Contributed by Dana Hills
On May 3, 2019, the fourth and fifth grade class of Willow Elementary School and their teacher, Skip Davenport, as well as some homeschoolers had the opportunity to spend the day in the park learning about bats, and in particular, the little brown bat. The students built and brought ten bat boxes that will be scattered about the park to encourage the little brown bat to nest within the boxes. Each bat box can hold up to 100 bats.
The little brown bat is a species of mouse-eared bat that is found in North America. It is the only species of bat found in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. They are brown in color and measure 5-7 inches long with a wing span of 9-11 inches. Their diet consists of mosquitos, spiders and moths. They use echolocation to find food sources. A little brown bat can consume between 600 to 1,000 mosquitos in a single hour. A nursing little brown bat may consume as many as 4,500 mosquitos in a night, more than her own body weigh in insects. Each year they have one offspring, called a pup. Bats are the only mammals that can fly. While the little brown bat in Alaska is not endangered. It is endangered in the lower 48 and Canada, largely due to white nose syndrome. Discovered in 2006 in caves in which bats live and hibernate, white nose syndrome has killed millions of bats. The condition is named for a distinctive fungal growth around the face, ears, wings and feet of hibernating bats. When affected, the bats come out of hibernation, they are severely malnourished and susceptible to starving to death before the insects they feed on emerge in the spring. We welcome the little brown bat to Newman Memorial Park.
The day was packed with fun-filled activities. Jesika Reimer, Zoologist at the Alaska Center for Conservation Science, located at UAA provided some awesome and engaging information about bats, specifically the little brown bat. She provided hands-on opportunities for students to learn about bats and the importance of bat boxes and choosing proper sites for bat box location. She explained the importance of bat box design and the criteria necessary in choosing a site for bat box location to ensure safety from predators such as squirrels.
Vic Stanculescu, Naturalist, from Alaska State Parks, took the students on a hike through the park to explore and observe the park environment, identify habitats within the park and possible locations for the bat boxes.
Tina Owen, Marine Biologist and Naturalist, whose specialty is the Willow area, had many hands-on specimens of various animal species common to Willow. She talked to the students about the animals they could find in or visit their backyard.
Maxine Franklin, Alaska Native Naturalist, hiked with the students with the goal of increasing their focus on nature. They brought back specimens to the pavilion and made drawings of them. The students were able to identify good locations for bat box placement that met the bat criteria for a good habitat.
Newman Memorial Park is located in Willow, Alaska on Willow Creek Parkway. It is home to the only fenced wilderness dog park in America. The park also features a large covered pavilion overlooking a small lake, ideal for family reunions, weddings and school field trips. For more information on the park visit the Willow Area Community Organization website.
