Tag: bat houses

Build Bat Houses with CWF at the New Jersey WILD Outdoor Expo

by Ian Johansson, Eagle Scout Candidate and Conserve Wildlife Foundation Volunteer

I first met Liz Silvernail when my sister and I were given the unique opportunity to hold an eaglet while biologists from Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF) took data. This took place in Brick, New Jersey. After speaking with Liz and explaining that I was beginning to consider what I should do as my Eagle Scout project, she was gracious enough to offer her assistance helping me find a project that I could complete with Conserve Wildlife Foundation.

 

After introducing me to Stephanie Feigin, I was offered the chance to take on the project of building bat houses. The bat houses will be donated to Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey to put up before bats are evicted from attics, eaves, and buildings, so they can easily find a new place to roost. The bat houses will then be set up around the state to provide more suitable homes to bats that would otherwise be living in places that they were not welcome in or did not properly meet to their habitat needs.

 

Bat houses provide necessary roosting locations that cannot be provided in houses and buildings that bats inhabit if a proper living space is not readily available. Bat houses also provide spaces to raise young and hibernate, which is imperative for maintaining healthy bat populations.

 

Bats in New Jersey are the primary predators of night flying insects. They consume many of the pesky mosquitoes that swarm our backyards. Some bats can consume up to 4,500 insects nightly! A great way to help the bat population in New Jersey grow, is to build a bat house with us at the New Jersey Wild Outdoor Expo this weekend! The workshop is free. Materials are available on a first come, first served basis.

 

Stop by CWF’s tent at the Expo to learn more about bats and other imperiled wildlife species. You can always pick up plans to buy materials and make bat houses on your own.

 

Join us for the New Jersey WILD Outdoor Expo:

• Saturday, September 12 and Sunday, September 13 from 10-5 PM
• Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area in Jackson Township, Ocean County
• For online mapping directions and GPS navigation systems, use the address: 299 East Colliers Mill Road, New Egypt, NJ 08533

 

Ian Johansson is an Eagle Scout Candidate and Conserve Wildlife Foundation Volunteer.

Students build bat houses and “Adopt a Species” to aid bats in these troubled times

by MacKenzie Hall, CWF Private Lands Biologist

This April, for the second year in a row, I had the happy task of visiting the sixth graders at Valleyview Middle School in Denville, Morris County.  Valleyview  students have taken a great interest in bats lately…partly because their school sits a mere 3 miles from Hibernia Mine, New Jersey’s most important known winter den for resident species like the little brown, northern long-eared, and endangered Indiana bats.

Bats have always been a common neighbor in their town.  And since White-nose Syndrome appeared two winters ago, Denville residents have literally had a front row seat to the toll it has taken.  Many have seen bats flying on cold winter days, searching for food that would not be found, and many have seen the bodies of starved bats on the ground.

Valleyview Middle School has a fantastic science faculty, with teachers like Dan Gross and Chris Bias who aim to give the kids tangible experiences with topics that relate to their own community.   They chose to turn the White-nose Syndrome crisis into a learning opportunity:

Why are bats important?

What happens if we lose them?

What can we do to help?

The school invited us to come in and teach the students about their local bats and talk about the work we’re doing to help study and protect them.  I got to interact with the entire sixth grade, first finding out how much they already knew about bats and then teaching them a whole lot more!

I came back a second day to put the kids to work – we built six bat houses which will be installed in parks and other properties across the region.  Everybody (including me) had a lot of fun with the screw guns, hammers, and caulk…and my “no eyes poked out” success streak continues!

The school also made an “Adopt A Species” donation to the Conserve Wildlife Foundation to support our work.

Thank you, Valleyview Middle School!