BCWF Watershed Team

Years later and half a world away, I held a bat for the first time during fieldwork in Ontario. It was a little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus). Delicate and alert, its wings folded like fragile parchment. The sense of awe I’d felt as a child came rushing back, now with purpose. This was no longer just fascination. It was responsibility. 

Once common across North America, the little brown bat is now endangered in Canada. Their decline is driven by factors such as habitat loss, climate change, pesticide use, and collisions with wind turbines. But the most devastating threat has been white-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease caused by a fungus first detected in New York in 2007. In Europe and Asia, where the fungus likely originated, bats have evolved to survive it. But in North America, mortality in some colonies exceeds 90%. 

Without a cure, my master’s research focused on a pressing question: how can we protect little brown bats where WNS is already widespread? In Dr. Craig Willis’s bat lab in Winnipeg, I studied the summer roosting and foraging habitats of little brown bats. While much attention has focused on winter hibernation, summer sites are just as critical. These are the places where females form maternity colonies, raise pups, and, if infected, recover from the physiological toll of white-nose syndrome. Without protecting these roosts, often found in trees, rock crevices, or old buildings, we risk losing the very sites that support surviving populations.

Using radio-tracking, I followed their nightly flights across wetlands, forests, and lakes. My results highlighted the importance of both natural and human-made structures as summer roosts, reinforcing their ecological value and contributing to the larger effort to classify these habitats as critical for the species’ recovery under national conservation planning. 

Bats are more than Halloween symbols. They’re pollinators, insect predators, and natural pest controllers. A single little brown bat can eat over 1,000 mosquitoes an hour, helping reduce pesticide use and supporting both agriculture and public health. As climate change and habitat loss continue to disrupt biodiversity, bats remind us that even the smallest creatures play a vital role in ecosystem balance. 

Today, I work with the B.C. Wildlife Federation and contribute bat expertise when opportunities arise. But bat conservation isn’t just for scientists. Anyone can help. 

Homeowners can install bat boxes, protect mature trees, and avoid pesticides. Farmers can maintain hedgerows and natural cover. Community members can report roost sightings or become citizen scientists—using acoustic detectors or simply counting bats on their property. In B.C., programs like the BC Community Bat Program and Habitat Acquisition Trust offer tools and guidance for living alongside bats responsibly. 

Now, whenever I see a bat’s silhouette flicker across the sky, I’m reminded of that first one in my childhood home. From fear to fascination to stewardship, my path has taught me that conservation often begins with a single moment of curiosity—and grows through care, knowledge, and collective action.