On the night that the ‘bat signal’ was projected into the worldwide night sky to celebrate the 80th anniversary of fictional character Batman, a walk in a Lambeth park taught young (and adult) naturalists about the reality of bats.
Windmills and bats
Dr Iain Boulton of Lambeth’s Parks Team ran a guided bat walk and talk for 32 people in Windmill Gardens, Brixton Hill for the Friends of Windmill Gardens, Lots of bats were seen and heard. “It’s been a good autumn for Lambeth bats – and a great evening for humans” said Iain.
Education from children
Isabella was one of three children there, and her mum emailed next day to say how learning the truth about bats had inspired her: “Isabella kept making kissing lips sounds to show her teachers in school about bats’ sounds when they’re flying and bouncing around. She wants to do a show and tell all her friends at school to learn more about bats.
Sharing the message that children shouldn’t be afraid of bats
Night fairies
“She said to me: ‘Mummy, I want to do bat art , which shows how cute bats are, not scary, not drinking blood like vampires and nothing to do with Hallowe’en, they are night fairies and adorable like babies. I wish I could hold them for a while. But you can’t keep them as pets because they are protected by law, you could see them and hear them’. I was delighted to hear this, clearly she was absorbing so much last night in Windmill Gardens. This inspired her to do her bat art to help people love wild life and protect our environment, and give more people the idea to come to nature to see feel the beauty of nature.
Know bats better
Isabella’s pictures have been shared to the website of the Bat Conservation Trust (based in Kennington). Mum and daughter will both be very happy if ‘bat art’ helps people know more about bats and protect them better.
For more information
- For more about the Bat Conservation Trust see their information pages
- For more about bat walks in Lambeth Parks, conservation work and more see Lambeth Council’s information pages
- For more from the Friends of Windmill Gardens and the events they run
