Bat Conservation Presentation

Abby Pagels will lead a presentation on bat conservation at the Watseka Public Library on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023 at 6:30 pm. Abby is a part of the Illinois Bat Conservation Program where she works as a technician with bat monitoring projects. Abby believes there are a lot of misconceptions about bats. She states, “It really makes my day when I can take the time and explain to someone why bats are great and change someone’s view from ‘ew, bats’ to ‘yay, bats.” The program will include information on bats of Illinois, bat basics, bat myths, benefits and threats to bats, how the Illinois Bat Conservation Program studies bats, and how people can help bats in their own communities. The PowerPoint presentation will include lots of pictures and a few videos that will be of interest to both adults and children. Abby will also display some of the equipment she uses in her work with bats. Following the program, depending on the weather, she will use bat acoustic detectors and walk the attendees around the parking lot to detect any bat activity in the area. However, since it will be mid fall, it's possible there may be little or no bat activity. The program is sponsored by The Friends of the Library and is free and open to the public. However, registration is requested for those who would like to attend. The Library is located at 201 S. 4th St in Watseka, IL. It is handicap accessible. Please call the Watseka Public Library at 815-432-4544 for more information, and/or to register for the program by Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. People may also come to the Library to register.