By Cathryn Baillie, Species on the Edge Project Officer, Argyll and the Inner Hebrides
Formed in 2003, Sleat Community Trust (SCT) promotes social, economic and environmental development on the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye. Over 70% of the local population are members of the Trust, and they have several subgroups focused on a variety of key projects, including the Sleat Nature Group , and Tormore Forest.
At the beginning of Species on the Edge (it seems like a long time ago now!), I reached out to the Sleat Community Trust to seek permission to carry out some bat monitoring in their community owned forest. I didn’t imagine that they would become such a major partner for Species on the Edge!
It began with a chat and a tour around Tormore Forest with Ade, one of the Trust’s directors, where I heard all about SCT’s aspirations for the community owned site. Ade, in turn, listened to my hopes for SotE and bats on Skye. I was given the permission I was looking for and invited to give a talk to the local community to share our plans and inspire people to get involved.
In June 2023 we deployed several bat detectors throughout the site, and held a public bat walk which 13 people came along to. There was genuine enthusiasm to learn about the bat species they might have in their forest and how the group might consider bats in their land management plans. A heterodyne bat detector, along with instructions and tips on identifying bats, was left in the community shop, to be made available to anyone who wanted to have a go at home.
In October that year, a sharing good practice event was held on a nearby croft (owned by a member of the Sleat Nature Group), where we invited the landowners we’d worked with so far, to come and learn about managing bat friendly habitats – 8 people joined us, including representatives of SCT.
The results of our monitoring work in Tormore revealed some intriguing findings; three species were recorded, including a rarity for the area – one of the Myotis species. This made Tormore one of only two sites where the genus has been found on Skye! Unable to confirm the record down to species level, we were determined to carry out further investigation and set about making plans for 2024; a more focused approach to our monitoring work so far, and a training plan, focused on species ID and survey techniques, for the local community.
In March 2024 I was invited to give a talk at the local community hall, to discuss our findings and deliver the first in a series of training sessions; a basic introduction to bat identification. 22 people joined us this time, and those interested in further practical training sessions were invited to sign up.
The site at Tormore was then added to the National Bat Monitoring Programme’s (NBMP’s) field survey database, so the results can directly contribute to species’ population trends, and a survey route established. Over the course of the summer there were multiple opportunities for people to join me for some practical, survey technique-focussed training sessions including roost counts and field and waterway surveys. A total of 17 people joined me, including seven members of SCT, some of whom were fast becoming my most loyal and trusted volunteers, getting involved with survey work, supporting events and generally being fabulous advocates for bat conservation! We also recorded a fourth species in Tormore, the elusive brown long-eared bat (one of our species on the edge)!
Our next training session for the community of Sleat (and beyond), will be a follow up to previous training sessions; a more advanced, species ID workshop. We hope that after a few practical sessions in the field, the volunteers will really benefit from another classroom session and a chance to reflect on the work in 2024.
Looking forward, I will continue to work closely with the local community, providing training and support in the hope that by the end of the programme they will have the skills and confidence to continue to monitor their local bats in the long term, and implement some positive habitat management strategies to support these special local species.
