The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Bat Conservation Trust and The Wildlife Trusts have joined forces to launch a new competition to identify the best insect-friendly plant display in the country. Bats need insects and so gardeners are being urged to consider this wonderful nocturnal mammal when making planting choices – to help sustain bats in the future.
Plant a bat feast! competition heralds the start of a campaign to improve the fortunes of the UK’s bats – it runs from 11th July until the 6th November 2016. It is easy to enter: simply choose a range of insect-friendly plants, watch them grow and send us a photo!
While bats can be found in the most rural and urban of settings, most of us are unaware of them and why these endearing creatures need our help to survive.
Advice and inspiration to attract and support bats in your garden can be found in the new FREE booklet and online guide: Stars of the Night – working together to create a ‘batty’ neighbourhood. You can download the guide fromhttp://www.wildaboutgardensweek.org.uk/Downloads/wag-stars-of-the-night.pdf
It contains:
- Great ideas for laying on a bat banquet in your garden, balcony or window-box
- Details of which bats are most likely to visit your garden and how to listen for them
- A seasonal guide to what bats are doing throughout the year
- Advice on reducing outdoor lighting – floodlit gardens are detrimental to bats
The Wildlife Trusts, Bat Conservation Trust and RHS hope to inspire gardeners and wildlife lovers everywhere – in town and country – to go batty this summer. In the autumn, in time for Halloween, the partnership will celebrate bats with a specially-themed Wild About Gardens Week which will run from 24th – 30th October and include:
- A week-long series of bat festivities and events (or organise one of your own)
- The conclusion of the Plant a bat feast competition
- Lots of different activities that everyone can join in with
- All information on www.wildaboutgardensweek.org.uk