There’s a festival for everything else in the world, so why not the coolest of all mammals: bats?
Why not, indeed. The first New Hampshire Bat Festival will be held this Saturday, October 20, at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge.
The one-day festival will have short presentations on species of bats living in New Hampshire, the beneficial contributions of bats to our environment, the crisis of bat population decline, and how the public can help Granite State bat populations to recover from the devastation of white nose syndrome, which has wiped out a couple of species.
Hands-on activity tables will teach about bat house construction and placement, echolocation, bats and gardens, white nose syndrome, and a live-bat demonstration will introduce the public to hoary and big brown bats.
The objective of the New Hampshire Bat Festival is to help the public to better understand the species’ habits and significance in our state’s natural environment. New Hampshire is home to 8 species of bats, all of which are of conservation concern.
Biologists from Franklin Pierce University, Squam Lakes Nature Science Center, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, US Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, New Hampshire Bat Project, and more will be at New Hampshire’s first Bat Festival.
It will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Spagnuolo Hall, and is free.
Parking will be in the DiGregorio Hall parking area off Mountain Road. A map is available to guide visitors to the event space at Spagnuolo Hall in the center of campus.
Learn more at: www.franklinpierce.edu/batfestival.
To learn more about bats in New Hampshire, visit www.wildnh.com/nongame
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