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This email has been sent to bat group contacts only.
Please forward this information to others in your group.
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Dear bat group member,
Hello and welcome to the June edition of the Bat Group Bulletin. In this issue you can find updates
on the Environment Bill, the Earned Recognition scheme and the next bat group mingle. There is also
a new course offering from BCT aimed at introducing people to the world of bats.
We are always looking to ensure the bulletin is meeting the needs of its readers, so it would be
appreciated if you could please complete this one-minute survey: https://bit.ly/3y2Gkkk. This survey
will be open until the 30th July 2021.
Please use the interactive contents list to jump to the topics of most interest to you.
1. Non-Bitumen Coated Roofing Membranes (formerly BRMs) Update. ............................................... 1
2. Nature’s Recovery into Law Progress. ................................................................................................ 1
3. Welcoming Nominations for the Pete Guest Award 2021.................................................................. 1
4. IUCN Bat Steering Group COVID-19 Guidance. ................................................................................... 2
5. Bat Earned Recognition Pilot Project in England: Call to Register Interest Opens 5th July 2021. ....... 2
6. Still Time to Select Field Survey and Waterway Survey Sites Near You! ............................................ 2
7. Bats in Churches Study in England. ..................................................................................................... 2
8. Being Part of BCT’s 30th Birthday. ....................................................................................................... 2
9. Bat Habitat Regulation Bill. ................................................................................................................. 3
10. Do You Enter Caves for Bat Work? ................................................................................................... 3
11. Key Dates for Your Diary. .................................................................................................................. 3
12. Bat Research Papers, Reports & Other Batty Media. ....................................................................... 4
Appendix 1 Bat Earned Recognition Pilot Project Continued. ................................................................ 5
1. Non-Bitumen Coated Roofing Membranes (formerly BRMs) Update. The Non-Bitumen Coated
Roofing Membranes steering group is now aware of the TLX independent testing methodology
results for their “bat safe” membrane and concerns raised by Stacey Waring. The next NBCRMs
steering group meeting is Tuesday 29th June which Stacey has kindly agreed to attend to fully
discuss the issues so we can find a way to move this forward. Once this has happened the steering
group can advise industry on next steps, the BCT website will be updated and we will include the
update in a future Bat Group Bulletin. Until then the original advice still stands, currently the only
roofing membrane safe to use where bats are present is bitumen 1F felt that is a non-woven short
fibred construction.
2. Nature’s Recovery into Law Progress. The species abundance target amendment to the
Environment Bill has been published; instead of requiring the Government to set a fixed goal to halt
the decline of species by 2030, it now only requires a contribution to ‘further’ the objective of
halting species decline. This falls far short of a world-leading law and the “Net Zero for nature” that
was promised. To read more about BCT’s response click here, and for WCL’s response here. Please
continue sharing this petition to call for a stop to species decline by 2030: https://bit.ly/2OoDd4e.
3. Welcoming Nominations for the Pete Guest Award 2021. We are welcoming nominations for the
Pete Guest Award, which recognises individuals who have made an outstanding practical
contribution to bat conservation. The award is presented in memory of Pete Guest, who was an
inspirational figure in bat conservation for more than 20 years. For details on how to nominate
please see: https://bit.ly/3hwiCXT. The deadline is 9am on Monday 12th July.
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14. IUCN Bat Steering Group COVID-19 Guidance. The IUCN Bat Steering Group (BSG) has updated its
guidance for bat rehabilitators. This second edition will be available on the IUCN BSG website by 2nd
July: https://bit.ly/3dmmo3j. The main changes reflect what is now known about SARS-COV-2, the
virus that causes COVID-19, and the potential risk of human to bat transmission. The IUCN BSG
guidance covers the world-wide risk of transmission, BCT is also updating its UK specific guidance
and this will be available shortly.
In addition to the guidance for bat carers, the IUCN BSG is also revising its guidance on field work for
bat researchers. This document is being actively updated and should be available in the next few
weeks (at the same link as above). We (BCT) will update our website as soon as this is available. In
the meantime, we are working on UK specific information available for bat groups, that will reflect
the changes that the IUCN BSG are proposing to their existing guidance for researchers. We will be in
touch with bat groups (and post on the news feed on our website) as soon as this is available.
5. Bat Earned Recognition Pilot Project in England: Call to Register Interest Opens 5th July 2021.
The Bat Earned Recognition (ER) Pilot is a partnership project between Natural England (NE), the Bat
Conservation Trust (BCT) and the Chartered Institute for Ecology and Environmental Management
(CIEEM). The project will implement a scheme of professional accreditation for applicants for bat
mitigation licences. The aims of the scheme are to (1) streamline licensing, (2) raise and maintain
professional standards in bat mitigation work and (3) improve outcomes for bats. The ER Pilot is
currently in the process of onboarding professional Assessors. The Assessors will play a critical role in
ensuring the success of the ER Pilot by undertaking the assessment of the competence of candidates
for accreditation. Please see our website and the March Bat Group Bulletin for more information on
the scheme.
Registration of Interest. The partners are now thrilled to be able to invite ecologists in England to
register their interest in accreditation under the ER Pilot. Ecologists will be able to register their
interest via the ‘Registration Form’ which goes live on Monday 5th July 2021. A link to the
Registration Form will be made available from the CIEEM ER Project page, from the 5th July. Please
see appendix 1 for more information.
6. Still Time to Select Field Survey and Waterway Survey Sites Near You! Take a look at the online
maps showing sites available to survey as part of the annual National Bat Monitoring Programme.
We are keen to get more volunteers surveying Field Survey sites in July for common pipistrelle,
soprano pipistrelle, noctule and serotine (where this species occurs), and Waterway Survey sites in
August for Daubenton’s bats. Additional survey sites improve our ability to produce species
population trends at different scales (UK, GB, country and region) so any sites you can take on would
be really valuable.
7. Bats in Churches Study in England. You are still in time to join the BiC project and carry out a one-
off daytime survey between June and August at your local church. This project aims to better
understand how bats use churches in England, the impact they may have (both positive and
negative), and the community’s attitude towards bats. The ‘National Bats in Churches’ survey is our
priority survey and requires you to book equipment to collect droppings and record bat sounds. If
there isn’t a ‘National Bats in Churches’ site near you, you can still greatly help the project by
surveying a ‘Church Bat Detective’ site. Learn how to survey your local church and sign up here:
https://bit.ly/3j9zsMZ.
8. Reminder - Being Part of BCT’s 30th Birthday. We are inviting bat groups and bat group members
to record a short video (30 seconds – 1 minute) about what the bat group does and/or what the bat
group or BCT’s work means to you. This will be a great way to promote your bat group to a wider
audience, as well as celebrate the last 30 years. We plan to share these via the BCT website, social
media and play them during BatFest (see Key Dates below). To find out more or send a recording
please email comms@bats.org.uk.
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29. Bat Habitat Regulation Bill. We are pleased to let you know that this Bill has not been re-
introduced into this new Parliamentary session. We don’t know if it wasn’t put forward as a Private
Members Bill or was not drawn out of the ballot, although there are other mechanisms (Ten Minute
Rule and Presentation) by which this might resurface at some point. Whilst this means we no longer
have to put resources into this, it does not mean that bats are safe from possible legislative and
future policy impacts. We will continue to monitor new legislation as it arises. If you would like to be
kept up to date with any future policy campaigns, please sign up here: http://eepurl.com/gGqJDH.
Please see BCT’s previous news article for further information on the bill.
10. Do You Enter Caves for Bat Work? If so, please answer this survey to help with research that
aims to quantify the risk humans pose to underground ecosystems (including bats) by unknowingly
transporting microbes from one place to another. More information on the research can be found
here: https://bit.ly/3zl0EOj, and the survey is here: https://bit.ly/3cvS9WT. The survey is open until
the 6th August.
11. Key Dates for Your Diary. Watch this space for dates and reminders of conferences, BCT training
and other events you may be interested in. Please do utilise extra publicity for your events by getting
them added to the BCT events page. For more information about training please see the our training
pages or email Naomi at nwebster@bats.org.uk. You can also get updates straight to your inbox by
signing up to BCT’s events mailing list here: https://bit.ly/3a2g0M0.
BCT Events and Training. BCT is following Government guidelines over in-person events and have
developed virtual alternatives where suitable.
• Tuesdays 6th July – 10th August – British bats, their ecology and conservation. A six-session
online course for those new to bats and wanting to develop a broader understanding. You
can book individual sessions or all six for a full overview of British bats:
https://bit.ly/2SxytLF.
• 21st July – Bat Ecology and Conservation. Fantastic opportunity for those new to bat work.
An in-person one day course to give a comprehensive foundation to bat biology, ecology and
conservation (see more course information for details on virtual options):
https://bit.ly/2SITrXG.
• 29th July - Bat Group Mingle. The next bat group mingle event will be held via zoom at 7pm.
Please see this page for details and booking: https://bit.ly/3j5aNct.
• September 2021 – BatFest. We will be celebrating 30 Days of Bats and BCT’s 30th birthday
with a series of events starting on International Bat Night (28th August) with a virtual Bat
Walk across the UK. Last year we included stops in England, Wales and Scotland, and would
love your bat group to help us this year. We welcome any bat groups who would like to
contribute, not just to the virtual bat walk, but if you are hosting any bat events during 30
Days of Bats. Please get in touch if your bat group is interested in being involved.
• 14th September – Bat Workers Forum. Due to feedback and turn out following last year’s
virtual event, we will be running this year’s Bat Workers Forum (BFW) online and separate to
the National Bat Conference. This will be when the winner of the Pete Guest Award (PGA) is
announced. Keep an eye on these pages for more information of the BWF:
https://bit.ly/3weQL2n and the PGA: https://bit.ly/3hwiCXT.
• 9th October – BCT’s AGM. The AGM (open to BCT members) is being held online on Saturday
9th October 2021. Last year’s event started with a brief introduction from Chris Packham and
we are waiting to confirm who will open this year’s event. Sign up to receive further details
here: http://bit.do/NatBatConf21.
• 29th – 31st October – National Bat Conference, get ready to book! Thank you to everyone
who responded to our survey. As a result, we are going to hold the National Bat Conference
online again this year and are moving it to later in the season. Information on the
programme and booking link can be found here: https://bit.ly/2SyHhRB. Booking will be
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3open by 1st July. You can stay up to date by registering your interest here:
https://bit.ly/3eYZbp4.
Bat Group Events. If your bat group would like to promote an online event that is open to members
of other bat groups, then please email batgroups@bats.org.uk to be included in this section.
Other Events and Training.
• 15th June – A Small Bat Pack Presentation. Together with urban bat ecologist Joanna
Ferguson, A Small Studio will host a Zoom event to present A Small Bat Pack, which is a new
project we have developed to increase bat activity within residential gardens and pockets of
green public spaces. Book your free ticket here: https://bit.ly/3gueDJf.
• 6th - 8th July – Back from the Brink Conference. A free virtual conference for practitioners
and volunteers in species conservation and people engagement. Programme:
https://bit.ly/3iJPGwe. Registration link: https://bit.ly/3xlFii1.
• 28th August – International Bat Night, and your entries are wanted! A 12-hr live online
event celebrating all things batty. Please use this now correct link to submit entries for the
event on anything you think would help celebrate bats: https://bit.ly/3fM7y6x. It can be
anything, interesting sightings, good habitat restoration, local projects etc. Entries in
languages other than English are welcome. Free posters can be ordered from EUROBATS
website, as well as registering your bat group’s event: https://bit.ly/3vrn6TM.
• 2nd November – The 1st International Bat Research Online Symposium. Focusing on the
wind energy-bat conflict: https://bit.ly/3vkJcqk.
• Ongoing – Bat Acoustics Analysis. Online course from BatAbility containing 14 modules and
more than 15 hours of content to develop your skills in bat call analysis and, if you want,
undertake a graded examination at the end of the course. BatAbility are kindly donating at
least 6% for each participant that signs up to BCT. https://bit.ly/3fvgZHa.
12. Bat Research Papers, Reports & Other Batty Media. Please note we normally only include
articles, reports, and blogs that are available to read online or download without charge.
• Warmer summers, fatter Bechstein's bats, shorter lives. Looking at how climate-induced
change in body size affects population survival: https://bit.ly/3jaNb64. This is a closed-access
paper, so please see our advice on how to gain access here or just enjoy the abstract.
• British Island Bats Volume Two. The finishing touches are being made to the second volume
of the British Islands Bats journal. Although an independent publication, it is hosted on the
BCT website, where it will be available for download soon (it is only available online in PDF
format). If you would like to be notified when it is available, please email the editors (Tina
Wiffen and Lisa Worledge) at britishislandsbats@gmail.com or look out for news on social
media #BIBats. The principal aim of the journal is to publish articles about bats and bat work
across the British Islands (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, and
Isle of Man), thereby providing a forum for information that might not otherwise be shared,
from full-length papers to brief notes on items of interest. Volume Two has 17 papers
contributed by bat groups, students and ecologists. The editors would welcome feedback (to
the email address above) and to hear from anyone interested in submitting articles for
Volume Three, which will be published in 2022.
• BatChat is nominated for CIEEMs NGO Impact Award. Congratulations to Steve Roe and all
involved with the BatChat podcast, you can listen to it here: https://bit.ly/3vvazOu.
• Wildlife Crime Podcast from the National History Museum. Starting on the 1st July, the
introduction touches on wildlife markets and the dangers they pose in terms of zoonotic
diseases: https://bit.ly/3zZLaQe.
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4A rolling 12 months of previous bulletins are available on the BCT website at https://bit.ly/2GGoYRK.
Best wishes,
Abby Packham
Bat Groups Officer
If you wish to alter your contact preferences, including to opt-out of receiving future communications from us, please
contact us by either calling 020 7820 7193 or emailing batgroups@bats.org.uk, however if you are receiving this bulletin
forwarded to you by your bat group, please contact the bat group directly.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Appendix 1. Bat Earned Recognition Pilot Project continued.
We will be inviting up to 100 ecologists to participate in the assessment and accreditation process. In
order to robustly test the pilot, the partners endeavour to invite a wide range of candidates (e.g. a
range of geographical areas; different stages of career; Earned Recognition Accreditation Level being
applied for). Therefore, regrettably, if we receive more than 100 Registration Forms from candidates
who meet the criteria, we will be unable to invite all to undertake Accreditation Assessment. Please
note that a current Level 2 Class Survey Licence (or higher) is a pre-requisite of the Pilot.
Ecologist registration will be open from 5th July 2021 to 15th August 2021. If we receive more than
100 Registration Forms from candidates who meet the criteria, we reserve the right to close
registration before this date. We therefore encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity.
Please note that a current Level 2 Class Survey Licence (or higher) is a pre-requisite of the Pilot.
We will aim to notify all candidates who have submitted a Registration Form by 31st August 2021.
Participation in the Accreditation Assessment Process
If invited to participate in the accreditation assessment process, the first stage consists of a set of
Multiple Choice Questions, reflecting the ER Competency Framework. The MCQs will act as a
gateway to participating in the following stages, which includes submission of a portfolio of career
evidence, a series of desk-based Online Scenario Tests (OST), and finally a Professional Interview
designed to test applicants’ competence against the requirements for one of the three Accreditation
Levels. The Accreditation Levels and ER Competency Framework may be viewed here. Candidates
will be required to pass all stages of the accreditation process. For successfully accredited ecologists,
they will gain access to a new streamlined licensing process, which provisionally aims to run from
December 2021 through to August 2022, (and potentially beyond). Further benefits are outlined
below.
Why Take Part in the ER Pilot?
Applicants who are selected for the ER Pilot and who successfully complete the accreditation
process will be registered under a special Class Licence and will be able to submit applications
through the new streamlined licensing process for the duration of the pilot. The pilot is intended to
go live from December 2021 through to August 2022 (and potentially beyond).
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5The concept is broadly similar to the Bat Mitigation Class Licence (BMCL – formerly BLICL) but
ecologists with ER accreditation will able to use their class licence for work on a much wider range of
species and roost types of bats (dependent on their level of accreditation).
Some key benefits of taking part in the pilot and passing accreditation are:
- A fast turnaround on most licensing decisions throughout the pilot period;
- Your bat mitigation licensing competence will be recognised and accredited by Natural
England;
- You will be helping to test the ER concept and systems to ensure they work for you; and
- You will have the opportunity to provide detailed feedback on the scheme and shape its
future development, ensuring it is fit for purpose, and meets the scheme’s three primary
aims.
The current consultation Q&A document, along with other ER Pilot background content, can be
found on either the BCT or CIEEM websites.
The Privacy Notice relating to the Earned Recognition Pilot can be found on the BCT ER Pilot page.
Queries
If you have any queries regarding the ER Pilot, please do contact us using
EarnedRecognition.Bat@naturalengland.org.uk
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6You can also read
