This project has been championed throughout by Maurice Houghton our vice chair.

On 16th April 2013 Jenny Taylor who is a Council Ranger and bat expert agreed to come along to our AGM meeting and give a talk on all aspects of bat life etc. Apart from being a fascinating talk it gave us greater understanding on how to move forward with the project.

After much research by Maurice it was decided the “Kent” box would be the most suitable, Jenny advised that three of these should be fixed to each tree with a minimum of seven trees.

For comprehensive information on all you need  to know about bats please follow the link below.

Bat Conservation Trust

From the outset we wanted to involve local schools in the project, we proposed to provide timber and fasteners and ask the schools to assemble the boxes. Maurice contacted Nick Donnolley from St Michaels and Dave Goulden from Southlands. They were both happy to be involved.

In early September 2014 Maurice secured the grant monies thanks to to Steve Holgate from Lancashire County Council. This was received mid October and the timber and a quantity of fasteners were purchased and delivered to schools for assembly by pupils.

A few months later the 60 completed boxes were fixed to trees in the Park by the Rangers and the Friends of Astley Park volunteers.

Since the boxes became established, we have organised summer evening “bat walks” run by experts in this field.