LET'S GET BATTY ON APRIL 17TH 

Bat Appreciation Day is a day to show love for these amazing flying mammals and teach the world the importance of bats, but we hope you will celebrate and support bats year round just like we do here at Borderlands Restoration Network! Learn more about our bats and agave work, join us for one of our bat themed Facebook Lives with our talented team members, check out some cool activities for kids, and join Ms. Laura from the Patagonia Public Library for batty themed virtual storytimes! Full details can be found below. 

THANK YOU TO THE US FOREST SERVICE FOR SUPPORT OF THIS PROGRAMING!


​BAT ACTIVITY KITS DELIVERED & VIRTUAL

BRN is truly excited to partner with some wonderful local organizations to distribute 100 take-home youth bat activity kits to be distributed through the Patagonia Youth Enrichment Center Food Distribution Services, which is currently providing more than 450 meals per week to Patagonia youth and families. Kits include art projects, a bat mask, stickers, a bat activity book, and some agave seed pellets with instructions on how to plant them to help feed bats!  Special thank you to Patagonia Creative Arts Association for the donation of art supplies! 

Make sure to post pictures of yourself in your bat masks, tag BRN, and hashtag it   #welovebats and #batappreciationday !
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For our friends far and wide, you can visit our virtual Bat Activity Kit to take part no matter where you are!


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​HOW DOES BRN SUPPORT BATS?


​Well, you could consider us a little bit bat obsessed! As an ecological restoration organization, we work to restore and protect habitats for wildlife. Bats are a big deal and are very important to the borderlands ecosystems. 

​The Sky Islands of the Madrean Archipelago, here in southern Arizona, are considered important areas in need of conservation to support pollinator populations, specifically the lesser long nosed bat. Agave is an important bat food source in this grassland region that faces continued threats such as climate change, land development, and wild harvest of agaves for Bacanora production.  

2020 BAT APPRECIATION DAY EVENTS

​To celebrate bats this year, we are offering up some batty things to spread our love of these furry friends, and help keep you from going batty during stay-at-home time!


FACEBOOK LIVE: April 17th, 10AM                           Bats! Our Furry, Flying Pollinator Friends in the Borderlands
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As part of our Bat Appreciation Day activities,  join us for a Facebook LIVE about the important and fascinating relationship between bats and agaves.

Meet some baby agaves grown by BRN to support two of our most important bat species in the borderland region, the Mexican Long-tongued bat, and the Lesser Long-nosed bat.

Learn about our agave programming at the nursery with Bat Conservation International, and our programming in Nuevo León, and Sonora, Mexico.

Join us for this fun, free, and educational Facebook Live lead by our Native Plant Material duo, Francesca Claverie, Native Plant Program Manager, and Perin McNelis, Assistant Manager, Native Plant Program.

Missed our live stream on social?

​You can view it here!



​FACEBOOK LIVE: April 17th, 6PM                             AGAVES, BATS, & BACANORA
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You can't have Bacanora without agave. And, it's difficult to have agaves without bats!

Join two of our brilliant and beloved BRN team members, ethnobotanist Dr. Gary Nabhan and ecologist Dr. Ron Pulliam at the Huachuca agave (Agave parryi var. huachucensis) patch at the Borderlands Wildlife Preserve for a FB Live about the overlapping paths of agaves, bats, and people in this special part of the world.

We treasure any time with these great minds, and know you will too! Pour yourself a glass of Bacanora and join Ron, and Gary in a toast to bats!

Did you miss our live stream? 

You can view it here!


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​VIRTUAL "BATTY" STORYTIME WITH MS. LAURA

Have you joined Ms. Laura yet from the Patagonia Public Library for her amazing Virtual Storytime?

If you haven't yet, you have been missing out! Ms. Laura will not only be dedicating this week's storytime to bats, she is doing two storytimes this week!

Her batty tales will be posted online by 11AM on Wednesday the 15th and Friday the 17th.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO SUPPORT BATS?

For starters, you can plant agaves, add an approved bat house to your property, and follow these guidelines for feeding bats. Did you know they are probably eating from your hummingbird feeder at night? They are! Please don't feed the store bought red dyed food, it isn't good for the hummingbirds, or the bats. Make your own food from plain sugar and water and keep the feeders clean!

You can also support organizations working to restore habits and protect bats, such as BRN! You can support us by donating, purchasing plants and seeds (you betcha, we have agaves!), or buying one of our cool bats and agaves t-shirts or tank tops!