The goal of the BatsLIVE: A Distance Learning Adventure is to raise the awareness, understanding, and appreciation of bats and the unique karst and cave ecosystems that many bats rely on.

The objectives of this distance learning program are to:

• Raise appreciation of bats for their ecological role, and their unique and diverse life histories.
• Increase understanding of bats and their importance to the environment.
• Confront myths and common misunderstandings about bats, leading to increased appreciation and understanding.
• Increase understanding of karst and cave ecosystems.
• Raise understanding of White-nose Syndrome (WNS) and of the actions being taken to combat WNS.
• As appropriate for various audiences, take action for bat conservation, whether it is building bat boxes, becoming community bat “champions”, or becoming more actively involved in bat conservation efforts.
• Understand the role of citizens, public land management agencies, and non-governmental organizations in protecting and conserving habitat.

(Information from Bat Conservation International, www.batcon.org )

Bats are essential to the health of our natural world. They help control insect pests and are vital pollinators and seed-dispersers for countless plants. Yet these wonderfully diverse and beneficial creatures are among the least studied and most misunderstood of animals.

Centuries of myths and misinformation still generate needless fears and threaten bats and their habitats around the world. Bat populations are declining almost everywhere, especial due to the devastating White-nose syndrome. Losing bats would have devastating consequences for natural ecosystems and human economies. Knowledge is the key.

The more than 1,200 species of bats – about one-fifth of all mammal species – are incredibly diverse. They range from the world’s smallest mammal, the tiny bumblebee bat that weighs less than a penny to giant flying foxes with six-foot wingspans. Except for the most extreme desert and polar regions, bats have lived in almost every habitat on Earth since the age of the dinosaurs.

Bats are primary predators of night-flying insects, including many of the most damaging agricultural pests and others that bedevil human populations. Diverse bat populations help control agricultural pests in farmlands and orchards, vastly reducing the need for chemical pesticides.  More than two-thirds of bat species hunt insects, and they have healthy appetites. A single little brown bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquito-sized insects in a single hour, while a pregnant or lactating female bat typically eats the equivalent of her entire body weight in insects each night.

Almost a third of the world’s bats feed on the fruit or nectar of plants. In return for their meals, these bats are vital pollinators of countless plants (many of great economic value) and essential seed dispersers with a major role in regenerating rainforests. About 1 percent of bats eat fish, mice, frogs or other small vertebrates. Only three species, all in Latin America, are vampires. They really do feed on blood, although they lap it like kittens rather than sucking it up as horror movies suggest. Even the vampires are useful: an enzyme in their saliva is among the most potent blood-clot dissolvers known and is used to treat human stroke victims. Even bat droppings (called guano) are valuable as a rich natural fertilizer. Guano was a major natural resource in the United States a century ago, and it’s still mined commercially in many countries.

Some biologists consider bats a “keystone” component of ecosystems in parts of the tropics and deserts. Without bats’ pollination and seed-dispersing services, local ecosystems could gradually collapse as plants fail to provide food and cover for wildlife species near the base of the food chain. Consider the great baobab tree of the East African savannah. It is so critical to the survival of so many wild species that it is often called the “African Tree of Life.” Yet it depends almost exclusively on bats for pollination. Without bats, the Tree of Life could die out, threatening one of our planet’s richest ecosystems.

All but four of the 47 bat species found in the United States and Canada feed solely on insects, including many destructive agricultural pests. The remaining species feed on nectar, pollen and the fruit of cacti and agaves and play an important role in pollination and seed dispersal in southwestern deserts.

The 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats at Bracken Cave, Texas, eat approximately 200 tons of insects nightly. A colony of 150 big brown bats, which often roost in tree cavities, can eat enough cucumber beetles each summer to eliminate up to 33 million of their rootworm larvae, a major agricultural pest.  More than half of American bat species are in decline or already listed as endangered. Losses are occurring at alarming rates worldwide.

For more information about bats and bat species, go to:

• Bat Conservation International – http://www.batcon.org
• USDA Forest Service – https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/know-before-you-go/bats
• Lubee Bat Conservancy – http://lubee.org/
• National Wildlife Federation – https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Bats
• Multi-agency web site about White-nose syndrome – https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/

White-Nose Syndrome

White-nose syndrome is a disease that is killing hibernating bats in eastern North America. WNS was first documented at four sites in eastern New York 2007. After that, photographs taken in February 2006 were found, showing affected bats at another site.

Named for the white fungus on the muzzles and wings of affected bats, WNS has rapidly spread to many sites throughout the eastern United States and into Canada. The fungus that causes WNS has been detected as far south as Mississippi. Researchers associate WNS with the newly identified fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, which thrives in cold and humid conditions characteristic of caves and mines used by bats.

Bats affected with WNS do not always have obvious fungal growth, but they may behave strangely within and outside of their hibernacula (caves and mines where bats hibernate during the winter).

(From the White-nose syndrome.org web site.  For more information about WNS, go to https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/.)

(CLICK HERE for the White-nose syndrome.org web site.  It provides up-to-date FAQs, information, research, news and resources about WNS as well as the national plan for assisting states, federal agencies and tribes in managing WNS.)

What is WNS?

White-nose syndrome is a disease that is killing hibernating bats in eastern North America. WNS was first documented at four sites in eastern New York 2007. After that, photographs taken in February 2006 were found, showing affected bats at another site.

Named for the white fungus on the muzzles and wings of affected bats, WNS has rapidly spread to many sites throughout the eastern United States and into Canada. The fungus that causes WNS has been detected as far south as Mississippi. Researchers associate WNS with the newly identified fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, which thrives in cold and humid conditions characteristic of caves and mines used by bats.

Bats affected with WNS do not always have obvious fungal growth, but they may behave strangely within and outside of their hibernacula (caves and mines where bats hibernate during the winter).

Where has WNS been observed?

White-nose syndrome has been confirmed in bat hibernation sites in 26 states and 5 Canadian provinces: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.

In addition, the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, has been
found in four additional states: Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

What is the effect of WNS on bats?

We have seen 90 to 100 percent mortality of bats (mostly little brown bats) at hibernacula in the northeastern United States. However, mortality may differ by site and by species within sites.

The endangered Indiana bat hibernates in many affected sites. We are closely monitoring Indiana bat populations in many hibernacula and, to the extent possible, in their summer maternity colonies. During the winter of 2008-2009, biologists conducted the biennial rangewide winter counts of Indiana bats. Population estimates based on this count show the overall Indiana bat population declined by approximately 17 percent. This is the first observed decline since 2001.

In addition to the Indiana bat, white-nose syndrome has reached the ranges of three more endangered bats: gray bats, Virginia big-eared bats and Ozark big-eared bats. The Northern long-eared bay was listed as threatened in 2015, the first bat species to be listed due to the effects of white-nose syndrome. We are closely monitoring these species as WNS continues to spread.

Bats occupy almost every habitat in the world eating tons of insects nightly, pollinating flowers, and spreading seeds that grow new plants and even trees.  Bats are our most important natural predators of night-flying insects consuming mosquitoes, moths, beetles, crickets, leafhoppers, chinch bugs, and much more!  Many of these insects are serious crop or forests pests, and others spread disease to humans or livestock.  Every year bats save us billions of dollars in pest control by simply eating insects.

All but four of the 47 bat species found in the United States and Canada feed solely on insects. The remaining species feed on nectar, pollen, and the fruit of cacti and agaves in southwestern deserts.  Although bats account for almost a quarter of all mammal species (there are more than 1,300 species of bats worldwide), bats are by far the least studied of all animals.

Bats are in decline nearly everywhere they are found.  Bat numbers in the U.S. and Canada have declined dramatically as a new disease, White-Nose Syndrome, has killed over 6 million bats in just six years.

Bats need friends.  BATS NEED YOU!  Join us for this exciting project and you can help bats!

Follow us on Facebook  –  https://www.facebook.com/ProjectEduBat

• • • Scroll down for activities and the new curriculum
    • Scroll further for the posters and group mural
    • Scroll further for additional resources for EduBat Activities
    • CLICK HERE for a one-minute video about White-Nose Syndrome, the devastating disease that has killed over 6 million bats in just 6 years.  Help us spread the word about the importance of our bats and why they need our help.

QUICK AND FUN ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES

Go to Bat for Bats!
This is the ultimate trivia game because it is all about bats! As the batter, you will be “pitched” a trivia question which is read by the opposing team. Will you answer correctly and make it around all the bases scoring a home run for your team? Or, will you answer incorrectly ending your team’s turn at the plate? Who cares? You’ll have a blast and expand your knowledge of the coolest mammals in the world – bats! CLICK HERE to download everything you need to lead your team to victory.

Bats and Trees Infographic and Coloring Page
Bats are amazing animals that help keep our forests and farms healthy by eating insects. We can help them by providing habitat and safe places to live. CLICK HERE to download a fun page of infographics that shows how bats are connected to trees or CLICK HERE for the same information as a coloring page. Who doesn’t want to color?

Bat Sugar Skulls
Explore the facial features of four fascinating bat species found in Mexico and learn why they all look so different. CLICK HERE to download the educator’s guide that includes all four sugar skull masks (Vampire bat, Mexican Long-Tongued bat, Ghost-faced bat, and the California Leaf-nosed bat). Sugar skulls are a staple of the “Day of the Dead” celebration that occurs right after BatWeek on November 1st and 2nd. You can make one of these masks any time of the year, just be sure to use a lot of bright colors!

Decorative Bat Lantern
Everyone loves a good craft and this one is focused on bats! Our EduBat Lantern captures the amazing diversity of habitats used by bats and explores how people and bats interact. CLICK HERE for our template and instructions on how to create your bat lantern. We have even included a guide to turn this fun activity into an educational one. This super easy project will result in a magnificent keepsake!

Bat Masks
Explore the facial features of five fascinating bat species found in the United States and learn why they all look so different.  CLICK HERE to download an educator’s guide to turn this fun activity into an educational one.  CLICK HERE to download the spotted bat and Townsend’s big-eared bat masks (print on 11 X 17 cardstock).  CLICK HERE to download the Florida bonneted, hoary, and lesser long-nosed bat masks (print on 8.5 X 11 cardstock).  This may be our best activity yet!

Bat Brigade Graphic Novels
Bat Brigade Graphic novels are more than just cool. They are a great way to engage kids in reading. They are faced paced, require the reader to actively engage with the text and the images to gain a full understanding of the story, and they can be read over and over again. The Bat Brigade is the fascinating story of three superheroes fighting to protect bats and the places they live. They teach the reader how they can take action to help our bats. CLICK HERE to download a version of our graphic novel that is perfect for daily use or CLICK HERE for a high resolution file that could be used for high quality printing.

Bat Hat
CLICK HERE for a template to make your very own bat hat.  The hat is arguably the most influential accessory in a well-dressed person’s arsenal.  Now is the time to introduce bats into your fashion wardrobe.  Your bat hat should be worn with confidence. Make the hat your own. Don’t be timid!  Great for people of all ages.

Big-eared Bat Finger Puppet
CLICK HERE for for a Big-eared bat finger puppet. Finger puppets are a childhood favorite. They transform children into storytellers, as well as offer a fun and educational craft project. We invite you to use our finger puppet as a way to allow kids to explore the wonders of a bat!

Flap Your Wings for Bats
CLICK HERE for the instructions to make your very own flying bat with moving wings!  Bats are the only mammals that truly fly and you’ll love showing off your newly created bat.  When you have completed this project, you can flap your wings to show your support for these amazing fliers!  CLICK HERE to download just the template.

SuperHeroes!
Bats have many superpowers such as powered flight, echolocation, supernatural hearing, super animal agility, and more!  Learn more about our small but mighty superheroes of the night skies with these amazing comic style activities.  CLICK HERE for a cool comic poster about our amazing bats.  CLICK HERE for the same information in a coloring page!

I Love Bats Tattoo and Sticker
Children love to be rewarded for their achievements.  And, what could be more rewarding than an awesome ‘I Love Bats’ sticker or temporary tattoo?  We invite you to print out our design in any size, but we find that 1” by 1.5” is a great size for small hands. CLICK HERE for the sticker or CLICK HERE for the tattoo.

Connect-the-Dots Activity Sheet
CLICK HERE for a Connect-the-Dots activity sheet featuring a little brown bat peeking out of its summer home in a standing dead tree.  You can complete the image (and practice counting numbers) by connecting the dots from 1 to 60.  When you have completed the image, discuss what habitat components are visible in the completed picture.

Flying Flat Bat
CLICK HERE for a quick and easy paper craft to turn your ceiling or wall from drab into fab!  Our flat bat will look amazing flying or swarming across any room.  All you have to do is print, cut, bend, glue, and add string.  If you need some help, please find our directions HERE.

Fun at Your Fingertips Game
CLICK HERE for an easy-to-construct game that can be taken anywhere.  Challenge your friends and family to answer important questions about bats and see how well they can do.  Correct answers are available for anyone who struggles.  With this fun game, you can teach people about bats in the classroom, hallway, park, bus ride, well, anywhere!

Little Brown Bat Cutout
CLICK HERE for a little brown bat cutout.  The little brown bat is found throughout much of the United States and Canada.  This once common species is threatened by a new disease, White-Nose Syndrome.  This little bat has earned the nickname, “best bug killer in the world,” because it can catch so many insects.  Learn more about this bat while completing this fun activity.  The final bat can be hung on walls or from the ceiling!

Virginia Big-Eared Bat Cutout
CLICK HERE for a Virginia big-eared bat cutout.  Learn some interesting facts about this federally endangered species while you complete a fun craft project.  The final bat can be hung on walls or from the ceiling!

ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

Echo, Echo, Echolocation
CLICK HERE for a fun and easy activity that allows students to simulate how bats use sound to navigate and to find food. Explore predator/prey relationships through a game of tag while also learning about the concept of echolocation.

Caves and Bats Rock!
CLICK HERE for an 18-page booklet from Project EduBat that includes activities and coloring pages for elementary students.

How Do I Compare to a Bat?
CLICK HERE for West Coast species
CLICK HERE for East Coast species
Children can learn a great deal about bats and themselves by comparing various aspects of their anatomy, physiology, and behavior. In this activity, children take their own measurements and compare them to those of two bat species found in the Western United States, canyon bat and big brown bat.

Little Brown Bat – What’s Your Habitat?
CLICK HERE for an awesome lesson about the habitat needs of animals.  Students will read and/or listen to a story about a boy and a little brown bat.  Students will identify what little brown bats need to survive (food, water, shelter, and space) and describe/draw a picture of each of the components of the bat’s habitat. They will also describe characters in the story and answer questions to demonstrate their understanding.
CLICK HERE for a large illustration of Billy the Boy
CLICK HERE for a large illustration of Billy the Little Brown Bat
CLICK HERE for a large illustration of Beatrice, the pregnant Little Brown Bat
CLICK HERE for a large illustration of Eddie the Earthworm
CLICK HERE for a large illustration of the Tree Swallow Family
CLICK HERE for a large illustration of the Priscilla the Newborn Bat Pup

MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

Calculate the Value of Bats — New Update with Real-World Data
CLICK HERE for pdf file
There are many reasons for students to care about bats. They are fascinating and beautiful animals. In this activity, students will use math skills to learn about the ecological and economic impacts of bats. Students will also use communication skills to convey the importance of bats to our economy and natural world and the potential effects of White-Nose Syndrome.

Neighborhood Bats – Predicting Species Occurrence
CLICK HERE for an activity where students use range maps, habitat types, and other biological requirements to predict which common bat species may live in their area.
CLICK HERE for a PowerPoint Presentation that you can use to help students describe the major habitat types identified in the Neighborhood Bats activity.

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND ADULTS (with a variation for younger students)

Land Use Journey – Plan for Bats!
CLICK HERE for a fantastic activity that allows students to research how three different types of land use (wind energy development, high-density development, and undeveloped forest managed with prescribed burning) affect the survival of three different bat species. They will use this research to estimate the potential effects to the bats while completing a simplified simulation. At the end of the simulation students will have the opportunity to create their own land use map.

Heroes of the Night Sky
CLICK HERE for a lesson in which students gather information on various organizations dedicated to bat conservation based upon their own interests; explore the purposes of these organizations; research their successes; and design their own bat conservation organization. This will require students to work collaboratively to develop goals, a mission statement, logo, and strategy for achieving success for their newly created organization. This activity focuses on language arts.

Working the Night Shift – Biometric Clues
CLICK HERE for West Coast species
CLICK HERE for East Coast species
Students will learn and perform data collection techniques used in the field by bat biologists.  They will measure and weigh “bat models,” record data, and determine bat identification by using data collected, clue cards, and a dichotomous key. Students will also learn about White-Nose Syndrome and other threats to bats.

Large Clue Cards – Working the Night Shift
CLICK HERE for West Coast Bat Species Clue Cards to be used with Working the Night Shift – Biometric Clues
CLICK HERE for East Coast Bat Species Clue Cards to be used with Working the Night Shift – Biometric Clues

Biologists Work the Night Shift Researching Bats
CLICK HERE for a PowerPoint Presentation to use with Working the Night Shift – Biometric Clues
How do you think bat biologists can determine a bat’s species? If you were going to collect data on a bat, what information would you need to help you determine a bat’s species? What data would you collect? How would you collect the data?  Where would you go to collect your data?  A river?  A forest?  Your backyard?

Last Bat Standing – Protecting Threatened and Endangered Species
CLICK HERE for lesson. Students will explore changes in the environment that can disrupt an ecosystem and threaten the health and survival of wildlife populations. Students will begin the lesson by working through an already-developed simulation of the decline of the northern long-eared bat due to a single, isolated factor (White-Nose Syndrome). Students will then research a different threatened or endangered bat species (preferably from their local area) that is of conservation concern.  After completing their research, they will design a more accurate, complex model that considers the role of multiple factors, focusing on their selected bat species.

There’s a Fungus Among Us!
CLICK HERE for an activity in which students investigate how infectious diseases are spread, focusing on the disease White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), and the scientific methods used to investigate diseases. Students will simulate the interactions of bats in a cave when bats are in close proximity and may spread WNS fungal spores.  At the beginning of this activity, only one student will be infected with WNS.  By coming into physical contact with other “bats,” students will have the chance to test to see if they have been infected with WNS and observe how quickly the disease can spread.  Students will also interpret graphs to learn about doubling effects, exponential equations, and population growth curves.

Making a Bat Model
CLICK HERE for instructions
Make your own bat models for the activity, “Working the Night Shift – Biometric Clues.” These bat models are easy and fun to make.  Students will love working with these bats.

Making a Bat Wingspans
Wingspans are a great way to show the diversity that abounds in the bat world.  They can be used individually or sewn together on the largest wingspan – the large flying fox.  While most of the bats we have in the United States are small bats, flying foxes achieve a large size.  There are more than 1,300 species of bats and their wingspans vary from about seven inches to nearly six feet.  These wingspans can be used alone as an educational tool or with the following EduBat activities: Heroes of the Night Sky, How Do I Compare to a Bat, or Working the Night Shift.
CLICK HERE for instructions
CLICK HERE for flying fox
CLICK HERE for bumblebee bat
CLICK HERE for big brown and northern long-eared
CLICK HERE for greater bulldog
CLICK HERE for hoary
CLICK HERE for Mexican free-tailed

Murals are a wonderful way to express important environmental issues through art. Our Project EduBat mural explores the importance of bats to people and the environment across the country. Starting with our eastern forests traveling through the agricultural lands of the Midwest and ending in our southwestern deserts, this mural explores the various ways that bats are woven into our lives. The mural consists of 25 individual sheets that can be printed on separate 8 ½ x 11” sheets of paper.

• CLICK HERE for each sheet that can be colored by one or more students, cut out, and then put together with the other sheets to tell a wonderful story.
• CLICK HERE for the EduBat Mural Key. Use this illustration to help you determine where each of the 25 individual coloring sheets should be placed in your completed mural.
• CLICK HERE for the Teacher’s Guide to the Project EduBat Mural. Use this quick guide to help transform this fun activity into an educational one. Explore the wonders of our North American bats and why they are so important to us!

Working the Night Shift Poster

CLICK HERE for a low resolution pdf of a poster,Working the Night Shift –Why study bats and what methods can we use? The poster is 40 x 30 inches.

CLICK HERE for a high resolution pdf of a poster, Working the Night Shift – Why study bats and what methods can we use? The poster is 40 x 30 inches.

CLICK HERE for the poster that can be printed on separate 8 ½ x 11” sheets of paper.

White-Nose Syndrome in Bats Poster

CLICK HERE for a pdf of a poster about White-Nose Syndrome (WNS).  White-Nose Syndrome is a devastating disease that has killed over 6 million bats in 6 years as they hibernate in caves and mines.  This poster can be used as a stand-alone tool at festivals and fairs or incorporated into any of the Project EduBat activities dealing with WNS.  The poster is 36 X 24 inches.

Project EduBat Poster

CLICK HERE for a low resolution pdf of a poster, EduBat – Education Taking Flight. The poster is 36 X 72 inches.

CLICK HERE for a high resolution pdf of a poster, EduBat – Education Taking Flight. The poster is 36 X 72 inches.

Let’s Educate!

Project EduBat’s Recommended Resources – Discover More!
Bats and Outreach Activities:

Bat Week: https://batweek.org/

• Educate: https://batweek.org/educate/
• Take Action: https://batweek.org/take-action/
• Bat Squad Videos and Lesson:
  • https://batweek.org/watch-ep-1-amazing-bats/
  • https://batweek.org/watch-ep-2-hey-bat-whats-habitat/
  • https://batweek.org/watch-ep-3-bats-need-friends/
  • https://batweek.org/watch-ep-4-bat-chat-join-bat-squad/

Bat Conservation International: http://www.batcon.org/resources/media-education/bci-handouts

• About Bats: https://www.batcon.org/about-bats/bat-profiles/https://www.batcon.org/about-bats/bat-profiles/

Arizona Game & Fish – Bat Resources: https://sites.google.com/view/batresources/home

Texas Parks & Wildlife – Teacher Resources: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/resources/keeptexaswild/bats/

Save Lucy Campaign: https://www.savelucythebat.org/

• Educational Videos: https://www.savelucythebat.org/things-to-do/
• Parents & Teachers: https://www.savelucythebat.org/teachers-and-parents/
• Resources: https://www.savelucythebat.org/resources/

Bat Conservation Trust: https://www.bats.org.uk/our-work/education-engagement

• Organizing Bat Walks: https://www.bats.org.uk/resources/education-outreach-resources/bat-walks

Toronto Zoo: http://www.torontozoo.com/bats

• Conservation Guide: http://www.torontozoo.com/!/pdfs/Bats-ConservationGuide.pdf
• Videos Bat Diaries: http://www.torontozoo.com/bats/field

National Wildlife Foundation Online Guide: https://www.nwf.org/~/media/PDFs/Wildlife/batguide.ashx

Tennessee Bat Working Group – Bat Facts:

https://www.tnbwg.org/more/bats-of-tennessee

Australian Bat Society: http://ausbats.org.au/bat-resources-for-kids/4592660775

Proyecto CUBABAT: https://www.proyectocubabat.com/projects.html

Bat Conservation Ireland: https://www.learnaboutbats.com/fun-things-to-do/

• Games: https://www.learnaboutbats.com/fun-things-to-do/games/

Build a Bat Detector:

• https://www.curiouselectric.co.uk/collections/featured/products/bat-listener-2016
• https://maker.pro/pcb/projects/how-to-build-your-own-bat-detector

Building a Bat House

• Bat Week – How to Make a Bat House: https://batweek.org/make-bat-house/

• Bat House Builder’s Handbook: https://batweek.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/BHBuildersHdbk13_Online.pdf
• Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – Build a bat house
  http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/wildlifehabitat/bathouse.html

White-Nose Syndrome Information:

WNS Response:https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/

• • Battle for Bats: Surviving White-nose Syndrome Film:
    http://vimeo.com/76705033

Bat Conservation Websites:

Bat Conservation International: http://www.batcon.org/

Bat Week: https://batweek.org/

Merlin Tuttle Bat Conservation: https://www.merlintuttle.org/

Native Bat Conservation Program: www.torontozoo.com/bats/

Neighborhood Bat Watch: https://batwatch.ca/

Western Canada Bat Conservation Program: http://batsrus.ca/

Proyecto CUBABAT: www.proyectocubabat.com/

Canadian Wildlife Federation: https://cwf-fcf.org/en/explore/bats/

Bat Conservation Trust: https://www.bats.org.uk/

Bats of British Columbia: http://www.bcbat.ca/ and http://www.bcbat.ca/action-team/

Bat Conservation Ireland: https://www.learnaboutbats.com/

African Bat Conservation: http://www.africanbatconservation.org/

Plant a Bat Garden
From Organization for Bat Conservation

CLICK HERE for a pdf file
Bats eat night flying insects.  If you would like to attract bats to your garden, you may want to plant flowers that are late day blooming or night-scented. These plants will attract night pollinators, like moths, which bats like to eat.

BUILD and/or INSTALL a BAT HOUSE

Backyard Habitat for Wildlife
From the US Fish and Wildlife Service

https://www.fws.gov/question-answer/how-and-whether-install-bat-boxes
Here are directions for building and installing a bat house.

The Bat House Builder’s Handbook
From Bat Conservation International

https://www.batcon.org/about-bats/bat-house-guidelines/
Building and installing a bat house can make a difference for bats and help promote a healthy environment.

Habitat for Bats

http://www.habitatforbats.org/
Check out this web site for information about bats, chosing a bat house, putting up bat houses and more.

Alaska Bat Monitoring Project

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifediversity.citizenscience&project=bats&section=acoustic-monitoring
The Alaska Bat Monitoring Program is a volunteer-based effort designed to assess the current status of bats in Alaska. The goal is to learn where bats are found in the state and to assess their baseline populations. We are also interested in habitat variables associated with their presence. Because our knowledge of bats is very limited in Alaska, we are looking for observations to be reported from any area where bats are observed in our state.

Go Batty this Summer!
From New Hampshire Fish and Game

https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/wildlife-and-habitat/nongame-and-endangered-species/bats-new-hampshire/nh-bat-counts
Be the most creative host in your neighborhood – host a bat count this summer! New Hampshire’s two most common bat species, the little brown bat and the big brown bat, use buildings as their summer roosts. Abandoned houses, barns, church steeples – and even currently-occupied structures – can provide a summer home to female bats and their young. Monitoring these “maternity colonies” can give biologists a good idea of how bat populations in an area are doing from year to year. With the occurrence of White Nose Syndrome in New Hampshire, monitoring these colonies is more important than ever. People in states all across eastern US are counting bats this summer. Won’t you join them?

Wisconsin Bat Program

https://wiatri.net/cbm/
In general, bats are difficult to study because they are nocturnal, fast fliers, roost in inconspicuous places and can move great distances in short periods of time. As such, lack of information on basic biology and ecology is one of the greatest limitations to conservation of bat species. The Wisconsin DNR Bat Program (WBP) has turned to the WI Citizen-Based Monitoring Network for assistance with monitoring bats in the state. Using trained volunteers has allowed the WBP to gather large amounts of data from across Wisconsin. You can volunteer to monitoring bats in the state! Monitors conducting acoustic and roost surveys across the state for the past seven years have helped the WBP determine species distribution and relative abundance in Wisconsin.

While there are many types of caves, most caves are found in karst terrain. Karst is a landform where layers of water soluble rock, such as limestone, dolomite, or gypsum are found.   These rocks are dissolved by slightly acidic groundwater forming features such as caves and sinkholes.

Caves are a unique resource. The goal of cave management is to secure, protect, and preserve significant caves on Federal lands for the perpetual use, enjoyment, and benefit of all people; to foster increased cooperation and the exchange of information between those who use caves for scientific, education, or recreational purposes; and to allow compatible recreational and other uses that will not cause irreversible damage to outstanding cave resources or harm cave-reliant organism.  The Forest Service manages caves to maintain their geological, scenic, educational, cultural, biological, hydrological, paleontological, and recreational values.

This includes the responsibility of conserving biodiversity through the management of caves and providing special protection for threatened, endangered, and sensitive species that live in caves.

Caves offer irreplaceable habitats for rare plants and animals, some of which spend their entire lives in complete darkness.  Many species found in caves are rare and require the specific environmental conditions of caves for breeding and hibernation. For this reason, their survival is endangered if the cave environment is damaged or altered.  If destroyed, these isolated environments have little change to regenerate.

Caves offer valuable clues to our prehistoric and historic past, as well as significant geologic events.  Deep underground, caves have preserved the fossils of humans and extinct plants and animals.  Caves, with their nearly constant temperatures, preserve sensitive archaeological and cultural sites such as burial grounds and sites used for religious practices.  Geologists can gain new insight into the history of the earth by studying cave rocks and minerals. Scientific studies continue to discover the unique resources inside these underground passages.

The Forest Service recognizes that caves are a sensitive resource and must be protected. Caves are intimately linked to the surface. We cannot protect them without protecting the lands that contribute water and nutrients to them. Delicate cave ecosystems require water, air, and organic matter in constant quantities from surface sources.  Seemingly minor, unrelated actions on the surface can have dramatic impacts on the caves below.

Currently many caves on Forest Service lands are closed to public access to prevent the spread of White-nose syndrome. TheForest Service is actively working with other land management and research agencies, the caving community and other NGOs to manage the unique and fragile cave and karst resource.

Caves are formed primarily in karst areas, which are identified by sinkholes, springs, sinking streams and caves. Karst landscapes feature underground streams and aquifers that supply the wells and springs that communities use for drinking water.

Karst is made up of four primary features:

• Sinkhole – A rounded depression in the landscape formed by water slowly dissolving the rock below or, in some cases, when an underground cavity collapses.
• Losing stream – A surface stream that loses a significant amount of its flow to the subsurface through bedrock openings.
• Spring – A cave filled with water, which is discharged to the surface.
• Cave – A cavity formed beneath the earth’s surface, when water dissolves the limestone or dolomite by chemical action.

Ideas for Activities Related to Karst and Cave Geomorphology

From the Minnesota Mineral Education Karst Workshop
http://www.mngs.umn.edu/karstedu.htm
Students can recreate Paleolithic cave paintings and learn about karst landscapes, features, groundwater and human activities.

Indiana Geological Survey
https://igws.iu.edu/outreach/karst
Learn about the pressing geologic issues that affect Indiana, which include karst information. The Indiana Geological Survey presents information and links so that Indiana’s citizens and our representatives in state and local governments can make sound decisions based on good geologic data. Topic areas include ground water, mapping, coal, oil and gas, and seismic risk.

Indiana Karst Conservancy:  Cave Education and Outreach
http://ikc.caves.org/cave-education-and-outreach
More and more people are becoming interested in caves. As awareness of our underground resources grows, so has the need for prompt, unbiased information. Recently, the Indiana Karst Conservancy approved a consolidated plan to close this knowledge gap. It includes regional coordinators, traveling trunks of activities and related materials, training more educators, a database, and media coverage.

National Cave and Karst Research Institute
http://www.nckri.org/
The goals of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute are to:

• Advance cave and karst science by conducting, coordinating, and facilitating research.
• Serve as a repository for and provide analysis and synthesis of speleological (cave related) information.
• Foster partnerships and cooperation in cave and karst research, education, and management programs.
• Promote and conduct cave and karst educational programs.
• Promote national and international cooperative programs that further cave and karst research, education, and stewardship.
• Develop and promote environmentally sound and sustainable cave and karst management practices.

National Speleological Society
http://www.caves.org/
With nearly 12,000 members and 200 grottos, the National Speleological Society does more than any other organization to study, explore, and conserve cave and karst resources; protect access to caves; encourage responsible management of caves and their unique environments; and promote responsible caving.

Introduction to Virginia’s Karst: A Presentation of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Karst Program and Project Underground
From the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/documents/IntroVAKarst.pdf
The presentation reviews the locations and status of caves and karst topography in Virginia.

What’s Happening to Our Bats
From the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/…part1.pdf
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/…part2.pdf
These are pdf files of PowerPoint Presentations given about bats and White-Nose Syndrome, which could be adapted to your state or for your presentations.

The World Beneath Our Feet:  Subterranean Life and the Domain Below the Earth
From the Virginia Cave Board
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/documents/culverposter.pdf
This was a presentation made during Virginia Cave Week by the Karst Waters Institute.

Introduction to Virginia’s Karst: A Presentation of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Karst Program and Project Underground
From the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/documents/IntroVAKarst.pdf
The presentation reviews the locations and status of caves and karst topography in Virginia.

What’s Happening to Our Bats
From the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/…part1.pdf
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/…part2.pdf
These are pdf files of PowerPoint Presentations given about bats and White-Nose Syndrome, which could be adapted to your state or for your presentations.

The World Beneath Our Feet:  Subterranean Life and the Domain Below the Earth
From the Virginia Cave Board
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/documents/culverposter.pdf
This was a presentation made during Virginia Cave Week by the Karst Waters Institute.