Our Conversation Science Program assists in the protection of species and ecosystems at risk in the Comox Valley; which now includes one of our fastest growing research areas, Bats!

Bats are tremendously important to ecological function and our economy. Unfortunately, our bat populations are likely already suppressed due to habitat changes on the landscape, vehicle collisions, predation by house cats and other ongoing threats. They are radically misunderstood and understudied.

Our Community Bat Program started when both the CVLT and Cumberland Community Forest Society (CCFS) were actively engaged in fundraising to acquire important habitats in the headwaters of Morrison Creek and around Perseverance Creek. Both organizations are well aware that confirming the presence of species at risk can help build the case for conservation and provide important data to inform management decisions. Since some bat species on Vancouver Island are species at risk, the two organizations joined forces by jointly acquiring ultrasonic bat monitoring equipment, and the Cumberland Bat Project was born! 

Since then, our Community Bat Program has grown to include three other components: the North Island Chapter of the BC Community Bat Program; the North American Bat Monitoring Program; and the Puntledge Watershed Bat Project.

The urgency to ramp up our knowledge of bats and bat habitat here in the Comox Valley and elsewhere is clear.