Hello there friends, it’s been too long!

Let’s start on a high note – we were delighted to receive over £5000 from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency’s Challenge Fund 2014 for our project ‘Bats a Fact’ (Yep the name rocks!).

This project was delivered in partnership with our good friends at Creggan Country Park in Derry. A batty workshop was delivered to 15 schools in Derry and Strabane (over 500 pupils in total), we printed more leaflets and stickers to raise awareness on our furry friends, we created 15 ‘batty cafes’ or planters in each school to provide new foraging areas and we now have a new banner and fantastic 3D woodland exhibit for events both for Belfast and Derry.

Finally, we are putting the finishing touches to the ‘Bats a Fact’ DVD to showcase our work, debunk myths, provide advice on what to do if you find a wee cutie in your garden/house/garage/workplace, contact information for local bat workers and PAWNI if you suspect a wildlife crime… phew and breathe.

Our Heritage Lottery Fund project is also going great this year we are working on the new flight cage at Belfast Zoo so we can rehabilitate more bats.

It’s also that time of year when we train more people to do bat surveys to help us gather more records for under recorded regions. Keep an eye on our events section for dates and locations of training workshops and bat walks.

Finally, we would like to extend a huge welcome to our new committee members; it’s great to have you on board.

This year is going to be a big year for bats in Northern Ireland. We have so many events lined up! We will be exhibiting at council events, Sperrin Gateway partnership and will have events in Portglenone, Ballykelly, Derry, Belfast and Strabane to name a few. If you are a community group and would like a batty event brought to you just get in touch.