Exciting opportunity to double the value of donations to VWT’s work on rare bat species!

VWT carries out sound-scientific research to inform and underpin its conservation actions for rare and threatened mammal species in Britian, Ireland and mainland Europe. Much of this research involves long-term surveying and monitoring of species in danger. The Trust has two projects that research the occupancy of Bechstein’s and barbastelle bat roosts, their social interactions and longevity... but we need to increase the number of roosts to study, train staff and volunteers, test new monitoring techniques and to collect more data to inform future conservation plans and solutions for two of the most important bat species in Europe.

VWT will create and monitor important bat roosts for both species, including testing alternative roosts to understand more about the preferences of both species and the impact of climate change on roost choices. 

The Trust will also continue to investigate new technology and methods to improve data collection from these roosts. This will involve: 

• investigating the use of PiTT tagging compared to the current mark-recapture techniques;

• training existing and new staff to gain the necessary Home Office and Natural England Conservation Licences to carry out this work;

• buying and installing new bat boxes to increase the number and quality of available roosts;

• collating, reviewing and comparing data to help inform National Conservation recommendations for both species;

• engaging and training volunteers to help continue this important work.

We are delighted to be working with Big Give to raise funds for this vital work through its Green Match Fund Campaign pledge to double all donations made through Solutions for practical bat conservation – Big Give

NB Only donations made through the Big Give website using a valid debit or credit card from midday Tuesday 22 April to midday Tuesday 29 April will be doubled.