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Posted: 22nd October 2018

Bats in Churches project gets off the ground

Loss of habitat has forced some bat species to take refuge in buildings such as historic churches.

Funding boost to protect bats and historic churches

A groundbreaking project to help churches that host large bat roosts has received £3.8 million funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Led by Natural England, the Bats in Churches project will deliver a five-year partnership between wildlife, heritage conservation and church organisations to help save bats and protect churches.

Bat species in the UK have suffered significant historical declines and loss of habitat has forced some species to take refuge in buildings such as historic churches.

While many church communities live harmoniously with bat roosts, in some cases bats are causing irreparable damage to historically significant monuments and memorials, as well as impacting on people who use the buildings.

The Bats in Churches project will:

find practical solutions to enable 102 of the most severely impacted church communities to reduce the impact of bats on the church, without harming them
create a new network of fully trained volunteers who can undertake bat surveys and support congregations who have bat roosts at their church
train professional ecologists and historic building specialists in new techniques and build knowledge to improve their advice to congregations
collect and collate up-to-date data from over 700 churches across England, helping to build a specialist knowledge base of bats and their use of churches
strengthen local communities so people value and engage with their local natural and historic built heritage.

Natural England chairman, Andrew Sells, said: “The funding announced today will give great impetus to the partnership of heritage, wildlife and church organisations which aims to resolve conflicts.

"Together these groups are demonstrating astonishing passion and drive in working together to save these wonderful animals and protect cherished churches across the country.”

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Birmingham Dogs Home makes urgent appeal
Birmingham Dogs Home has issued an urgent winter appeal as it faces more challenges over the Christmas period.

The rescue centre has seen a dramatic increase in dogs coming into its care, and is currently caring for over 200 dogs. With rising costs and dropping temperatures, the charity is calling for urgent support.

It costs the charity £6,000 per day to continue its work.

Fi Harrison, head of fundraising and communications, said: "It's heart-breaking for our team to see the conditions some dogs arrive in. We really are their last chance and hope of survival."

More information about the appeal can be found here.

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