Welsh Agri-environment Monitoring Project
Recently, BCT, in a consortium with other voluntary organisations (Butterfly Conservation, Plant Life, Wildife Trusts) and led by the RSPB, were successful in winning a contract from the Welsh Assembly Government to look at the success of the Tir Gofal agri-environment scheme in delivering real benefits for nature conservation. The partners are monitoring a range of target species on Welsh farms to address the question: do agri-environment schemes help maintain and enhance biodiversity? 
Agri-environment schemes form a core part of UK and country-level biodiversity strategy to contribute to the target of halting biodiversity loss by 2010 by restoring and creating habitats and to deliver the requirements of priority species. However their potential delivery in practice for bats has rarely been tested.
BCT's project aims to assess the performance of the Tir Gofal scheme in delivering benefits for selected priority bat species in Wales. These species are noctules and pipistrelles, Daubenton's bat, and greater and lesser horseshoe bats. National Bat Monitoring Programme (NBMP) survey methods will be used to assess the abundance-activity of the target bat species on farms in Tir Gofal compared with similar control farms that are not in the scheme.
Other benefits will be to raise the overall number of NBMP Field and Waterway survey sites in Wales, to improve species distribution data in Wales, and enhance the resources available to those with an interest in bat conservation in Wales. Also, project outcomes will help to inform BCT future advice/actions for bats on agricultural land.
The project will run for three years and this summer (2009) we are surveying farms in south-west Wales, with the team working throughout Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.
We are looking for long and short-term volunteers to join us on surveys between June and September. If you are looking to gain experience in surveying bats, or are local and would like to find out more about the bats in your area, then you may be interested in getting involved. If you would like to help out with the survey work or would like more information then please contact Ruth at RAngell@bats.org.uk.