Year of the Bat

This year we are going completely bats! We know that bats love our organic farms so we have designated 2012 as our Year of the Bat, to help raise awareness of these endangered mammals. We will be adding lots of batty bits to our very successful Hedgerow Safari programme for children e.g. making bat boxes and playing batty games.

We are also running free public bat walks at a number of our organic farms throughout the summer. Come along and discover the different species of bat that inhabit our farms and why they are so special. With the aid of special bat detectors you will get the chance to hear the high frequency echolocation noises that the bats make as they navigate and hunt in the dark. These detectors can also help us to identify the different species of bat that we find.

Following an introductory talk to sort out the batty facts from fiction we will head out around the farm to catch up with these fantastic nocturnal navigators.

To find out about batty events near you check the Family Events page for times, locations and how to book.

"The Organic Milk Cooperative's Year of the Bat is a great way of helping people get to know more about these fascinating creatures. Bats are at risk due to habitat decline and the use of chemical pesticides, which damage their food supply. Often maligned or misunderstood, bats play a vital role. They are excellent biodiversity indicators and tell us about the health of this country's ecosystems. I hope this initiative will help people understand and appreciate bats, rather than fear them."

TV presenter, Kate Humble, is backing the Year of the Bat.

Bats Are Extraordinary

Here are just a few bat facts:

• Bats are the only British mammal that can fly.
• The smallest bat in the UK is the Pipistrelle weighing between 4-7g, with a wing span of 18-25cm and the largest UK bat is the Noctule which can weigh up to 40g, with a wingspan of between 33-45cm.
• Bats 'wings' are actually the equivalent of our hand but with dramatically extended fingers. The skin stretched between the fingers allows them to fly.
• Bats detect their prey by emitting a high pitched signal and listening for the sound to 'bounce' back. This is called echo-location.
• Each bat eats thousands of insects every night – that means a lot more midges and mozzies if bat numbers decline!
• Bats usually have only one baby a year - so it takes a very long time for numbers to recover if they are lost.
• Bats are not blind – but their sight is poor compared to their hearing which is very acute.
• No British bat drinks human blood (but South American ones do!)

A key element to the Year of the Bat will be the Big Bat Count, whereby we aim to monitor bat life on at least 10% of our farms across the UK. The results of this will also be fed into the Bat Conservation Trust's Big Bat Map. We will also analyse them and feedback our findings on here by the end of the year.

Gardening for Bats

Did you know? Bats are a sign of a green and healthy environment, so creating a garden that's good for bats will also be good for people. By following a few simple steps, you can turn your garden into a bat haven...

• Plant night-scented flowers
• Build a pond
• Let your garden go a little wild
• Put up a bat box (Download PDF)
• Create linear features i.e hedgerows/ treelines

Encouraging Bats - A comprehensive guide on creating a bat-friendly garden, along with some helpful tips on how to identify your nocturnal visitors.