Bats: Myth & Reality by Shari Blissett Clark

Name: Bats: Myth & Reality by Shari Blissett Clark
Start: 2024-10-17T19:00:00-04:00
Location: Harry P. Leu Gardens

Schedule

Thu Oct 17 2024 at 07:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Harry P. Leu Gardens | Orlando, FL

Not long ago Florida was adorned with old growth forests, clean waterways, and wide expanses of connected scrublands. These habitats supported the most diverse plant and animal communities in North America, each one closely dependent on the health of the other.
Bats, one of the most significant players in habitat health, darkened the evening sky with their nightly emergence to hunt insects; no habitat was left untouched by these fast-flying mammals that consumed their own weight in bugs each night. These masters of the night sky kept insect populations balanced and contributed to the overall health of Florida’s landscapes.

But Florida is a very different place today; deforestation, agriculture, and the urbanization of Florida’s land has led to compromised water quality, wide-spread flooding, and the accumulation of chemicals from nearly a century of pesticide use. These changes have contributed to the disappearance of countless plant and animal species; entire ecosystems are changing rapidly and the surviving flora and fauna are left to quickly adapt, or die.
Bats can help!
Join the Florida Bat Conservancy for this myth-busting presentation and learn about the critical environmental services bats provide to both habitats and people. We will explore basic bat biology, expose bat superpowers, and reveal conservation strategies that anyone can use to help bats thrive in their neighborhood.
Live Florida bats will accompany the presentation, and there will be a limited number of bat houses available for purchase. All proceeds support the conservation initiatives of the Florida Bat Conservancy.