Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Be part of something bigger – by saving bats
Fran McElhone meets volunteers planting ‘bat corridors’ to help boost the population
BRITAIN’S greater horseshoe bats have declined by 90 per cent over the last century, mainly due to the intensification of agriculture. The South West and South Wales remain just two areas in the whole of northern Europe where the species are now found – and Beer in East Devon is an important stronghold.
Nick Robinson, a 28-year-old doctor from Exeter, and his wife Rebecca were among those giving up their day to come to the East Devon seaside town to help plant a hedge.
“You can sit and worry about how terrible it is that some of our wildlife, like bats, have become endangered, or you can do something about it,” he said.
The couple has been volunteering for the Devon Greater Horseshoe Bat Project (DGHBP) for a while and help alongside volunteers from Bat Friendly Beer and the East Devon Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust (EDPH), all brandishing spades with the same objective in mind: to increase the life chances of Britain’s endangered greater horseshoe bats. The five-year project was established in 2014 with the help of a £785,500 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant. Devon Wildlife Trust is the lead partner of 18 organisations, farmers and residents, who are working together to ensure Devon remains a place where the species can live and flourish.
Helen Parr, Devon Wildlife Trust’s community engagement officer for the project, says: “Our volunteers want to make a difference and be part of something bigger. It’s very much a community project and about organisations and people working in partnership; you can achieve so much when working together.”
The EDPH Trust, established by landowner Clinton Devon Estates in 2006 to support wildlife in East Devon and the Otter Estuary, is another key partner at the event where 10 volunteers are planting 360 native trees including hawthorn, blackthorn, oak, elder, field maple and holly to create a traditional Devon hedge.
Clinton Devon Estates own farmland in and around Beer, as well as the nearby Beer Quarry Caves – an important winter bat roost. In 2014 the Estate signed-up to DEFRA’s Higher-Level Stewardship scheme and set about a number of habitat improvements. In Beer, this has included hedge restoration work to support the foraging habitats of the greater horseshoe bats.
The hedgerows act as ‘bat corridors’, providing a rich source of food with all the insects that live there, while enabling bats to navigate the countryside more easily in the dark using echolocation. Devon, with its high hedges and rolling pastures, provides ideal bat territory.
The day’s emerging hedge, at the pinnacle of Beer Head, is not only located close to the quarry caves, the bats’ winter home, but it’s also between two bat maternity roosts, the only ones found in East Devon, out of just 11 in the whole of the county.
Kate Ponting, Countryside Learning Officer for Clinton Devon Estates, whose role includes working with communities and inspiring all ages to get involved with conservation, is passionate about helping people get involved and find out about their local wildlife. She rallied volunteers and members of local group Bat Friendly Beer together for the event.
“What we’re all trying to do is secure the future of the bats in this part of Devon, but while the starting point for this hedge was bats, it will definitely benefit lots of other wildlife too,” she says.
Kate explains that ensuring the project has a long-lasting legacy is crucial.
“A central part of the project has been to raise awareness among landowners and people who live here, so that they have all the information they need to know what they can do to help when the DGHBP comes to an end,” she continues.
“You can’t just do something for five years, then stop. It’s about creating sustainable measures for the long-term.”
Things we can all do to improve biodiversity and wildlife havens include planting a wildflower patch in the garden, making a bug hotel or creating a pond. Letting the garden ‘do its own thing’ and become a bit more natural will also help.
Farmer Richard Dormer is part of the Higher National Stewardship Scheme, which provides farmers like him with nominal funding to help improve biodiversity on their land.
“We’re hoping for a really nice bushy hedge,” he calls out to the volunteers.
“Not just for the bats, but the birds and insects as well.” months then keep an eye out for this obliging species – and remember, the clue to identifying a wheatear is its tell-tale tail.