Building Homes For Bats On Campus

Creatures of the night may not be so invincible after all, with over 50% of North American bats threatened and many species endangered worldwide.

Kelly Pearce, assistant professor of environmental science and sustainability and co-director of the Watershed Conservation Research Center, and Richard Bowden, professor of environmental science and sustainability, contributed their thoughts to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) on conservation efforts at Allegheny College to build bat habitats on campus.

The project to build an estimated ten bat boxes, near or on campus, is funded by the NWF Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom Grant. Its primary mission is to lure bats away from undesirable locations, such as lecture halls or residential areas, to more desirable locations to enhance the population.

The initiative has engaged students in environmental science courses, allowing them to collaborate with Terry Lobdell, a bat expert and the director of physical plant.

Students were tasked with scouting locations for boxes. They continued to be involved in building and monitoring the boxes for further hands-on learning.

Coursework only deepened their knowledge of the flying mammal by exploring its biology, ecology, threats, and recovery efforts to better support the species' sustainability.

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