Night-time nature action guide launched

NightWatch is a science project helping more people discover the hidden world of night-time wildlife living in their neighbourhood. The project has some exciting news for wildlife lovers - today we are launching a guide to helping night-time wildlife near you, just in time for International Bat Weekend.

Our night-time nature action guide has been co-created with the NightWatch community and is a collection of digital resources hosted on our website. The Guide can be accessed here and has six themes:

Making space for night-time nature with advice on creating your own Neighbour Nature Network, bat-friendly wildflower seeds (including exclusive discount for NightWatchers!), gardening videos, and links to a wealth of inspiration and information.

Discovery with the launch of Bat Conservation Trust’s first ever Summer Survey Challenge and a chance to win prizes.

Speaking up for night-time nature with guidance on writing effective letters to MPs.

Looking out for night-time nature including ways to raise any concerns about local planning and habitat loss, and how your efforts can protect bats.

Celebrating night-time nature including ideas on how to share your love for bats through events and other creative ways to call your community into action for night-time nature.

Learning more including all the best tips of how to learn more about our night-time neighbours.

To celebrate the launch of our guide, we have also released our brand new film, made in collaboration with community group Wanderers of Colour, the National Bat Monitoring Programme and Butterfly Conservation, which is a celebration of the actions anyone can take for night-time nature!

Hannah Van Hesteren, Engagement Officer on Project NightWatch, said: “Our new wildlife guide is a great way to pick up ideas and inspiration on helping the night-time wildlife in your neighbourhood and bringing wildlife closer.

“It’s often surprising just how much hidden wildlife lives among us, but it goes largely unnoticed especially at night. Our NightWatch community has recorded fascinating finds including several species of bats as well as moths, foxes, owls, hedgehogs and much more. Our guide will help people support what’s there by first finding out, and then taking steps to make our wild visitors more welcome. It’s with the NightWatch community that we have co-created the guide, and our brilliant NightWatch Champions have guided us from the start.

“The guide perfectly complements our NightWatch community science project which helps you discover more about the world of nocturnal wildlife living in your neighbourhood. If you are new to bat surveys and living in an urban part of the UK, NightWatch is perfect for you. No experience or previous knowledge is required!”

Find out more about the NightWatch survey, and how to sign up here. Kits book up fast, so register now to avoid disappointment.

And don’t forget, August 26 and 27 is International Bat Weekend – what better way to celebrate your love of bats by getting involved today!