Green City Bats
Green City Bats is an exciting project developed by the Count Bat team in London. On these pages you will find further information on the project along with details of how your group can register and how, together, we can make a difference for bat conservation within our local communities.
| We are currently evaluating the Green City Bats project to help inform the best level of support we can offer, and plan the development of the project over the next year. If you are a group registered with the project, it would be very useful if you could complete an evaluation form available to download here in word format or pdf format. |
Who is the project for?
The focus of the project is 'Friends of' groups in the London region. This includes Friends of Parks, Churchyards, Gardens and other green spaces, as well as community conservation and action groups. These community-led groups work with local councils and site managers to ensure that the views and ideas of the local community are considered in the practices employed. Local green spaces are a vital resource for the community, providing areas for relaxing, exercising and 'getting back to nature' particularly in urban areas.
What is the project hoping to achieve?
Since the Count Bat project started, we have worked with a number of Friends groups who have been interested in bats and how they can be promoted in their local area. Following this, interest has risen dramatically and it was decided that the Green City Bats project would be able to reach as many interested groups as possible. The aim of the project is to inform groups about bats, their presence in local areas and how bats provide a great opportunity to run community events and activities. It is hoped that groups will use the resources to improve the understanding of bats within the local community and promote bat conservation, whilst feeling equipped to run activities that will get people involved in their local green spaces and support the work of the group.
Why should we sign up for the project?
On signing up to the project, groups will receive a free Bat Information Pack. This is packed with useful information including: 
- Parks and bats
- Bats found in London
- Bat detectors and surveys
- Event and activity suggestions and advice
- Getting your local community involved
- Information on local bat groups
Groups will also receive a poster to put up in their park along with a certificate stating their involvement with Green City Bats.
The Count Bat project has also recently developed the Big Bat Map, an online map where people can log their sightings of bats and see what bats have been spotted in their area. Green City Bats groups can be added to this map so residents can see what green spaces nearby are part of the project and how they are working to conserve bats. Visit www.bats.org.uk/bigbatmap for more information.
Green City Bats is new! This means that over time we envisage it developing and improving to meet the needs of Friends groups and help to push bat conservation to the forefront. We are always open to suggestions and advice. We want the project to be an opportunity for groups to develop and communities to become more involved in their green spaces through bats.
Sounds great! How do we register?
Signing up to the project is easy. You can register your group online at the 'Register your group' page, found on the left hand menu. On this page there is also word and pdf versions of the sign-up sheet that you can download and print out.
Further questions or more information?
If you know of a group who may be interested in joing Green City Bats, please download a flyer to pass to them. If you would like to discuss the Green City Bats project further, have any questions or are having difficulty registering, do not hesitate to contact me on the details below:
Ed Santry
Count Bat Project Regional Officer (London and the South East)
Tel: 07549 834 442
Email: esantry@bats.org.uk