South East of England Bat Conference

Date of next conference: November 2022

The previous conference was held online due to Government restrictions around COVID-19, on 21st November 2020.

The South East of England Bat Conference is an opportunity for volunteer and professional bat workers in the South East to spend time together (virtually this year): updating their knowledge, sharing best practice, developing their skills and catching up on the latest 'bat chat'. The day will include spotlight talks from various bat groups in the region, longer talks on projects or sharing new knowledge and a choice of practical workshops. There will also be plenty of time for catching up with batty friends or making some new batty acquaintances in online chats.

This one-day event is primarily for bat workers and bat enthusiasts who live, work, or are members of bat groups in the South East of England and the Channel Islands. The area covered is: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Greater London, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Sussex and the Channel Islands.

The online delegate rate is £25 for members of BCT and Partner Bat Groups and £30 for non-members.

We are grateful to Lotek and Wildlife Acoustics for co-sponsoring the event.

Interested in co-sponsoring or being part of the virtual exhibition? Email nwebster@bats.org.uk to discuss the opportunities.

Programme of 2020 conference

An update on the work of the Bat Conservation Trust - Kit Stoner, BCT
Thinning of Harwood - Jon Whitehurst, Isle of Wight Bat Group
The search for the elusive greater horseshoe bat in Kent - John Puckett, Kent Bat Group
Jersey Bats - Amy Hall, Jersey Bat Group
Bats in Churches Project - Claire Boothby, BCT
More high definition thermal imaging of Bats - Ian Baker
Five minute bat group spotlight sessions will be scheduled between the main talks during the day
A Priorities Discussion Session for Bat Conservation in the South East of England. The priorities raised, their responses during the session and further updated information if applicable can be read here.

There was a choice of 90 minute workshops including:

The impacts of bats on church interiors (Honor Gay)
Organising and hosting online meetings and events via Zoom (Naomi Webster)
Introduction to sound analysis (Philip Briggs)
Efficiency and effectiveness (Lisa Worledge)
Planning trapping surveys: a discussion (James Shipman)
Citizen science, Audiomoths, JBatS and the Devon Bat Survey - tips for developing your own project - Liz Walsh, States of Jersey and Elinor Parry, Devon Greater Horseshoe Bat Project
Bat Identification Photo Quiz (Daniel Whitby)
Tracking solutions for bats (Sarah Deans - Lotek)

There will also be a number of virtual exhibition stands to browse through our Event app and lots of bat workers to network with in online chat during the breaks.

Any questions? Contact the Training & Conferences Manager