HAT is very excited to introduce Sara Lax as the newest member of the HAT team. She will be working with us for the next several months as a Conservation Technician. We look forward to updating our HAT community about the work that Sara helps us accomplish.
Read more: HAT welcomes Sara Lax as our new Conservation Technician
Are you a good neighbour to nature? This is the question that makes up the foundation of HAT’s Good Neighbours Program. The idea behind the program is that conservation does not have to be a single act but can be a practice that describes how we interact with the natural world around us. People like you can make small changes on your land that can have an incredibly large impact on the ecosystems that we live in. This month HAT would love to highlight a Habitat Steward and Metchosin resident Doris Lundy who is doing spectacular things on her property to enhance the local flora and fauna.
By Paige Erickson-McGee (HAT Stewardship Coordinator) and Ben van Drimmelen (HAT Bat Volunteer since 2014)
Bats may roost in unusual places this time of year as they leave summer roosts. (C) L Parker
Bats are known for their remarkably high diversity and broad geographic range. Bats make up one-fifth of all mammals on the planet, are known from all continents except Antarctica, and over 1100 species have been identified. Bats pop up in the fossil record around 52 million years ago in the Green River Formation of Wyoming USA, with a giant walking bat roaming New Zealand around 16 million years ago. It is thought that the first bats could not echolocate and instead relied on sight, smell and touch to find food.
Today BC is particularly rich in bats species; 16 of Canada’s 19 occur in BC and 7 of those are found nowhere else in Canada. There are 9 species that occur on Vancouver Island and all are insectivorous.
Learn more about BC Bats here.
APPLICATIONS ARE CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO APPLIED, WE ARE BLOWN AWAY BY THE MYRIAD OF QUALIFIED APPLICANTS. PLEASE GIVE US SOME TIME TO PROCESS THE APPLICATIONS.
Read more: Join the HAT Team: Conservation Technician -- term position (28 weeks)
