal initiative. He was spending approximately nine months teaching biology and chemistry to Year 11 and 12 pupils at Madi High School before moving to other schools around Nepal. His pay includes board and all meals and he takes home £200/month. Now in the second year of Living with Villagers, Sanjan is based at a school in Barabisse in Sindhupalchowk district, west of Sankhuwasabha, 86 kilometres north east of Kathmandu. A placement in Gorkha in west Nepal is planned for 2014/15 with Years 4 and 5 of the initiative still to be decided.

During this time Sanjan will also continue his taxonomic research, which he hopes will eventually be converted to a PhD thesis, subject to funding.

Back to Madi. Although I had brought along my bat detector and recorder, and Sanjan had added my few observations to a very long list of echolocations and sightings in his notebook, I had a feeling there was another motive for my being invited to Madi – the reason my friend Ang Diku Sherpa and I had spent nearly four hours walking the ‘two-hour’ route from Chainpur to Madi.

And yes, I was asked to accompany him back to the school after noon and help supervise an art competition, from which I must pick three drawings that best demonstrate awareness about bats and their role in the environment.

A class of 60 students, aged 14 to 15 years old, were waiting with excitement. I helped hand out drawing paper and packets of wax crayons before Sanjan explained that everyone must draw a bat or whatever they know about bats. This sparked much discussion and chattering, which also brought a gaggle of younger children from outside, giggling around the door.

In the classroom - getting started

Ang Diku translated what the students were saying, while Sanjan tried to send the younger children away.

            Why do we have to draw a bat?

‘We don’t know how to draw a bat,

Can I draw anything else apart from a bat?’

How do we draw a bat...?

The drawing competition was taking place during their free time, so not surprisingly they were feeling a bit rebellious, but eventually they settled.

Making progress...

Adding the details..

Concentration - time's nearly up....

Some 40 minutes later the drawings were completed and we returned to Sanjan’s house with the art work. Most of the drawings showed a basic understanding of bats, that they used banana trees, liked fruit and lived in caves. Some of the better artists captured the wing shape nicely, but many looked very bird-like. Just a few showed a detailed understanding of the anatomy, including bone structure.

Choosing the competition winners

Photo 10: And the winners are...

The drawing competition is the first phase of an education programme in the school, looking at local people’s perceptions of bats, and this will be followed by scheduled surveys. Over the next two to three months Sanjan planned to introduce these students to bat conservation and teach them about the essential role they play in the natural and economic world, such as seed dispersers, pollinators and agricultural pest controllers. Teaching material includes videos provided by Bat Conservation International, posters of different species of bats produced by SMCRF, and material from Bat Conservation Trust that I had brought along, including the Green City Bats project resource pack and copies of the Young Bat Worker.

Sanjan distributing posters to the same class later in the year. © Mr. Shiba Raj Subedi

After the teaching sessions Sanjan will ask the students to take part in another bat drawing competition. I’m looking forward to seeing the results.

This educational project is designed to further people’s understanding of bats and their role in the ecosystem. And just as bat workers find here, working on activities for and with children helps to instil an enthusiasm and interest across generations.

By creating awareness among the students, and by extension their families and others in the village, superstitions about bats as nocturnal animals will gradually be eroded and it’s hoped will inspire a wider bat conservation movement in Nepal.

Sanjan teaching about bats to the same class later in the year

 © Mr. Shiba Raj Subedi

The work of Sanjan is inspirational. Not only is he taking on attitudes that are embedded in Nepali culture, but his project is self-funded through his teaching posts, and he has taken on important taxonomic research in a country with three times more bats species than Britain.

But Sanjan and these bats also need help – either through grants or loan of bat monitoring equipment.

Other bats around Madi include Rhinolophus lepidus © Sanjan Thapa

For more information about this project see Sanjan’s article "Living with Villagers" in Small Mammal Mail:  http://www.zoosprint.org/ZoosPrintNewsLetter/2014_Vol.5_No.2_SMM.pdfI or contact Sanjan at thapasanjan@gmail.com

VOLUNTEERING FOR BATS' BENEFIT!

OOH! - That would be the 'Out of Hours' Helpline. Just don't call it the Bat-phone!

CLICK HERE TO GET MORE DETAILS ON VOLUNTEERING

0845 1300 228

Having come across the Bat Conservation Trust's Out of Hours Helpline through my work at BBC News and on realising they were crewing up I thought 'perfect'! 

You can offer as many or as few evenings or weekends you have available a month and rotas are drawn up on a month by month basis and can be flexible if needed. 

Who could resist helping this fellow?

So I responded to the email address posted on www.bats.org.uk and having chatted with Sabah, the Out of Hours Project Co-ordinator, signed up for a trip to the bat cave, otherwise known as the Bat Conservation Trust Offices, for an evening's training with Sabah and Jess (Bat Care Network Co-ordinator). 

After the talks and powerpoints, and a session using the super straightforward internet based computer systems, I left the offices fully briefed on the systems, up to speed on all aspects of bat care advice and raring to go. 

A folder packed full of reminder info under my arm I headed home. For home is where the help is... 

Manning the 'bat-phone' - D'oh!

As an Out of Hours Volunteer you commit to being at home, in front of a computer for your shift - typically during the week it's from 5.30pm to 11 pm one evening and then from 7 am to 9am the next morning - or during the day, or evenings at weekends. You have a member of staff to whom you can turn if you get any particularly tricky calls (for example if anyone is scratched, bitten or reports a suspected foreign bat landing in the UK) but the basics are wonderfully simple. 

Calls to the Helpline get diverted to the phone number you provide (my mobile has never been so busy!) so you pick up your phone and you're off. You log on to the computer system that guides you through important information to get from the caller and reminds you of the key messages you should pass on and then you log into BCT's most prized system of all, the Bat Care Network. 

The charity could not provide the bat care help without this network of wonderful individuals who permit BCT to either give out their numbers or to be contacted in the event of a bat needing help in their locality. 

The carers on the list are dotted right around the UK and entries outline availability and what they can and can't undertake in terms of bat care. As a helpline volunteer you take the call and after chatting to the individual who has rung you to establish what help they need you either offer the advice or put them in touch with their local carers - job done!

Obviously it's not quite that simple. Each call is different and you meet some wonderful people on the end of the phone. Sometimes callers are concerned only with the welfare of the bat that's in trouble, and want to know what they can do to help, sometimes they are scared themselves, troubled by their visitor or letting you know of someone boarding up a roost site or chopping down a tree. Bat roosts are protected by law and we have an Investigations Officer who assists in investigating and reporting bat crime to the Police to whom we refer such calls.

The Out of Hours service is an emergency service so general routine queries are logged or asked to call back during the BCT's working hours - but no one goes away unassisted! 

The Emergency calls can come through in fits and starts and its often noticeable how bat activity seems to happen in geographical areas on a given evening - one night you will get a lot of calls from a rural part of Scotland, another week it could be south Wales that most folk call from - it makes you think the bats are chatting with one-another and picking their times to get into trouble! You can have evenings when it barely rings and other nights when it's relentless!

I've taken calls on bats in hairdressers, hallways of homes, behind hanging baskets, from a parade ground in an army barracks, a school and high rise block of flats in west London. If you find a bat out and about in the daytime it's usually in trouble and always worth giving us a call. I love it when I get a call back to update me on progress or resolution - and get to hear some lovely stories of successful releases!

Last summer there were a few calls of bats flying around in homes, having flown in through an open door or window (presumably following insects attracted by the lights). They get in a flap when in doors with lights, noise and people and pets. The best instant advice if a bat is flying around a room is to close the interior doors, get folk out of the way, turn off lights and noisy radios and TVs and open the windows.  Bats inside are trying to get out and this often allows them the space to find their way out! 

Cats have been at the bottom of most of the calls I worked on over last summer - either bringing in bats as 'gifts' for their owners or being seen stalking an injured, grounded bat. 
With a cat-caused injury a bat will need specialist care - and probably antibiotics - so it's one that we will always refer to a carer to administer help. 

Basic bat care advice is always given to the caller, to contain the bat (if it's not flying) and meet its immediate needs (namely popping it in a well ventilated box with a lid, with a towel in which to snuggle and a few drops of water to drink in a lid from something like a milk carton) and they are always asked to handle the bat as little as possible, and always use gloves if they are going to. You don't want to hurt yourself or the bat and while bats seldom bite or scratch there is a very small risk of a rabies-like virus from handling an infected bat (which is itself extremely rare - very few bats have tested positive for this virus in the last 20 years of testing).

It's always lovely when folk engage and want to learn about bats - for some it’s their first encounter with these lovely little mammals – it’s often the start of a new interest and people often ask for leaflets and information about bats to be sent to them. Most people are astonished at how small they are and how cute!

I have chatted with lovely people, helped hundreds of bats through the advice I've given or the experts I've put in touch with bats in need. It's been a great volunteer experience and one which will suit even the relatively time poor wildlife lover! You get to help some fabulous people and some magical mammals!  I also ended up moving to BCT in a different role after I had started as a volunteer so it’s not just the bats’ lives that you get to change for the better!

Abi McLoughlin Out of Hours Volunteer 2013

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT HOW TO BECOME AN OOH VOLUNTEER

JUST IN CASE YOU EVER NEED IT  : 0845 1300 228

BASIC BAT CARE:1. Contain the bat:a) Like a spider, by placing a box on top of it and sliding a piece of card underneath.b) alternatively, cover the bat with a cloth/teatowel and carefully scoop it up and place it in the box.2. Put a tea towel or soft cloth in the box for the bat to hide in.3. Put in a small, shallow container e.g. a plastic milk bottle top with a few drops of water (not enough for the bat to drown in). Make sure the water is topped up regularly.4. Keep the bat indoors somewhere quiet and dark5. Most importantly, call the Bat Helpline on 0845 1300 228 for local bat carer numbers.Only a bat that has been confirmed as fit and healthy by a bat carer should be released, and never during the day. Always wear gloves if handling a bat. Tell someone immediately if you are bitten or scratched.

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Scottish Conference

The Scottish Bat Workers Conference 2013

Anne Youngman, our Scottish officer writes ……

Hurrah, the Scottish Bat Workers Conference 2013 is now done and dusted for another year ….. After a short break to draw breathe it’s time to reflect on how it went and to start planning for 2014.

So how was it? Read onto find out more.

Battleby Conference Centre

The event was held at the Scottish Natural Heritage conference centre at Battleby near Perth. This is an ideal venue; great facilities for talks and workshops, helpful staff and is set in perfect bat habitat. It even has its own bat roosts in the buildings and in centrally heated bat boxes. 

Battleby Conference centre

Biggest so far - The venue was packed almost to capacity with just over 140 attendees. I was a bit worried that with so many people we’d never get the toilet, coffee and lunch queues processed in the available breaks. However there were no signs of people either fainting from hunger or standing cross legged so I believe everything flowed smoothly.  

Delegates arrive at registration

Workshops galore – there were 9 workshop options to choose from with (hopefully) something for everyone, no matter what their particular batty interest or level of skill.  The needlefelting workshop produced some new bat species (never before seen in Scotland or the world for that matter)

       Tracey Joliffe with her loveable BLE

Heather Macfarlane with the “MacFarlane’s Mango” bat

  “Amazing Lisa”

Lisa Worledge was a real star. When Kate Barlow was unable to lead the Sound analysis workshop Lisa was rapidly promoted from workshop assistant to workshop leader and rose brilliantly (if slightly nervously) to the occasion.

 Brian Boag enjoys the Sound Analysis workshop (who wouldn’t in such delightful company!

 More beautiful bat girls enjoying Sound Analysis

Other workshops included:

 

Introduction to Analook (lead by John Haddow)

 Bat to basics workshop with Ben Ross and Beth Wilson

Raffle, Sales and displays – The raffle made £90.00, however it was not featured very prominently so next year I will make the prizes more obvious and hope to raise even more money towards the Scottish Bat Project.

During break times attendees were able to watch;

* a film by Stuart Pritchard showing the bats in the centrally heated bat box , 

·         *another film featuring the Scottish species champions ( Made by Scottish Environment LINK)

·         *a rolling power point by John Haddow showing this summer’s work on Arran “Looking for Leislers”

The Fifes Knitted Nature project displayed whole ecosystems of knitted plants, animals (including bats of course) and fungi, representing all the biodiversity action plan species in the Kingdom of Fife.

Fifes Knitted Nature species delighted and charmed attendees

Delegates were able to stock up on Christmas presents.  Jackie O’Hara brought an assortment of her own hand made cards, bags and other bat related delights, while the beautiful cards by Lyn Wells (Artful creatures) sold out completely. 

 Jackie O’Hara and her beautifully batty arts and crafts

 Lyn Wells(Artful Creatures) – Her cards sold out completely!

Unfortunately I think the lovely batty clock by crafty clocks was rather overlooked by delegates (there was so much else to see). However If you’d like to order a clock before Christmas and enter “Bat Conference“ in the comments box when you make your order a donation will be made to BCT for each bat clock sold.  

Feedback – from the conference was very positive, of the 65 feedback forms returned 41 rated the day as EXELLENT overall, 17 as Good, no lower ratings were given (and some people forgot to turn over the page!)   However I won’t rest on my laurels, next year the delegates list will be sent out a little earlier and the raffle will be made more obvious. 

It only remains to say some HUGE THANK YOUs, to everyone who delivered a talk or workshop and to the caterers and staff at Battleby who looked after us extremely well.

See you next year  J on 8^th November.

Time flies!

Anne Youngman

Scottish Officer, BCT, December 2013

BCT has Christmas all sewn up! Ahem, it's in the bag!

Super giveaway gift with memberships bought before Christmas and an ideal gift idea for bat fans and conservationists who have everything: -Why not Adopt-a-bat!

If you fancy doing something a bit special for some of Britain’s most at-risk mammals this Christmas, how about going a bit batty? After all, aside from Santa’s Reindeer, bats are the only flying mammals in the world! At the Bat Conservation Trust, we think we have Christmas all sewn up this year.  Buy an individual membership for yourself or a friend befo the big day,25th December, and not only do you get to help us secure the future for bats but you also get a special free gift of a fabulous cotton bag emblazoned with our logo. And that’s in addition to the usual membership pack, with postcards, a car sticker, fabulous bat pin-badge and information about our projects and thrice annual Bat News magazine. You will also get discounts to courses and conferences. Standard individual membership is £2.50 a month or  £30 per annum, paid annually or as a one off and discounts are available. Our fab batty bag also comes with family memberships bought at this time. YOUNG BATWORKERS' CLUB For the Little-uns we have Young  Batworkers’ Club membership to the Bat Conservation Trust for just £12 a year for each child.  Not only will they get endless enjoyment learning all about bats, but those vital funds will help conserve bats so their children in turn can be Young Bat Workers’ Club members.  Membership includes a subscription to the Young Batworker magazine, a special badge, a bat calendar and lots of batty things like stickers and postcards and fact sheets.  It’ll be like all their Christmases have come at once! ADOPT-A-BAT   If you’re already a member and so are your friends and family, or if you simply know someone who fancies their own pipistrelle bat buddy, why not Adopt-a-bat. You will get your own fluffy bat toy, certificate of adoption (which you can download and print yourself if it’s all a bit last minute!) and welcome letter. You’ll also get an ‘I love bats’ magnet and  a colourful newsletter and poster sent out twice a year to keep you updated! For just £3.00 a month! Best of all you get to know you are helping secure the future for these winged wonders of the night! To adopt-a-bat head to www.bats.org.uk/adopt  You can sign up online for individual, family or Batworkers’ club membership  at  http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/join.html You can also join, buy memberships for others or adopt a bat over the phone and you can organise to have it sent directly to them and put in gift messages etc. The all important number is 0845 1300 228!  SHARE BATTY GREETINGS THIS CHRISTMAS FOR FREE Don’t forget we have a fabulous selection of free Christmas e-cards on our website www.bats.org.uk/ecards to spread the joy and save paper this year!  Hope you all have a very batty Christmas!

Halloween Fundraising for BCT is spooktacularly easy!

 

Lisbeth and colleagues celebrating Halloween

BCT member, senior ecologist and returning Halloween fundraiser - Lisbeth Nash, tells us how and why she chooses to have fun and raise much needed funds for the Bat Conservation Trust at Halloween.

 

 

Fundraising for the Bat Conservation Trust is great fun and super easy.  For the last two years here at my office at AECOM Cardiff,  I have hijacked Halloween to promote bats, their conservation and to raise money for BCT. Whilst, having fun with my colleagues.

Check out these Halloween 'treats'

Since 2011 we have held a Halloween cake sale and spooky bat quiz. Cakes are kindly donated by the office's 'Mary Berry's and Jamie Oliver's' and all we ask is that people donate a couple of shiny  doubloons, for a slice of cake, trick or treat sweets and entry to a batty quiz.

Two weeks before the big day I put up some of the BCT template fundraising posters - these are available to download free from the BCT Halloween pages. On the day I then adorn the office with Halloween decorations, BCT logos and bat fact posters .

When I first started fundraising for bats most people in our office hadn't  heard of BCT. But this year, without prompt, I have been ask to run the event again - it seems to be a firm "October" favourite. The event has even spread across the River Severn to our Bristol office!

Lisbeth uses Halloween to raising funds for BCT alongside dispelling bat myths

By sneaking a few bat facts and myth busters into the Halloween quiz hopefully the positive message for bat conservation is getting out there. It's great to see our engineers and consultants, some usually not enamoured with bats, get really concerned and competitive over whether there are 18 or 17 resident species of bat in the UK, if the bumblebee bat really is the smallest bat in the world or just a hoax name and if they can name three UK bat species - Battius Battus does not count! 

This Halloween why not see if you can dosomething similar or even more bat- tastic for bat conservation at  your office!

Lisbeth Nash
Senior Ecologist AECOM

Why not go batty for bats this Halloween and do some fundraising of your own - Simply visit www.bats.org.uk/halloween or email fundraise@bats.org.uk for information and advice.