(Okoboji)– An upcoming event at the Dickinson County Nature Center that’s targeted for teens will focus on bats and the important role they play in our ecology. Amy Heibult, Community Relations Director for the Dickinson County Conservation Board, says the November 9th event is part of their WILD Roots program…
“Wild Roots is our wilderness inspired leadership development program. This is for teens ages 13 to 18 years old. It’s completely free and this is a time to develop skills either in conservation, outdoor skills, making those friendships and kind of developing more confidence in some of the things you might not know about.”
She says they’ll be doing that by learning more about bats and building bat houses…
“Teens will be learning more about bats and some of the issues that they face like habitat loss and the fungal white nose syndrome that threaten bats these days. They’ll also be constructing bat houses to encourage populations and once those are finished we actually will be placing those on various properties that we manage at the Conservation Board here.”
Heibult adds the program is free. She says tools and supplies will be provided…
“You don’t have to have any skills prior to this program about making anything with wood or hardware. We’ll provide all the materials. Just bring yourself and gain some knowledge and be open minded about learning about conservation.”
Heibult says they continue to see an increase in participation in the WILD Roots program…
“We usually have around six to 10 teens right now that are helping out and getting some of their volunteer hours. We offer volunteer opportunities as well in some of our programs that we host here, so if you’re looking to gain some hours or just kind of building some of those development skills, this is a great program for teens.”
Again the program is open to those ages 13 to 18. While it’s free, pre-registration for the November 9th event is required. You can do that by clicking here.
