iBats surveyors needed

The Department of the Environment team are looking for two individuals to take leading roles in the Jersey iBats monitoring programme this summer. They are in Year 6 of an ongoing programme designed to monitor the diversity and abundance of Jersey’s bats. Further detail of the iBats programme can be found here

iBats is a car-based monitoring project that records bats on a series of 11 car-driven transects in July, repeated again in August. Transects are driven at a constant 15mph for up to 80 minutes after sunset on a predefined route and require patience and a strict adherence to the survey protocol. The monitoring needs both a driver and a navigator and uses mobile phone navigation technology and bat detectors connected to a sound recorder. Bat calls are audible live in the car as transect is driven. Monitoring requires transects be driven in good weather conditions only.

When: Five or six evenings per volunteer in July and five or six evenings per volunteer in August. Transects start 30mins after sunset, require an hour and 20 mins driving which is followed by uploading GPS and bat call data. Survey event may take three hrs from start to finish.

Volunteers must have a current driving licence, a Windows computer and broadband access, good technological competence and spare time in the evenings. The total time commitment for this entire study is 22 evenings throughout the summer survey period. Each evening takes between 2-3 hours from collecting the assistant, driving the transect and managing the data. This work offers a unique and unusual insight into Jersey wildlife. Full training and support will be given. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact David Tipping on telephone 441625 or email d.tipping@gov.je

Channel Islands Bat Conference 2016, Frances Le Sueur Centre, St Ouen, Jersey

The Jersey Bat Group cordially invites you to Jersey for the 2nd Channel Islands Bat Conference to be held on the 29^th and 30^th October 2016 at the Frances Le Sueur Centre, St Ouen, Jersey.

The general aim of the Channel Islands Bat Conference is to give Government bodies, NGOs, environmental managers and relevant individuals the opportunity to discuss the status of bats within the islands and wider landscape. The CI Bat Conference is relevant to ecological, conservation, environmental management bodies (government/NGO) and individuals from the Channel Islands and other regions, such as the Isle of Man and UK.

The 2016 CI Bat Conference comprises of three objectives, for delegates to:

• Present a range of bat-related topics relevant to their organisation and island
• Discuss current or future island projects which effectively link ecological research with environmental management or conservation
• Discuss topics from the wider world of bat work.

Delegates are encouraged to present on research related to the objectives via talk or poster formats. Talks will normally be 20 minutes long, with five minutes for questions unless longer time is requested by presenters. Presenters are requested to submit a title and abstract (maximum of 500 words) to the JBG by 1^st October.

If you would like to attend the Channel Islands Bat Conference 2016 please visit the Jersey Bat group website and fill out the application form here or contact Ani Binet on enquiries@jerseybatgroup.org to discuss and submit your presentation ideas.