Carmel Green Teen Micro-Grant Program
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  • Funded Projects
    • 2018 Projects >
      • Helping Ninjas Help Pollinators
      • Helping Ninjas Help Garden and Compost
      • This is NOT a Plastic Bag
    • 2017 Projects >
      • UHS Bat Boxes
      • Don'f Flip It, Save It! - Water Bottles
      • River Road Habitat Restoration
    • 2016 Projects >
      • It's in the Reusable Bag
      • Plots to Plates Gardens Tour
      • Millbrook Nature Trail
      • UHS Poultry Project
      • Green Cubs Tree Planting
      • OLMC Tree Replacement
      • Woodbrook Butterfly Garden
      • Turn Up for Compost
    • 2015 Projects >
      • OPE Recycling Cubs
      • Goodbye Plastics 2
      • UHS Monarch Waystation
      • UHS Hydration Station
      • CHS Earth Fair
      • CHS NHS Event Recycling
    • 2014 Projects >
      • Girl Scout Teaches Conservation
      • Carmel Pollinator Garden
      • Trees For Future Generations
      • CHS TEDx Conference
      • UHS Campus Green Up
    • 2013 Projects >
      • CHS Teaches Conservation
      • Bug Repellent Daisies
      • Kids Against Crayon Waste- Crayon Recycling
      • UHS Community Garden
      • A Greener College Wood
      • Do Something Trees
      • No Crayon Left Behind
      • Prairie Trace Trees
      • Goodbye Plastics
      • Carmel Green Trees
      • CHS Recycled Arts Garden
      • Going Green at the CLC
    • 2012 Projects >
      • UHS Tree Hugging Trailblazers
      • Girl Scouts Bikeyard 100
      • Bat Boxes- Nature's Bug Zappers
      • CHS Green Shower Power
    • 2011 Projects >
      • Mission Recycle
      • Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
      • Recycling at CHS
      • A Greener Tomorrow is in the Bag
      • Fishing Line Recycling
    • 2010 Projects >
      • MOSAICS Family Garden
      • Coolers are Cooler with Cups
      • Ban the Bottle, Try the Tap
      • Butterfly Reintroduction Carey Grove Park
      • Butterfly Reintroduction Clay Middle School
      • River Trail Wildflower Reintroduction
      • Tree Scouts
    • 2009 Projects >
      • Scouts' Reusable Shopping Bags
      • St. Christopher's Garden
      • Earth Day Tree Seedling Giveaway
      • CHS Green Lights Club

UHS bat boxes 2017

 University High School Students
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Upon learning that there was a large population of bats at a park near their school, a group of University High School students decided to take action to protect them. Students researched bat population conservation methods and found that bat boxes provide a safe haven and resting place for the animals. These bat boxes are an interactive educational tool for their Outdoor Classroom, and the bats offer natural pest control by eating hundreds of mosquitoes daily.
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Bat boxes are flat, rectangular structures with an open bottom for the bats to enter. The students mounted their boxes on poles in an open field to create an inviting resting place out of reach of predators. 
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An important part of the project also included educational outreach. The group prepared and delivered a presentation to their classmates to dispel common negative misconceptions about bats. They also explained why it's important they be protected and how they're doing it.
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The bat detector also allows the boxes to be an ongoing educational tool for UHS students and teachers, and will offer a hands on ecology and conservationism experience for years to come. ​The National Wildlife Federation has great information about making your own bat box here. The above photo shows the students' "insect hotel" created for the site.
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The group extensively researched the designs for the two boxes they built. They found that several different factors, including the size and color of the boxes, can have an affect on their ability to attract different types of bats. 
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The group also installed a monitor on the box, called the Baton XD Bat Detector. The bat detector is able to report to a smartphone how many bats enter the boxes, and when they do so, which they will monitor over time.

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This Bat Boxes project is the sixth UHS project funded via the Carmel Green Teen Micro-Grant program. Together, with other student-led projects, they have produced the UHS Outdoor Classroom which is highlighted in the video below.
We are proud to have facilitated projects for students to lead, become empowered, and discover while creating a long-lasting, hands-on and unique learning experience.

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