Environment Society's Shelter Helps Wildlife

Biodiversity loss is a pressing issue, with swifts being on the UK’s red list of birds for conservation concern - declining over two-thirds in the last 30 years - and bat populations having significantly declined over the last century as well. One of the reasons that both of these animals are threatened is because of a decline in suitable nesting sites. With this in mind, we decided at Environment Society that our target for the year would be to provide bat and swift boxes at Pate’s in which for them to find shelter.

To fund the project, we applied in late January for a grant of £245 from the Cheltenham Education Partnership as a part of CEP Changemakers, which is a sustainability and climate action programme that encourages students to address environmental issues in their schools.

Using this money, we purchased three single-chambered swift boxes (£140 total) and 3 bat boxes (£105 total) and we placed the swift boxes under a north-facing eave near the PAB, as this area was easy for swifts to access and ensured protection from sunlight. As for our bat boxes, we placed them in the conservation area on tall and thick trees with no obstructions, since this allowed easy flight access, was far from artificial lighting and was close to other trees as well as a pond too.

Despite having only recently installed these swift and bat boxes, we’ve heard reports of swifts beginning to settle in and we hope that our bat boxes are proving just as successful. Our aim is for these swifts and bats to continue to nest here year on year, and for others at Pate’s to feel encouraged to similarly challenge biodiversity loss wherever they can.

Anika and Robin (Yr 11).