Meet Geelong's Flying-foxes

About

Join us for a tour of the Eastern Park Flying-fox camp with special guest and bat expert, Grant Baverstock and Alex Johnson from the City of Greater Geelong environment team.

Grant and Alex will introduce you to these amazing animals and guide you through the camp. You will learn how you can volunteer to help monitor this population!

Grant has been monitoring the Flying-foxes since they made the park their home in 2003. Grant will show us how he completes regular bat population counts to collect data about their behaviour. He will explain how you can volunteer for future bat counts.

Learn about the camp plan that the City of Greater Geelong is developing with key stakeholders, which aims to protect and celebrate this threatened species. And hear how a new sprinkler system will provide a cooling mechanism for the bats on extreme heat days.

Bring your binoculars and keep an eye out for young pups (baby bats) clinging to their mums! We will make sure we are quiet and respectful as we move through the camp, as this is a vulnerable time for mums and bubs.

Note: Flying-foxes roost in trees and during the tour we may walk beneath them. While unlikely, it is possible that bats urinate or defecate and this could fall onto participants. We advise wearing long sleeves and pants and protecting your eyes as this can be unpleasant. Mosquitoes are also present so please cover up and use repellent if you wish.