Ever wondered what it’s really like to be a bat? No? Well, these kids certainly did and after the event at South Park, Ilford on Wednesday, they knew all the secrets of a bat’s life! I went along to their Let’s Go Batty event to brush up on my bat knowledge!
When I arrived, I just had to spend a few moments sitting by the pond listening to the sounds of nature and the wildlife that surrounds it. Despite the radiance of the bright blue sky, the topic of the day was the dark and often ominously portrayed bats. But, park ranger Julia was determined to debunk myths about bats by shedding light on the facts. The most common misconception that she quickly put right was the incorrect statement that bats are blind. Bats can see, they just use a different spectrum because they are always out in the dark and they don’t even need their eyesight as much as echolocation – which is when they shout and listen to their surroundings.
It was clear that the young children were all eager to become bat experts as they filed into the wildlife education and information centre. As they did so, park ranger Anne began to explain how the very roof of the centre is bat friendly. The park itself also offers the opportunity to join in on a bat walk when it becomes dark as there are many bat boxes hanging in the trees and each box can hold up to 50 bats! In Redbridge, you can find up to 7 different kinds of bats and a special bat detector is used to listen out for their calls – this nifty device was on hand during the presentation and was passed around to all the children as they gawked in amazement.
Julia began the session by testing the audience’s knowledge on bats and they were all extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable! Hands kept shooting up to give examples of different bats and to inform everyone that bats like to feed on mosquitoes, which is why they come out mostly at night.
It was then time for some arts and crafts which meant a lot of glue, coloured paper and of course googly eyes! During the process, one young man declared that his creation was “going a bit donkey wonky!” meaning, it was time to ask mum for help. The result, however, was an abundance of awesome bats hanging from sticks and being waved around the room.
During the hubbub of the arts and crafts, Anne told me more about the park and its plans for the future. It’s admirable at how dedicated the teams are to South Park as much of it has been transformed from previously unfortunate conditions. Being built in 1903, the park has a lot of history and Anne highlighted the importance of its heritage being preserved. As well as this, there are plans to create a new basketball court and to have pond dipping introduced by 2016. The success of the park is clear as the walls of the centre are plastered with photos and information about the park and the wildlife that lives there. It’s a hub of information which has led 150 children to visit the park during the summer term.
The final activity of the day involved actually getting out on the grass and enjoying the fresh morning air. A very clever game was devised to physically demonstrate how bats work. Some children pretended to be bats while others pretended to be moths. The bats would be blindfolded to replicate the dark conditions that bats venture out in and the moths would be whizzing all around. When the bat shouts, the moths would stop and the bats would have to use echolocation to try and pinpoint where the moths are. This resulted in a great deal of fun and squeals of laughter, especially when the mums joined in and became moths!
Guest Author: Raeesa Mukhtar
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