7th April 2017 – Listen to the Inevitable Batgirl!
Posted on 29 March, 2017 by Connecting Country
The guest speaker for the April meeting of the Castlemaine Field Naturalists Club is local bat ecologist, Emmi van Harten (a.k.a. Emmi Scherlies).
Emmi studying one of her microbats in the lab.
Local PhD student, Emmi van Harten is fascinated with the world of bats. For the past two years she has been researching the critically endangered southern bent-wing bat in South Australia. With the help of 45 volunteers, Emmi has microchipped almost 2000 bats and is shedding light on the lives of these elusive mammals to inform recovery of the population.
During the presentation, Emmi will share stories about bats, her research and the findings so far, as well as her inevitable transformation into ‘Batgirl’. The story will start and end here, in the box-ironbark forests around Castlemaine, Victoria.
Unusually, the meeting is being held on the first Friday of the month (7 April), due to a clash with easter on the second Friday. It is being held at the normal location – in the Fellowship Room within the hall behind the Uniting Church on Lyttleton St in Castlemaine (next door to the Art Gallery/Museum). Doors open from 7.15pm, with the meeting starting from 7.30pm. Members and visitors welcome and encouraged to come along, and there is no cost for entry.
Emmi is a good friend of Connecting Country, having assisted us a couple of years ago with a review of different revegetation techniques and their success rates. Last year she gave an engaging talk to the Newstead Landcare group about her previous research on Powerful Owls. This talk on bats promises to be a great one as well.
Hope the evening goes well. I know the talk will be great.
Would love to come to this on Friday.
Fantastic. Look forward to seeing you there. Chris.