Stay in the know about wildlife, water quality, and ecosystems on Sanibel and Captiva Islands and in Southwest Florida
Two Bat Houses Installed With Help of Sanibel School Students
As part of SCCF’s ongoing environmental education programming with the K-8 Sanibel School, students got to support our islands’ bats with two brand-new bat houses at one of our preserves, as well as take an ecological inventory of Sanibel’s interior.
Supporting Sanibel’s Bats
Students helped install two new bat houses at SCCF’s Pick Preserve, thanks to funding and support from the Sanibel School PTA.
The bat structures can support up to 200 roosting bats and were signed by all the students in Julie Wappes’ fourth-grade class. SCCF’s Mike Mills and Richard Finkel helped educate the class about the importance of bats to the world’s ecosystems through pest control, pollination, and seed dispersal.
“Bats provide vital services to our environment. In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, thousands of trees were knocked over or completely removed to decrease fire risk, leading to the loss of many bat roosting areas,” Mills said. “These triple-chambered bat houses have the potential to house up to 200 hundred bats each, providing much-needed roosting areas for the bats of Sanibel.”
You can help our island bat population by decreasing the trimming of dead palm fronds and installing your very own bat house.
For more information or to report bat sightings, please email mmills@sccf.org.
About Bat Houses and How to Build One.
Ecological Study
Sixth and seventh graders from the Sanibel School joined SCCF for an ecological study of Sanibel’s interior habitats. Students looked at different soil types on upland ridge habitats and Spartina swale habitats. Water samples were also taken to assess how well the interior freshwater habitats have rebounded from the saltwater surge of Hurricane Ian.
“Students enjoyed exploring the dry season stage of Sanibel’s Spartina swale habitat,” said SCCF Environmental Educator Richard Finkel. “These environmental field explorations are invaluable for complimenting classroom work with practical biological field work.”
SCCF’s Pick Preserve, located directly across the street from the school and contiguous with approximately 400 acres of preserved land managed cooperatively by SCCF, The J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, and The City of Sanibel, is an ideal setting for environmental studies.