Meadfleet work closely with Residents’ Associations on a number of our developments, and recently liaised with customers on our Hamptons development in Evesham, Worcestershire to organise a Bat Walk. The residents were keen to learn more about the wildlife using their local area, and so the Meadfleet Ecology Team planned a guided talk and walk.
Organising a bat walk can be notoriously erratic – good weather, good habitat, and pure luck are sometimes required to ensure that the event is a success, i.e. that the bats actually turn up. We selected a date in early September, in the hope that weather conditions would be good, and so that sunset was not too late. Bats are generally only active in dry weather, and as they usually only emerge after sunset events need to be held either in early or late summer so as to be at a reasonable time for all ages of people to attend – midsummer provides more predictable weather but the bats only emerge long after some people have gone to bed.
The evening arrived with clear but quite windy weather. The selected route for the walk took us through a variety of habitats, passing residential gardens to formally-maintained areas of public open space and to a large country park. The country park is managed by Meadfleet to maximise benefits to both people and wildlife, with a mosaic of different habitat types connected by footpaths. The walk began with a talk from Meadfleet’s Ecology and Conservation Manager, who is a licenced bat worker with many years’ experience of bat ecology. Lots of bat facts were shared with the group, for example – a single bat can eat over 3000 insects in one night, 18 species of bat reside in the UK, and all bats are protected by UK law.
As the walk began we glimpsed a few bats 20 minutes after sunset – this is the time that pipistrelle bats leave their roost, suggesting that the houses on the development are being used by roosting bats. As we ventured deeper into the country park and to areas sheltered from the wind the group were treated to views of common and soprano pipistrelle bats flying close to the group. The bats were foraging for insects. The group were equipped with bat detectors, which enable people to hear bat calls which are otherwise outside of our range of hearing. Contrary to the phrase bats are not blind, they have reasonable eyesight but are unable to see in the dark, and so have evolved to use echolocation – they shout and listen for the echo rebounding from an object to determine its location and proximity. Bats are able to produce and receive these calls many times a second to give an accurate location, enabling them to catch fast-moving prey.
The attendees were delighted with their connection with these fantastic nocturnal animals, and were encouraged to hear of our plans to further enhance the biodiversity value of the site to benefit bats and other biodiversity. We were delighted to receive the following review:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Wonderful Evening – Highly Recommended
“A fantastic Bat Walk around the Hamptons Country Park, organised by Paul Cassidy of Meadfleet.
Paul did an excellent job of bringing the evening to life with his knowledge, enthusiasm and passion for our local wildlife. The walk gave residents a wonderful opportunity to explore the Country Park after dark and learn more about the bats that live right on our doorstep. Using bat detectors, we were able to hear and identify the bats as they flew around us, which made the experience particularly exciting.
There was a great atmosphere among everyone who attended, with plenty of interest, questions and enthusiasm throughout the evening. It was a real reminder of what a valuable natural asset our Country Park is and the wildlife it supports.
A huge thank you to Paul for giving his time and organising such an enjoyable and informative event. Judging by the comments from those who attended, it was a great success and something we would very much like to see repeated.
Five stars from the residents who attended — a genuinely memorable evening and a brilliant example of how our Country Park can bring the community together.”
Our Ecology Team love to help our customers, schools and community groups to learn more about the nature and wildlife in their local area, and we are always looking for new groups to work with – please visit our Community page for more information.
About Meadfleet
Meadfleet is a leading sustainable land-adopting management company, established in 1995. We manage over 350 developments and 40,000 residential properties across England and Wales, supported by in-house expertise and decades of experience.
Our in-house ecologists bring expertise in Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), and we offer management of BNG delivery both on managed developments and offsite areas, funded through customer contributions or commuted sums. Our adoption model relieves developers of ongoing liabilities and management costs.
The Meadfleet approach removes onerous responsibilities from homeowners while encouraging resident engagement in the stewardship of their local environment. We are members of The Property Ombudsman Scheme (TPOS), providing customers with free, independent redress if required. We also welcome and support resident groups, creating a valuable two-way dialogue that strengthens community involvement.
As a land-adopting management company, we take long-term responsibility for open space, building strong community relations and implementing ongoing management and improvement plans. Our independent, holistic approach ensures open spaces are managed sustainably for the benefit of residents, biodiversity, and the wider environment.