A Quarter of a Campaign

Author: Eva Densing, EUROBATS Intern May – July
Inspiration and Title: Rishad Rahman, Year of the Bat Campaign Consultant

When I came to the United Nations Campus in Bonn to start my internship at the EUROBATS Secretariat, I have to admit that I had expected an experience of quite a different kind. Looking back however, I can say that I have been lucky to have worked with such wonderful colleagues and had the chance to make a difference for the Year of the Bat Campaign.

When first applying for the internship I had no idea it was the Year of the Bat. Though having worked briefly with bats before, and having a general interest in conservation issues, I thought EUROBATS might be just the place for me. And it was. “So Eva, we thought you might help with work for the Campaign during your time here” was my introduction to what I would be doing during my three months in the “Bats Secretariat”. “Sure, I would be happy to” I answered of course, not knowing what I had gotten myself into. However if I would have the chance to start all over again, I would have most definitely answered in the same way!

I will remember life at the “Year of the Bat Headquarters” in every way fun, interesting and positively challenging, though also, in a charming way unconventional.

Being able to look behind the scenes and be a director, even if a small one, in the play of this campaign was enormously interesting. I often pictured the person on the other side of that e-mail I was answering, who had for example seen our website, and the beautiful pictures of the resources and maybe thought “Wow, those are such nice resources, I will quickly write the Year of the Bat Team a mail, to send material for my event next week.”

…If you knew what an effect such a small thought of yours yields in our office, I’m sure you would be amazed. Though I will hold all those telephone calls with DSV Express and FedEx about lost shipments to Bangladesh or Macedonia, and the mails from bat-enthusiasts who do not wish to pay their customs bill in good memory. The discussions downstairs in the mailing office, about package sizes and weights, the pro-forma invoices, the printing of the address labels, when the printer strikes again all seemed tedious in the beginning, until you begin to understand that it is an inevitable part of the job and that you can make a change for the better if you master these small challenges.

Quite quickly, the “Year of the Bat Team” (Rishad and I) had worked out a nearly perfected system for packing the material. For the postcards for example it is the “sliding method” – you count the requested quantity for one set, then simply place a stack of another picture set next to it and slide it off at the same height. Same holds for the other resources: Did you for example know that 100 “Year of the Bat” Brochures weigh 1182 grams? Or that 100 Logo Stickers stack up to 2,7 centimeters? You know all of this was worth it though, when you get a mail like the one from a young girl in the States, which I remember very well. Her teacher had distributed our resources the other week, and she had been been so fascinated with bats that she had asked her teacher for our mail address, because she wanted to order more to share with her friends. “What a cool job I have!”

Correspondence within the office is quite amusing as well. As time goes by working together, communication on campaign topics seems to condense to necessities:

“Italian Lady from the tenth?”
“She’s online, it’s all good”

If your “online” this means that your event or news report has been placed in the respective areas of the website and announced on Facebook, that you have been entered into the database and that you have received an answer to your mail.

"Amigo" - The unofficial offical Year of the Bat HQ mascot!

Next to shipments and “onlining” also work with the production and printing of the resources, everything that has to do with the website and the Facebook page (by the way I might take this chance to apologize for any spelling mistakes you might have found in our Facebook posts: It is very likely to have been me) and countless other jobs with all of which I have somehow built a personal connection in one way or another with, are part of life at “the HQ”.

Especially working with the resources have somehow left an impression on me. So I ask you to please, the next time you hold one of those Brochures in your hands, take a second and picture the long way it has come. From the very first inspiration of the text, to the person who read it over and over again to translate it into your language, to all the time it has been sitting on someone’s desk waiting to be edited to the long hours in front of the print-file trying to decipher the hyphenation mistakes and picture alignments until it can finally go to the publishers, the print, the travel back to our office, the packing, the e-mailing with you, the databasing the journey downstairs to the mailing office, the discussions on it’s size and weight and probably why there will most likely be problems with sending it and then the long journey to your country. Until then finally to when you open the box and take out one of these, by now, so valuable Brochures to hand it over to someone who will understand the extraordinary nature of bats a little bit more because of it.

Many people have asked me what exactly I do at the UN. In the beginning I always took great enthusiasm in explaining what exactly CMS and EUROBATS is and what they do and why. For my grandma even starting with what exactly the United Nations is in the first place. It is difficult though. Most people begin laughing when I arrive at “bat conservation”. And the amusement grows when I have to explain that I don’t actually work with bats but in an office, dealing with graphical designers, publishing houses and customs bureaus. “What good on earth will this do for bats? And why do you need an entire Secretariat and even a global Campaign for them anyway?” I usually arrive at a point where I say that I would have proudly supported the protection of dung beetles if need be, and therefore I can consider myself happy for working with such amazing animals as bats. I think conserving nature is about maintaining a balance, to which dung beetles or bats belong just as much as lions and dolphins. “Year of the Bat”!? Yes, why not. Seeing all those events, all those motivated and hard working people, all those countless packages to countless countries all over the planet I think this campaign has moved something for the better. And I am proud to have been a part of it.

 

All together now: Year of the Bat 2011 – 2012

Year of the Bat continues to fly high in Latin America! In addition to RELCOM’s extensive network and our original partners in Panama, Columbia and Argentina, Year of the Bat is pleased to welcome new partner organizations in Bolivia, Mexico and Brazil.

In these days of globalization, when all are concerned about global climate change, transgenic organisms, and violence, it is important to get back into reality and in contact with the natural world. Bats, the cosmopolitan group of flying mammals that is also the most ecologically and morphologically diverse mammalian order, provide a wonderful opportunity to integrate all humans around the planet in a global effort to protect and recover biological diversity, as well as to educate the world’s population about these extraordinary animals that have very deep, crucial links to our well-being and contribute significantly to a high-quality standard of living. No other group of animals is so unfairly treated in the world, given their very beneficial impact on both natural ecosystems and human life.

© Nick Edards

It is here, in the context of the mistreatment of bats and their unjustified destruction around the world, that our influence and actions as bat professionals and bat conservationists are most urgently needed. Many of us have been working hard for up to several decades to protect bats. It is now, with the platform of the Year of the Bat, that we all finally have the opportunity to join forces across countries, continents, and species, together with other individuals and organizations who share our concern, our passion, and our goals.

This initiative is opening doors and crystallizing efforts around the world. In September 2010, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species and the Agreement of the Conservationof Populations of European Bats launched Year of the Bat 2011 – 2012. The global awareness-raising species campaign, which is supported by the United Nations Environment Programme, will promote bat conservation, research and education about the world’s only flying mammals.  With the backing of founding campaign partners including Bat Conservation International, the Lubee Bat Conservancy and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Year of the Bat will focus public attention on the key role bats play in global eco-systems, such as rainforests.

With regional partners in Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Africa, the Year of the Bat will also address misperceptions about bats and encourage organizations, governments and individuals to get involved in bat conservation efforts. The Year of the Bat is pleased to have the support of RELCOM as a strategic partner for the campaign. Partners are also already planning Year of the Bat activities in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Panamá, Venezuela, and many other countries.

Other regions in the world are similarly working to promote the conservation of bats. Through information exchange, cross-continent collaboration, and integrated global efforts, our success to protect bats and improve their image will surely be achieved. We have a golden opportunity to act as a team, help bats, and have a decisive positive impact on behalf of bats. As you consider what your activities will be for Year of the Bat, some options may include:

• Offering courses and workshops on bat ecology, conservation, rehabilitation
• Printing posters, children’s storybooks, stickers, field guides
• Giving lectures, visiting schools, talking to decision makers about the need to incorporate bats into management plans and other conservation actions.

Many more actions can and certainly will be carried out. We have a chance to make the Year of the Bat into the turning point we have all been fighting and working for decades. It is waiting for us around the corner. Let’s work all together now.

Reprinted in English from the Latin American Network for Bat Conservation (RELCOM) autumn 2010 bulletin. To read the original article and other RELCOM news in Spanish, please visit the Year of the Bat website. Many thanks to Year of the Bat Ambassador Dr. Rodrigo Medellin for highlighting the beneficial impact of bats and the opportunity to join hands across borders to bring new attention to bats and act now for bat conservation.

 

Australia’s Baby Bats: All Wrapped Up

Year of the Bat is happy to hear that the Gold Coast baby bats rescued by the Australian Bat Clinic and Wildlife Trauma Centre in Advancetown are all wrapped up in tiny bat blankets and are doing well, thanks to the constant care of dedicated bat rescue workers. The little flying foxes will be bottle fed in special intensive care units – or will be ‘hanging out’ on clothes lines – until they are able to fly again in about 4 weeks.

The orphaned flying foxes even got a little limelight in the US, on NBC’s nightly news.

Despite this upbeat note, you can’t turn on the TV today without seeing the dire images of the swaths of Australia devastated by unprecedented floods and rising water levels, which have caused loss of life and massive destruction to livelihood, property and the natural environment. With reports of flooding covering an area the combined size of Germany and France, Australia’s inhabitants and the habitat cannot escape the aftermath of disruption and loss. Bats are a natural barometer to what is going on in the environment and they are sadly not immune to the effects of natural disasters.

Back in March 2010, flooding in Queensland had already caused a huge displacement of the nationally threatened species of flying foxes, with a large number traveling down south to Yarra Bend in Melbourne. The heavy rains had affected the blossoms on which they normally feed.

Just before Christmas, flying foxes were dealt another unfavourable hand with a few of the Bat Clinic’s flying fox camps being hit hard by one of the storms. Unfortunately, hundreds of the Grey headed flying fox Ptreopus poliocephalus were lost, but dedicated staff at Trish Wimberley’s Bat Clinic were feeding 140 baby bats around the clock. The Clinic organized a New Year’s masquerade ball to raise funds to help the babies progress from needing to be nursed to eating fruit.

Flying fox babies awake from sleep at the Wimberley Rehabiliation Clinic. Note receiving blankets and pacifiers.  ©Merlin D. Tuttle, Bat Conservation International,  www.batcon.org

The recent flooding in Australia – to mention nothing of Brazil – has been catastrophic for families, communities, farmers and wildlife. Among the wildlife populations affected, bats have also unfortunately been caught in the struggle for survival. According to a January 7th Daily Mail report, the Australian Bat Clinic and Wildlife Trauma Centre have helped 130 orphaned bats on the Gold Coast. Due to the disruption of their food sources, bats are having to feed on the ground, making them much more vulnerable. Bat Clinic carers found four-week-old babies on the ground, covered in maggots and fly eggs, in several bat ‘camps.’ The clinic’s team is now providing the surviving babies with 24-hour care until they can spread their wings and fly again.

The Year of the Bat thanks those bat workers and also sends our well wishes to all the people affected by the flooding. Our hearts go out to the families who have lost so much. We wish everyone courage through this crisis and are confident that the resilient Australian people and the country’s exceptional flora and fauna will come back even stronger.