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Batty about Bats! – Saturday 18th October 2008
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A BBC Breathing Places Event
Hundreds of people flocked to the Park to join in an afternoon dedicated to bats, and promoting the park as a BBC Breathing Place.
Our thanks go to the volunteers from the Hampshire group of the Bat Conservation Trust, who were on hand to tell us all about these intriguing mammals: demonstrating how we can watch and listen to bats in and around the Park, and answering our questions with the help of live specimens, models, diagrams, books, leaflets, detection equipment, and recordings.
Affordable “build-it-yourself” bat boxes, made from recycled materials pre-formed by a local adult learning centre, were available to buy at cost price.
FoSJP also showcased bat, bird, and bee boxes, feeding stations, and monitoring cameras, all of which have been provided by a BBC Breathing Places grant from the Big Lottery Fund. This grant has enabled the Park and its surrounding area to be a better place for wildlife: providing roosting, hibernating, and feeding places for birds, bats, and insects, as well as a large wildflower meadow of local flora.
Visitors also had the opportunity to learn more about nature in the Park with activities such as a leaf hunt, a tree trail, and an insect discovery trail.
Children of all ages had the opportunity to make bat masks, bat finger puppets, and even bat-shaped kites. Refreshments were available which included bat-shaped biscuits!
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This successful event was funded by BBC Breathing Places, and was part of a wider programme organised by FoSJP to improve the habitats for nature within the Park. See our Nature in the Parkpage for more information.