Our next charity is the Manx Bat Group (Charity 443) which formed in 1990, partly in response to the passing of the Wildlife Act.

The Wildlife Act (1990) protected bats in the Isle of Man for the first time when it added bats to the list of animals which are protected, and the list of animals which may not be killed or taken by certain method.

The activities and organisation of the Manx Bat Group are managed by a volunteer committee, which is made up of the officers required by the charity’s constitution plus other people elected from the membership.

Committee members and officers are elected annually at the group’s AGM, which is usually held in November or December.

The current officers are: Nick Pinder (chairman and recorder), Bob Moon (treasurer) and Louise Samson (secretary and DEFA liason officer).

We spoke to the group’s chairman, Nick, about the important conservation work they do and the ways in which they try to raise awareness in the island.

Who are you / What do you do?

The official aims of the Manx Bat Group are to promote the knowledge, study, conservation and welfare of bats in and around the Isle of Man.

We do all this via a range of activities with regular meetings on bat-related topics plus field visits in summer, bat walks throughout the summer to see bats around the island and bat surveys of properties subject to planning applications.

We provide advice and information about Manx bats and bat boxes and maintain a database of bat records and bat roosts for the island.

We also care for and release injured and grounded bats and give talks on bats to community groups, schools and pre-school groups.

Finally, we attend shows and fairs with our ’Bat Stall’ to give information and advice face to face with the public.

We are a partner organisation with the Bat Conservation Trust (UK) and Isle of Man Biosphere and have a Memorandum of Understanding with the Manx Wildlife Trust.

What has been your biggest achievement or proudest moment since forming?

From the natural history point of view we’ve more or less doubled the known number of species of bat living on the island but our proudest achievement is probably altering the public’s perception of bats from a potential nuisance to a welcome and interesting part of our lives.

In the 60s, bats were gassed by pest control companies and that wouldn’t happen nowadays when we offer advice as to how people can continue living with the bats occupying their property.

On the other hand, our public bat walks are always well attended with many people enchanted by being able to see and hear (with a bat detector) the bats they would otherwise have missed.

What is your biggest ambition/goal for the future?

We still need to know more about which species live where and where their crucial feeding grounds are in order to be able to protect them fully.

At present we have little idea of how many there are of the various species and how they are faring in our modern world, if they are still declining or are some increasing under the protection they have been afforded under the Wildlife Act?

This assessment will only be possible after continual detailed survey for which we need more people willing to go out around the island with our modern bat detectors and feed back the results for our database.

The biggest challenge will be ensuring that bats don’t come to any harm with the drive towards zero-carbon, insulating and sealing-up properties across the island.

How can people get involved?

Many people already submit sightings via our website or they can come along on one of our public bat walks or follow one of the walks published in our Bat Walks booklet - also available online from our website.

Once they’ve gauged what level of involvement they want, they can join the bat group and become closely involved with any or all aspects of our work.

We can provide the training volunteers will need in order to gain a licence to study bats more closely.

Where can people find you and where can they donate?

We have a website (www.manxbatgroup.org) which we try to keep up to date and where people can find information and details on how to join, including our bank details for subscriptions and donations.

We also have a Facebook page for the latest news of the group’s activities and events, just search Facebook for ’Manx Bat Group’.

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