Attention all ghosts and goblins! The Bat Lady will be at the Adopt A Stream Foundation’s Northwest Stream Center. The Bat Lady also goes by the name of Barbara Ogaard. She rehabilitates injured bats for the Sarvey Wildlife Center and is a researcher for Bats Northwest.
“The Bat Lady puts on quite a show,” says Adopt A Stream Foundation Director Tom Murdoch. “She has this unique ability to engage little kids and old gray beards at the same time.” Live bats will be part of the presentation along with incredible photo images of bats from around the world and some very cool bat puppets.
Attend this show and you will learn that bats are beneficial in many ways. “One of my favorite foods is bananas” says Murdoch. “After learning from the Bat Lady that Fruit Bats pollinate banana trees, I became a big bat fan.” They also pollinate breadfruit, avocados, dates, figs, peaches and mangoes. In the tropics, bats spread seeds for trees that are essential for the rain forests. In North America bats control insects…a single Mouse Eared bat can eat up to 600 mosquitoes in an hour!
The whole family will learn that we really don’t need to be worried about vampire bats. Real vampires are only found in the tropics and they don’t care for human blood…sorry Dracula, there are no vampires in Transylvania…and vampire saliva is being used in the development of a new blood thinner medicine for people with heart disease! At the bat show you will see that while many bats are scary to look at, others are very beautiful, and some are so cute that they will bring a big smile to your face!
Attention: ALL GHOSTS AND GOBLINS WHO WEAR A COSTUME WILL RECEIVE A FREE SALMON POSTER FROM THE ADOPT A STREAM FOUNDATION!! This event is conducted by the Adopt A Stream Foundation in partnership with the Snohomish County Parks and Recreation Department.
Attention Media: White Nose Syndrome refers to a fungus that has killed an estimated 5.7 to 6.7 million bats. Bats have been affected by the fungus from the East coast to to the Rockies and has just hit Washington State. Imagine the insect problem that will occur without bats! Contact Barbara Ogaard for more details – she will provide you with a great interview.
For details on bats of the Pacific Northwest go to the Bats Northwest Facebook Page.
$5 for Adopt A Stream Foundation members, $7 non-members. Masks are required to attend this event and seating is limited to 100. Pre-register for the Bat Show by calling 425-316-8592 or using the link above.
Registration proceeds benefit Sarvey Wildlife Center and the NW Stream Center. To learn about other great upcoming Streamkeeper Academy events, go to https://www.streamkeeper.org/