North Florida Community College partnered with Tri-County Electric Cooperative in Madison recently to install a twenty-foot pole near the entrance of the Ladell Brothers Outdoor Environmental Center that now serves as a base for NFCC’s new bat house. NFCC’s student ecology club Save Our Animal Resources (SOAR) donated the bat house and will be monitoring migration of area bats to the new structure; hopefully keeping them away from campus buildings. According to SOAR Advisor and NFCC Science Instructor, Bonnie Littlefield, bats will be inclined to roost in the box because of its size and location. The box has about a twenty-foot radius unobstructed from the house and is approximately twenty feet above ground, which is key to attracting bats. The double-chamber bat house has a landing plate and faces east to southeast to gain exposure to the sunlight. All features that appeal to area bats. “Bats, in general, are very good neighbors since they eat so many insects, including garden and crop pests,” said Littlefield. “We appreciate Tri-County Electric’s donation and assistance with our new bat house; we couldn’t have completed this project without their help and generosity.” The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission provides detailed information on bats, including their behaviors and habitats and Florida’s legal protection of bats, at http://myfwc.com/wildli-fehabitats/profiles/mammals/land/bats/. For more information on NFCC’s ecology club SOAR, contact Bonnie Littlefield at (850) 973-1687 or littlefieldb@nfcc.edu.
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Pictures:
1. Photo Submitted. The NFCC maintenance crew installs the new NFCC bat house.
2. Photo Submitted. The NFCC ecology club SOAR (Save Our Animal Resources) donated the bat house and will help monitor migration of area bats to the new structure. Members of NFCC’s ecology club pictured, from left to right are: SOAR Advisor Bonnie Littlefield (Jefferson County), SOAR members Drasti Chaudhari (Suwannee County), Tyree Peters (Suwannee County) and Austin Hadden (Suwannee County). On the right side, starting from the back, are: Sabrina Reddy (Hamilton County), Samantha Crumly (Madison County), Brian Crumly (Madison County), and Zachary Smith (Suwannee County).
3. Photo Submitted. Tri-County Electric Cooperative installs the NFCC bat house base near the Ladell Brothers Outdoor Environmental Center entrance.