Bats and Batman

Landing the job with the Bat Conservation Trust has felt like things quietly aligning. If I am honest, after six months working on covid test sites and then cheffing, I was ready to do something that felt more meaningful again. Both jobs had their value at the time but there is something reassuring about coming back to structured conservation work after orbiting different paths for a while.

My role with the BCT has me working on the British Bat Survey and NightWatch projects, which means being back in the thick of citizen science, data, coordination and bat echolocation work. It feels good to reconnect with that side of myself. Contributing to national monitoring, working with volunteers, building long-term datasets that help inform national policy. It is the kind of work that reminds you why you got into this in the first place.

The BCT Annual Bat Conference was a real highlight too. Full bat-nerd energy in the best way possible. I also ended up cooking for the fundraiser which felt very on theme for this year, ecology meets kitchen. The guest of honour was none other than Rodrigo Medellín, the Bat Man of Mexico, and he absolutely loved the Mexican themed catering. Especially the jalapeño masa cornbread, one of my personal favourites to make, which felt slightly iconic given the circumstances. I also got to catch up with an old volunteer from African Bat Conservation who I had not seen in a long time. So many conversations about species, fieldwork and global bat conservation over food and fundraising. Worlds colliding again but this time it all made complete sense in the same room.

Around this time I also had a great couple of trips down to London to the BCT office, and while I am there I always make the most of it with a visit galleries like Tate Britain as well as taking time to catch up with friends including my aunt who has her hat shop nearby in Battersea. Always good to get a proper cultural fix when you are in the capital. And back in Nottingham the NNPP surveys were underway again with Nottinghamshire Bat Group, getting back out to some of our key sites at night looking for Nathusius pipistrelles. There is something about being back out trapping on a dark autumn evening that never gets old.