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Working at a landscape scale Landscapes for Lessers

 

Our impact

Population of Britain's lesser horseshoe bats in VWT-managed roosts 10%
Increase in population in VWT-managed roosts 188%

Britain's first landscape-scale project for lesser horseshoe bats in Wales

Wales is a critical stronghold for lessr hroseshoe bats, supporting some of the largest and most important populations in the UK and western Europe. Yet, recent studies have shown that without intervention, these populations are at risk of decline due to 

  • loss of roosting and foraging habitats
  • competition for roosting sites from greater horseshoe bats
  • direct and indirect impacts of the presence of predators

Through the Landscapes for Lessers project, VWT is taking a strategic approach to support the recovery of the species across Wales by installing enhancements in existing protected roosts to buffer climate change, promote breeding success and install predator-proof features. 

Where there are gaps in the landscape, the Trust will link the network of protected sites by building around 20 bespoke bat towers in critical habitats and improve landscape connectivity to allow the species to recolonise their former range and disperse into suitable habitats. 

VWT has mapped the lesser horseshoe bat's protected sites network and recorded the changes in colony size and population over time. This has identified three critical areas where lesser horseshoe bats are either in decline, isolated from the wider population or with no planned focus on roost enhancement. The three main areas are:  

  1. Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire
  2. Swansea
  3. Powys and Denbighshire 

 

Working in partnerships and commmunities

How you can get involved

VWT will be working with local communities and volunteers in a variety of projects and roles, including developing a network of 'Tower Guardians' to look after the new bat towers and bat roost monitors to carry out seasonal bat counts or to maintain the roosts and surrounding habitats. Watch this space for more information or register your interest with Jenny O'Neill, Lesser Horseshoe Bat Conservation Officer.

Jenny O'Neill Lesser Horseshoe Project Officer Get in touch  
Baffle and metal sheeting prevent owls entering a bat roost. [Add video from high Marks Barn]
Supported by

Partners through funding and resources

Welsh Government National Lottery Heritage Fund

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK’s heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players we support projects that connect people and communities to heritage.

Further reading