Dear Friends at St Sampson’s,
I think you all know the bat situation. The licence application has now been submitted to allow us to do the works planned for the summer and we should be able to do everything starting in October. This has however left us with an extra cost of £6,000 +. Therefore we have a new campaign:
South Hill Bat Project – helping bats and humans share their space.
This is an opportunity not just to raise money, but to think about how we interact with the wildlife in the churchyard (and church) and make it a community project. There will be a bat talk event and a bat box making workshop. Any other ideas will be welcome. We have recently secured a £1,000 grant from Tamar Valley AONB sustainable development award towards the project.
Below is a copy of the press release. It has been published on Cornwall Live and the Western Morning news are publishing it at 4pm today. I did a short interview on radio Cornwall last Sunday. It will be in Truro Diocese news and has already appeared on their face book. Bishop Philip is personally supporting our bat project, which is very encouraging. The Cornish Times will also publish, but I’m nor sure when.
If you are a Face Book user, you will have seen it there. It is being publicised far and wide. So far we have made £550. Thank you to those who have already donated, if you haven’t already done so, please will you consider sponsoring a bat and sharing these details with your friends and family by this e mail or the face book post or twitter or even carrier pigeon! A personal endorsement of something that is important to you, is a great way to get others interested.
Cornish community rally to save baby bats born in St Sampson’s Church, South Hill, Cornwall – and you can help!
Do you love your Cornish wildlife? Have you ever fancied sponsoring an at-risk animal? Now is your perfect opportunity.
Bats need help to keep the roof over their heads.
In May 2021 two families of bats were found in the roof at St Sampson’s Church, South Hill. The two maternal roosts are, common Pipistrelles and the more infrequent Natterers bats. The UK population of Natterer’s bats is of international importance and they are listed as declining within the red data book for Cornwall.
Unfortunately, the bats are in danger as urgent roof works on the church are needed. Local community group CRUX has been fundraising over the past three years for the roof, but with the discovery of the baby bats the mission has become ever more critical. Whilst bat habitats are protected by law, it falls upon volunteers and donations to fund their conservation and enable them to thrive.
Dr Honor Gay, Bats in Churches Project agrees: ‘churches are crucial sanctuaries for Natterer’s bat’s and I applaud the church community at St Sampson’s for living alongside their important maternity roost’.
To help care for the new tenants of St Sampson’s Church, you can sponsor a St Sampson’s bat, or part of a bat. The extra cost, on top of vital roof repairs to keep the bats safe is £6,000. The survey identified 30 bats flying in and out to their roosts so each bat needs £200 rent – although babies live free! You can sponsor a whole bat or a contribution towards it (whole bat £200, wing £50, leg £20 echolocation hearing £10). All of your donation will go towards the expense of housing and keeping the bats safe.
The Bishop of Truro, Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, has already put his name down to sponsor a bat: ‘Learning to live in harmony with nature, rather than trying to curb and control it, is one of the greatest challenges of our time. That’s why I’m very supportive of the ‘South Hill ‘Sponsor a bat appeal’ – and why I’m delighted to be sponsoring a bat myself. Please do consider how you could help support these amazing creatures – and the lovely community of St Sampson’s, South Hill.’
In return for sponsoring a whole bat, you can name your own bat. For a contribution towards a bat, we will assign a bat name to you. You will receive a certificate with your bats name on it and full details of the project and a list of sponsors will be displayed in St Sampson’s church. You will also be able to attend a talk on bats at the church for free.
You can donate on our Just Giving page South Hill Bat Project -helping bats and humans share their space. – JustGiving
South Hill Bat Project – helping bats and humans share their space.
St Sampson’s Church, South Hill, Nr Callington PL17 8DS
Grid reference SX 32958 72626
The South Hill Bat Project involves conservation, habitat improvement and education at a regionally important site for Natterer’s bats. The project includes work to mitigate the effects of building conservation and development work on a breeding colony of regionally rare Natterer’s bats.
The project will support the conservation, enhancement and awareness of the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage by actively conserving and protecting two existing maternal bat roosts. At the same time, it will acknowledge the importance of a regionally important building and its surrounding unspoilt grounds, as a perfect habitat for bats.
Dr Honor Gay, Bats in Churches Project agrees: ‘churches are crucial sanctuaries for Natterer’s bat’s and I applaud the church community at St Sampson’s for living alongside their important maternity roost’.
The above work is part of our St Sampson’s Unlocked project to restore and improve the medieval Grade 1 church of St Sampson, South Hill.
Bats are fascinating and endearing creatures and an important part of our ecosystem. They only have one baby a year and can live for up to 30 years. They eat mainly insects and are more closely related to humans than they are to mice. Amazingly they are the only true flying mammals in the world. We are privileged to have them in our building, but sharing our space isn’t always easy. Their habitats are protected by law, but it generally falls upon volunteers and donations to fund their conservation and enable them to thrive. We, like many churches who share our space with bats, find that it comes at a cost!
According to Dr Coldrick of Pan ecology, “Natterer’s bats are found throughout most of the British Isles but generally it is a scarce and poorly known species (BCT, 2008) although current data suggests that the UK population increased from 1999-2016 (BCT, 2017). In Cornwall, Natterer’s bats are widespread but infrequent and the most recent data indicate that the Cornish population are not following the positive national trend but are declining in the county.
Natterer’s bats are listed as declining within the red data book for Cornwall (Williams, 2009)” Our bat project will provide a habitat for Natterer’s bats, a declining species regionally, and of international interest. The site will be registered as a protected species habitat. To find out more about Natterers bats natterers 11.02.13.indd (bats.org.uk) and pipistrelle commonpipistrelle 11.02.13.indd (bats.org.uk)
Our aims – Avoidance of harm or injury to bats,
- Installation of ‘bat slates’ in roofs and creation of weather protected ‘bat tunnels’ at other access points.
- Avoidance of disturbance during the sensitive breeding and hibernation period.
- Ecological oversight for roof works. Educating professional advisers and contractors about the dangers to bats and ways to avoid the dangers.
- Repair of roof & ceiling without causing harm to bats or their habitat.
- Purchase bat boxes and Community bat box construction workshop day.
- Installation of bat boxes around the outside of the church and in the churchyard to increase the numbers of bats.
- Improvement of the habitat of the churchyard for wildlife. Promoting public understanding and enjoyment. The churchyard is managed to be wildlife friendly by leaving large areas of grass uncut until the autumn; allowing wild flowers and insect life to thrive ensuring the bats have a good foraging space.
- Bat talks, bat watching events. Educating people about the importance of bats within the wider eco system and encouraging people to take action for their conservation.
- Creation of information boards to inform, educate and encourage the general public to learn about bats, their habits and habitats and why they need protection.
- Ongoing ecological monitoring.
Natterers Bat John Altringham www.bats.org.uk
You can donate on our Just Giving page South Hill Bat Project -helping bats and humans share their space. – JustGiving