Count Bat Spin offs 2011

Another busy year
We did another talk for the Taste Good Food Group
In December 2010, we were given a grant from Bedford ward councillors to extend the Kempston bat building project into Bedford . The bat group undertook to buy the materials for the kits and to prepare the box kits.
In March we got an additional grant from Kempston ward councillors to build more boxes there in October.
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Illustration Joan Childs

The grants also gave us money to produce an education pack for the schools we worked with. This included a CD of materials.

Michelle Viola of Goldington Lower School prepared some lesson plans for us to give out with the pack . These are to be used in the Count Bat Resources pack . being produced at the end of the Count Bat Project. You can download them here 2011 Lesson Plans To Follow On From The Making Bat Boxes Workshop
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Education Pack Photo Jude HIrstwood

Photo Daniel Fellman

In March we worked in five schools in Bedford. The bat group at whole school assemblies and then the Street and Park Rangers built the boxes with selected groups of youngsters.

Hills Road lower school Photo Daniel Fellman

Photo Daniel Fellman. Pupils at Putnoe Lower School

Photo Daniel Fellman Putnoe Lower School

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The Viking Kayak Club was one of the groups which helped with bats and boats in 2010. They volunteered to run all the Bats and Boats events without charge. In return the Bat Group will do a series of talks for their members.
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The Viking Canoe club has also agreed to help us with an ongoing survey along the River Ivel. In 2011 we did three of these and have three more events planned for 2012

Photo Bob Cornes

Photo Daniel Fellman

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Design Joan Childs

We used some of the Bedford Grant to have badges made for people who went on the Bats and Boats or the Canoe surveys events

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Photo Bob Cornes

We were given permission to survey any of the woodland owned and managed by Bedford Borough Council. This season we surveyed several sites, one of which had barbastelles in them

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Priory Rangers ran another five bat walks and and as usual members of the bat group turned up to support them

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In autumn we did two more bat box building sessions at Robert Bruce Middle School and Kempston lower school .

We did a talk for Priory Lower School

We also gave a well received talk at Bedford Library

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We wrote a case study of our work for the Count Bat Project for the Bat CPnservatopn Trust’s Bats for All Project www.bats.org.uk/publications…/D.2.b_Queens_Park_Case_Study.pdf
BC made a short video about w0rking with black and ethnic minority communities which featrues our work in Queens Park
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We have money over for other Bedford based initiatives. Watch this space.