Penticton鈥檚 parks team has installed 11 bat boxes as part of a joint initiative involving local students, the BC Community Bat Program and the Penticton Museum & Archives.

The goal is to promote and raise awareness about bat habitat and conservation.

鈥淭hank you to Mr. Travis Kroschinsky鈥檚 shop class at Princess Margaret Secondary for designing and decorating these bat boxes, which will create cozy roosts for our furry residents,鈥� says Todd Whyte, parks supervisor. 鈥淭hese are the first bat boxes installed by staff on city property and it鈥檚 a welcome step forward to embrace a greener future, where nature and city life can thrive together.鈥�

Bats play an important role in our local ecosystem and are major predators of pests, consuming large quantities of insects each night. The bat boxes have been installed onto three existing osprey nesting poles located at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, Upper Bench Road (just north of Johnson Road) and on Duncan Avenue near Okanagan College. The locations have been carefully selected to be near bodies of water in natural settings and high enough to be safe from predators.

In celebration of Bat Week (Oct. 24-31), the BC Community Bat Program 鈥� Okanagan Region is giving a 鈥楤at Chat鈥� presentation at the Library-Museum auditorium on Oct. 24 from 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Learn about local bat life, habitat and other fun facts at this program jointly sponsored by the Penticton Museum & Archives and the Penticton Public Library.

Educators can borrow a 鈥楤at Edu-kit鈥� from the Penticton Museum & Archives to use in the classroom, which includes lesson plans, hands-on activities and crafts for all ages of students. The Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance (OSCA), and the BC Community Bat Program 鈥� Okanagan Region also provide classroom presentations for the kit.

For more information about the Bat Edu-kit, visit penticton.ca/museum-programs.