How six Girl Scouts in Livingston County hope to save the bats
Source: Yahoo
BRIGHTON -- A group of six local Girl Scouts are working to educate the community about bats and threats against them.
The girls are cadettes in Troop 40227. They chose bat conservation as the subject for their "Take Action Project" to earn their Silver Award, one of the highest awards in the Girl Scouts.
"Michigan is home to several bat species, each contributing to pest control and pollination in our ecosystem. Unfortunately, bat populations are declining due to habitat loss and other threats. That's why we've taken it upon ourselves to build bat houses -- providing safe havens for these incredible creatures," read a post on the Brighton Bat Project Facebook Page, created by the group.
"Through our project, we aim to spread awareness about the importance of bats and encourage their conservation. By inviting bats to roost in our bat houses, we're not only supporting these amazing mammals but also fostering a healthier and more balanced environment for all."
Three bat species are considered threatened in Michigan: the little brown bat, the northern long-eared bat and the tri-colored bat.
The same girls were responsible for building and maintaining the free food pantry at the Imagination Station in Brighton, the project that earned them their Bronze Award.
Isabelle Friske, Torri Resetar, Aubrie Cauchon, Kaitlyn Simon, Madalyn Simon and Elizabeth Walters-Ricketts are all eighth graders at Scranton Middle School. Each of them was responsible for a portion of the project -- including social media, plaque design and finance.
A bat house, similar to a bird house, is a safe space for bats to roost -- as more and more of their natural roosting spots are being threatened. Bat Conservation International offers a guide for building or purchasing a bat house.
The group fundraised by selling baked goods at the Brighton Farmers Market, collecting bottles and cans to return, and presenting their project to the St. Mary Magdalen Knights of Columbus Council #12295, which donated $500. In total, the group raised a little more than $2,000.
That money covered the installation of two plaques and a bat house. The first plaque was installed at the Imagination Station, which required the group to go before Brighton City Council.
Torri, a scout since kindergarten, was in charge of seeking approval for the placement of the plaques and bat houses.
The second plaque, as well as a functioning bat house, was installed on a walking trail by Spencer Elementary School. The girls worked with teacher Vicki Rucinski, including teaching her junior kindergarten class about bat conservation.
"I think (the student's) sense of bat knowledge was during October, when they see bats around Halloween and then Batman. It wasn't a big focus of study for us," Rucinski said.
The group read from picture books about bats, then took the class along the trail to show them the plaque and bat house.
"My students were really excited because they know that bats eat mosquitoes and they know there's a vernal pond (by the trail). Sometimes when we go out exploring, it's really mosquito-y, so then of course the kids were thrilled, saying what a perfect spot the bats have to eat some of these mosquitoes," Rucinski said.
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All six girls were taught by Rucinski as fourth graders at Spencer Elementary.
"To watch the girls come up, find a passion they had and have some wonders and then act on that passion by researching, designing, documenting their thinking and then sharing it out. I told the girls, 'Keep doing this, you're making a difference,'" Rucinski said. "I was just really, really proud of them."
-- Contact reporter Tess Ware at [email protected].