Bulldogs for Bats

By Allison Walters

  • $5,000.00

    Funded. Goal: $5,000.00

  • 50

    Backers

Campaign Expired

All contributions will be collected automatically until Nov 1, 2019, 11PM EST.

Launched: October 1, 2019
Funding Ends: November 1, 2019
Odum School of Ecology

OVERVIEW

Bats face a lot of obstacles—White-Nose Syndrome, impact from wind energy, habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change, just to name a few. Due to these obstacles and others, their numbers are in decline and this poses a threat, not only to the functioning of healthy ecosystems, but also to human well-being. For example, insect-eating bats, including the 16 species found in Georgia, save the U.S. agricultural industry at least $3 billion a year in pest control costs and insect-related crop damage. Bats also help control mosquito populations and may reduce the risk of emerging diseases, such as West Nile Virus, in the Southeast.  In honor of the Conservation Ecology Seminar Series given each fall semester and the impressive bat research that’s being implemented here at UGA, we are launching Bulldogs for Bats! The goal of this project is to raise money for interdisciplinary bat conservation efforts that will provide local bats with a safe environment, enhance student learning and research opportunities, and educate the general public about the importance of protecting bats in Athens and around the world.

WHAT YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS WILL SUPPORT

  • The purchasing of materials to build bat houses and night blooming gardens on campus and the Athens area
  • Integrative approaches within multiple areas of expertise to address the conservation, ecosystem, and sustainable practices needed to ensure healthy bat populations
  • Enhanced research and learning opportunities for Undergraduate, Master’s, and PhD students
  • Educational opportunities for the community about the importance of bats for the world’s ecosystems and our economies
  • A welcoming and safe environment for bat populations to
    flourish and continue to serve as natural pest control for the Athens area!

 

Stop by our Bulldogs for Bats Bake Sale in the Ecology Atrium on October 29th from 10AM-2PM to learn more about bat conservation efforts in Athens and to pick up a delicious baked good on the way to your next class!

 

 

Interested in volunteering to help us build and install a bat house and plant a night blooming garden? Contact Kristen Lear at klear@uga.edu!

 

Kristen Lear, a bat conservationist and current PhD candidate, talks about the Campus Sustainability Grant she received in 2018 to build bat habitats in the Athens area. With Bulldogs for Bats, we hope to continue this work by furnishing additional houses for bats and creating further awareness about the importance of bat conservation for local ecosystems.

MEET THE RESEARCHER

Kristen Lear earned her B.A. in Zoology from Ohio Wesleyan University in 2011. She has been working in bat conservation and environmental education for over 10 years, with experience in the US, Australia, and Mexico. She is currently completing her PhD in Integrative Conservation in UGA’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, where she studies the conservation of endangered pollinating bats in northeast Mexico. She is actively involved in bat outreach and has helped lead several bat house projects in Athens, including through a Campus Sustainability Grant in 2018. To learn more about Kristen’s bat research and outreach, visit https://kristenlear.wixsite.com/batconservation or find her on Twitter (@BatsForLife) and Instagram (@batsforlife_kristen).

Thank you to our partners for helping to make this project possible: CICR, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, ICON, CESD, The Office of Sustainability, The State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Buildings & Grounds, The Georgia Museum of Natural History, Athens Bat Connection, and Habitat for Bats

 

RESOURCES: https://georgiawildlife.com/bats; https://sbdn.org; https://www.habitatforbats.org; Athens Bat Connection (grassroots conservation collective to connect all bat conservation and partnerships in the area)

 

GivingQuestions

Allison Walters |Development and Alumni Relations Coordinator for Ecology

allison.walters@uga.edu | 706-542-6007

 

  1. Peggy Brickman
    $25.00 10/01/19 @ 2:24 pm
  2. Dale Broder
    $25.00 10/01/19 @ 2:37 pm
  3. Star Scott
    $13.00 10/01/19 @ 2:50 pm
  4. Lucy Rowland
    $100.00 10/01/19 @ 3:07 pm
  5. Chuck & Suzanne Murphy
    $500.00 10/01/19 @ 4:34 pm
  6. Sonia Altizer
    $25.00 10/02/19 @ 11:29 am
  7. Rosemary Woodel
    $25.00 10/02/19 @ 11:32 am
  8. Sandy Clark
    $25.00 10/02/19 @ 12:29 pm
  9. Jerry Rodriguez
    $10.00 10/02/19 @ 1:33 pm
  10. Marcella Grant
    $25.00 10/02/19 @ 2:13 pm
  11. William Grant
    $25.00 10/02/19 @ 2:22 pm
  12. Kenneth Storey
    $25.00 10/02/19 @ 2:30 pm
  13. Laurie Swanson
    $100.00 10/02/19 @ 8:09 pm
  14. Catherine Pringle
    $50.00 10/03/19 @ 4:36 pm
  15. Catherine Pringle
    $50.00 10/03/19 @ 8:19 pm
  16. Steve Murphy
    $40.00 10/05/19 @ 2:29 pm
  17. Andrea Woodall
    $25.00 10/06/19 @ 2:48 pm
  18. Misha Boyd
    $25.00 10/08/19 @ 8:58 am
  19. Jennifer Chavez-Miller
    $25.00 10/09/19 @ 9:11 pm
  20. Anonymous
    $125.00 10/09/19 @ 9:47 pm
  21. Bill Jones
    $25.00 10/09/19 @ 10:53 pm
  22. Heather Gaya
    $25.00 10/10/19 @ 7:39 am
  23. Kathryn Reeves
    $10.00 10/10/19 @ 12:27 pm
  24. Jessica McKenzie
    $25.00 10/10/19 @ 4:01 pm
  25. Michelle & Brandon Myers
    $50.00 10/10/19 @ 10:28 pm
  26. Veida Stringfield
    $5.00 10/11/19 @ 1:22 pm
  27. Anonymous
    $10.00 10/15/19 @ 3:09 pm
  28. Caitlin McDonald
    $25.00 10/16/19 @ 8:41 am
  29. Carl Higginbotham
    $250.00 10/16/19 @ 10:00 am
  30. Rebecca Borchering
    $50.00 10/17/19 @ 8:55 am
  31. Eric Griffith
    $50.00 10/17/19 @ 11:07 pm
  32. Lisamarie Carrubba
    $100.00 10/21/19 @ 6:26 pm
  33. Anonymous
    $50.00 10/22/19 @ 8:50 am
  34. Tanya Crowe Boles
    $25.00 10/23/19 @ 1:41 pm
  35. Anonymous
    $25.00 10/24/19 @ 9:56 am
  36. Anonymous
    $50.00 10/27/19 @ 2:00 pm
  37. Katherine Baer
    $50.00 10/27/19 @ 7:17 pm
  38. Ryan, Colin, and James Lear
    $300.00 10/28/19 @ 2:33 pm
  39. Kit McCormick
    $25.00 10/30/19 @ 12:30 pm
  40. Elizabeth Elmore
    $15.00 10/30/19 @ 4:01 pm
  41. Jackie Smith
    $50.00 10/31/19 @ 8:59 am
  42. Anonymous
    $25.00 10/31/19 @ 9:39 am
  43. Helen Fosgate
    $250.00 10/31/19 @ 1:59 pm
  44. Plant Pathology & the Odum School of Ecology
    $490.00 10/31/19 @ 2:57 pm
  45. Shannyn Smith
    $25.00 10/31/19 @ 4:23 pm
  46. Crista Pryor
    $25.00 10/31/19 @ 5:23 pm
  47. Denise Spiegel
    $25.00 10/31/19 @ 5:30 pm
  48. Emileigh Clare
    $50.00 10/31/19 @ 5:45 pm
  49. Jake L
    $25.00 10/31/19 @ 11:05 pm
  50. Anonymous
    $1,607.00 11/08/19 @ 12:24 pm
Share this campaign

This Campaign has ended. No more pledges can be made.

  • 1 Backer

  • 4 Backers

  • 4 Backers

  • 11 Backers

  • 23 Backers