Bats are critical parts of a healthy and functioning ecosystem. They provide numerous ecosystem services, including pest control, pollination, and seed dispersal. Unfortunately, bats are still feared and hated by many. Creating emotional and personal connections to wildlife are critical for promoting awareness and conservation. Using science outreach and social media tools, I try to help people for more emotional connections with bats as animals, hoping to dispel some of the fear and myth.
I also aim to use outreach as an opportunity to demystify the science process and promote creativity and critical thinking in all people, children and adults alike. Portrayals of scientists in the media reinforce outdated stereotypes of scientists as nerdy, genius, white men in lab coats, but scientists are so much more diverse than that! I try to share the “behind-the-scenes” processes of doing research and fieldwork to show students that exciting science can happen outside of the lab. I’ve participated in multiple Skype-A-Scientist sessions, and am always happy to talk bats! For more info, check out some info here.
#31BatsOfHalloween
As a symbol of the mysterious and spooky, bats are common sight around Halloween. While even bat biologists have to admit that many things about bats remain mysterious, there is a lot more to bats than vampires and goths. The goal of #31BatsOfHalloween is to feature a new bat species each day of October, emphasizing thats bats are cute and not creepy!