Greystone Nature Preserve to raffle off bat houses
The Greystone Nature Preserve has purchased 27 bat houses with the assistance of a Community Benefits grant from the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation and will put them to good use.
These bat houses will be raffled off to the public at various events over the summer, most notable being the Greystone Nature Festival on Aug. 27. Installation of bat houses help provide habitat to nursing female bats during the summer maternity season, or lone males looking for a roost. In return, resident bats provide immense ecosystem services through reduction of agricultural pests and disease-spreading mosquitoes. They are also simply fun to watch heading out for the evening to forage for their meal! One bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes per hour, so just one lone male roosting in a bat house will be helping combat this summertime scourge. These bat boxes are valued at over $100, and the raffle tickets are $10 apiece. People are automatically entered to win when they purchase a ticket to the festival. More events and prizes will be available there as well.
The keynote speaker, Merlin Tuttle, is a world-renowned bat biologist and photographer. He will be holding a book signing, in addition to his award-winning presentation on “Bats of the World.” Other workshops and nature walks focused on bees, birds and butterflies will be ongoing throughout the day, as well as evening acoustic bat walks and fire spinning demonstrations. Visit the Facebook website www.facebook.com/events/1174069865987796/ for more details.
Greystone Nature Preserve is a not-for-profit environmental education and preservation facility located at 8532 Bear Lake Road in Fredonia. Graystone is open to the public from dawn to dusk, April to November. For information on classes, contact Diane Clark at 792-7899, or clarkmoran@gmail.com.
Greystone Nature Preserve to raffle off bat houses
The Greystone Nature Preserve has purchased 27 bat houses with the assistance of a Community Benefits grant from the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation and will put them to good use.
These bat houses will be raffled off to the public at various events over the summer, most notable being the Greystone Nature Festival on Aug. 27. Installation of bat houses help provide habitat to nursing female bats during the summer maternity season, or lone males looking for a roost. In return, resident bats provide immense ecosystem services through reduction of agricultural pests and disease-spreading mosquitoes. They are also simply fun to watch heading out for the evening to forage for their meal! One bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes per hour, so just one lone male roosting in a bat house will be helping combat this summertime scourge. These bat boxes are valued at over $100, and the raffle tickets are $10 apiece. People are automatically entered to win when they purchase a ticket to the festival. More events and prizes will be available there as well.
The keynote speaker, Merlin Tuttle, is a world-renowned bat biologist and photographer. He will be holding a book signing, in addition to his award-winning presentation on “Bats of the World.” Other workshops and nature walks focused on bees, birds and butterflies will be ongoing throughout the day, as well as evening acoustic bat walks and fire spinning demonstrations. Visit the Facebook website www.facebook.com/events/1174069865987796/ for more details.
Greystone Nature Preserve is a not-for-profit environmental education and preservation facility located at 8532 Bear Lake Road in Fredonia. Graystone is open to the public from dawn to dusk, April to November. For information on classes, contact Diane Clark at 792-7899, or clarkmoran@gmail.com.