Beatton Bat Walk back again

CHARLIE LAKE, B.C. – The Charlie Lake Conservation Society is bringing back the Beatton Bat Walk Friday and Saturday night for the third year.

Bruce Kosugi, with the Charlie Lake Conservation Society, and Alan, a founding member of the society and bat researcher, expect to see primarily brown bats.

Kosugi says that even when it’s been raining, they always have great turnouts at these events.

The Charlie Lake Conservation Society’s Peace Bat Conservation Project is hosting the walk from 8:30 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. both nights.

“Just as it’s getting dark, we’re gonna be going and walking around part of the park and actually see bats flying around,” Kosugi said.

“People will be able to see the bats just out there flying silhouetted against the twilight. We’ll also have a special microphone that can pick up the bat calls that we can’t hear because they’re just too high-pitched. And we also have a night vision goggle that people will be able to see in the dark.”

Kosugi says the presentations are about 40 minutes long and include special guests, the BC Parks Student Rangers.

The Charlie Lake Conservation Society does bat counts each summer on top of the yearly bat walks, says Kosugi.

Alan says that most people don’t realize the benefits bats have to the environment.

“They can help control insect populations and are very, very efficient in gardens, home gardens, et cetera because they eliminate a lot of undesirable insects,” he said.

The Peace Bat Conservation Project is run by community volunteers who build bat boxes and monitor bat activity to learn more about the local bats.

The community volunteers work with Charlie Lake Conservation Society, B.C.’s Ministry of Forest, Lands and Resource Operations, and School District 60.