for Devon’s nocturnal wonder Securing a future for Devon’s nocturnal wonder © John J Kaczanow © Phil Richardson © Mike Symes © Jan Whittington Introduce yourself, talk will cover GHB information/the Project itself/How you can get involved

Greater horseshoe bat Weighs 14-34g Eats large insects Up to 40cm wingspan Weighs 14-34g Eats large insects Can live up to 30 years Foraging area up to 14km from roost Very light sensitive One young per year Full skeletal size – 2 months One of the longest lived and largest bats in the UK. They can live for up to 30 years – thought to be due to their large amounts of torpor. However average age is 10 years. Up to one young per year but do not start reproducing until about 6 years of age and tend to have one young every 2 years. Infant mortality is high. Over the last 50-100 years numbers have declined by 90%. Around 10,000 left in UK in the south west and south Wales – one third of these in Devon. Phil Wilson

As with all our UK bats they are an important indicator of the health of our landscape. They need; big bushes hedges and clear streams and rivers to help them navigate, species rich grasslands and woodland edges for foraging – and lots and lots of insects!

Population: 90% UK decline Range: 50% UK decline Extinct: Netherlands FACTFILE Population: 90% UK decline Range: 50% UK decline Extinct: Netherlands Isolated population: Belgium Luxembourg Germany Austria © Phil Richardson Over the last 100 years there has been an approx. 90% decline in numbers – why? Urbanisation and housing developments causing loss of feeding and roosting opportunities. Loss of insects. Timber treatments in old buildings causing mass mortality. Increase in light levels effectively blocking off parts of the landscape to them.

Communities Habitats Knowledge So what are we doing as a project? 3 main areas of work – Landowner advice – advisory visits, parasite management, workshops and helping access funding for changes; Community Engagement – school/youth sessions, working with communities to get initiatives up and running, leading walks, giving talks and attending events; Improving scientific knowledge – Devon Bat Survey, PhD, Research surveys – work in Buckfastleigh and potential in Chudleigh Knowledge

BAT FRIENDLY GARDENING How can my community go about becoming Bat Friendly? INSECT SURVEYS PASS THE BAT-ON HEDGE PLANTING BAT FRIENDLY GARDENING CELEBRATION EVENT WILDFLOWER MEADOWS What could you do? Walks, talks, events, wildflower meadow creation on verges, lighting assessment, nocturnal animals, talk to your local council to make sure bats are considered in the neighbourhood plan process. BAT SURVEYS LIGHTING SURVEY BAT WALKS MAKE A FILM

Help record bats What could you do? Take part in the bat survey – talk to people about bats, let the DBRC know if you see them – encourage others to take part.

Become accredited as a bat friendly community – currently only in our main project areas.

Bovey Bat Group

What do we do? Share information and the experience of watching and detecting bats with members of the public in order to promote understanding and enjoyment of bats in our community. Run monthly Bat Walks at Parke Estate, Bovey Tracey, May – September. Promote the Greater Horseshoe Bat Project at Bovey Summer Show – last year we engaged over 40 members of the public in conversation about bats, including children making origami bats Various members are developing knowledge and skills e.g. bat data analysis, First Aid and also taking part in surveys We have begun conversations about working towards making Bovey Tracey a Bat Friendly Town e.g. developing a bat-friendly garden

How did we start? Members of Bovey Tracey DWT Local Group Volunteered to get involved in promoting understanding of bats locally (GHBP) Agreed to apply for BatWorks community grant for detecting equipment and learn to use it (2017). Slowly built up confidence. Since awarded further grants from Bovey Town Trust and Almshouse Trust (more detecting kit)

Why do we do it? We all have a general interest in Nature, conservation and preservation We had not been aware of local GHB maternity roosts - this helps ‘sell’ the message GHBs are a ‘flagship species’ so helping them helps other species The time and effort that goes into organising and running the walks is well rewarded when we see the looks and voices of excitement each time bats appear – it’s like running our own local safari People seem receptive to local nature stories

Why does it work? Curiosity and optimism Volunteer commitment – 121 hours in 2018 and over 200 hours so far this year Volunteering for what we feel comfortable doing – one person co-ordinating, others taking on responsibility for various tasks Keeping it simple Funding Training and support from GHBP team Membership of Local DWT group and support from committee

Watch the bats live & find out more www.devonbatproject.org