VWTImpactReport28Oct2025PT - Flipbook - Page 25
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How did VWT make an impact?
In 1998, a maternity colony of Bechstein’s bats was
discovered in a bat box at Brackett’s Coppice, a Dorset
Wildlife Trust reserve. VWT initiated a ringing scheme
in 1998, which is now the longest-running Bechstein’s
bat ringing project in Britain. A total of 963 bats have
been ringed, including a female that lived to the
remarkable age of 18. The project has also been a
unique opportunity for volunteers to encounter one of
Europe’s rarest bats. The Brackett’s Coppice discovery
led to Britain’s 昀椀rst radio-tracking study of Bechstein’s
bats and paved the way for further novel research
and development of monitoring methods, including
testing the use of molecular techniques to investigate
population structure and connectivity.
The Natur am Byth! Barbastelle Project is
an excellent example of how VWT can blend
scienti昀椀c research and community engagement
to deliver evidence-based conservation.
Sam Dyer, Specialist Advisor: Terrestrial Mammals,
Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru/Natural Resources Wales
Very few long-term studies of barbastelle colonies
exist — one of the few exceptions is VWT’s study in the
Malvern Hills. Building on the success of the research
and monitoring of Bechstein’s bats at Brackett’s
Coppice, VWT re-established a bat box scheme here in
2017 that had originally started in 2002. The scheme
aimed to gain similar insights into barbastelle ecology
— and although still in its early stages, 137 bats have
been ringed with further research ongoing to understand
breeding success, ageing and colony dynamics.
Increasing our knowledge of the distribution, range and
population size of these two species is the 昀椀rst step
in being able to determine priorities for recovery and
develop appropriate conservation actions.
©Laura Lawrance-Owen
VWT contributed towards some of the 昀椀rst radiotracking work of barbastelle at Ebernoe Common in
Sussex in the late 1990s. More recently in 2023, PhD
research led to a citizen science-based protocol to
help identify woodlands likely to support barbastelle
maternity colonies. This work is now being applied in
VWT’s Barbastelle Project in Wales as part of the Natur
am Byth! programme funded by The National Lottery
Heritage Fund. The project aims to map the distribution
of Britain’s most isolated barbastelle population, which
is in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Since 2023, 9 new woodlands
have been found to be used by barbastelles along with
two potential new maternity colonies in the county.
This brings the total to 12 woodlands and 8 maternity
colonies in Wales.
Vincent Wildlife Trust 50 Years Impact Report 2025
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