Scottish Bat Workers' Conference

Date of next conference: March 2025

The last conference was held in March 2023

The conference was held at Stirling University as a joint event with the universities’ Biological & Environmental Sciences and will be run as a hybrid event (online and in person).

We are grateful to our sponsor Wildlife Acoustics

The Scottish conference provided an opportunity for volunteer and professional bat workers across Scotland to spend time together: update their knowledge, share best practice, develop their skills and catch up on the latest 'bat chat'. The 2023 Scottish Bat Conference was held at Stirling University as a joint event with the universities’ Biological & Environmental Sciences.

The day will included spotlight talks from various bat groups across Scotland, longer talks on projects or sharing new knowledge and research talks.

There was a regional priorities discussion session at the end of the day, which will provided a forum for bat workers to share questions, successes and priorities for bat work in Scotland.

NB there are no workshops as part of the Scottish conference programme, but every second year is the Spring Into Action event, which is a full workshop day. To find out about the 2024 Spring Into Action day follow the link: https://www.bats.org.uk/our-wo...

09:00 Arrival, registrations in person from 9am, Zoom room open from 9:45am

10:00 Session 1 – Chaired by Prof. Kirsty Park.

• An update on the work of the Bat Conservation Trust – Joe Nunez-Mino, Director of Communications and Fundraising, Bat Conservation Trust.
• Species on the Edge: Species on the Edge: Protecting Scotland’s Island Wonders’ – Cathryn Baillie. Species on the Edge Project Officer, Bat Conservation Trust.
• Understanding bats in Scotland’s agricultural landscapes - Rochelle Kennedy, PhD student at Stirling University.

11:15 Break.

11:45 Session 2 – Chaired by Joe Nunez-Mino

• The Nathusius’ Pipistrelle Project – Daniel Hargreaves, Bat Programme Manager, Vincent Wildlife Trust.
  

• Tracking our flying visitors – an overview of Motus and its potential in Scotland (Remote presentation) - Lucy Mitchell.
• Landscape Context and Woodland Use by Bats - Eleri Kent, PhD student at Stirling University.

13.00 – 14:00. Lunch

14:00 Session 3 – Chaired by Claudia Gebhardt.

• ·Are there Brandt’s bats in Galloway? (a radio-tracking project in 2022) - John Haddow, Auritus Wildlife Consultancy & Central Scotland Bat Group.
• Speaker to be confirmed (Echo in the Dark – Hanna Tuulikki).
• Priorities in Scotland Session.

15:45 Break.

16:15 Session 4 – Chaired by Abby Packham.

• Equity, diversity and inclusion - how can we do better? – Naomi Webster, Education & Engagement Officer, Bat Conservation Trust.
• Draw of Raffle Prices, Thanks and Close.

16:45 Finish

There will also be the exhibition to browse and lots of opportunities to network in person and online.