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NWP Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists - Greensboro Day School, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

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Greensboro Day School, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
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Nathan2020



Registered: December 2019
City/Town/Province: Greensboro
Posts: 1
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I am a senior in high school in Greensboro, North Carolina. I grew up being in the outdoors, whether it was hiking with my family, playing sports, or playing in the woods with friends. I joined the boy scouts in middle school, and I am now an Eagle Scout. Additionally, I am the Environmental Club President at my school. Because of my love for the outdoors and my desire to improve the area around me, I wanted to engage in the Apprentice Ecologist Project. For my project, I worked with the Environmental Club at my school to lead the construction of bat houses. The bat houses were constructed and put in place on campus near the middle school garden. This area is excellent for bats because of the proximity of woods, fields, and a pond, which provide ideal habitats for the bats and a learning opportunity for students.
One of the primary reasons we built bat houses is because many species of bats are being threatened in North Carolina. White-Nose syndrome is a disease devastating bat populations in Western North Carolina, and habitat loss is a significant threat in areas near me. The construction of bat houses can provide additional shelters for bats, which may have lost their home or an alternative to shelters such as chimneys and attics. All in all, bat houses will provide many environmental advantages to the area of installation.
The main idea for the project was to mount the bat houses and place them in specific locations that are ideal for bats. I organized the project, and as the club president, I communicated with club members to get help for the bat house construction. I purchased materials and put together blueprints so that the assembly process would be smooth. The first thing that needed to be done was to attach the houses to their frames. Once frames were made, we put on U-Bolts so we could mount the house to a pole. This completed the construction of the bat houses. After the homes were finished, we dug holes and secured them in the ground with concrete and gravel. Finally, we made sure the houses were pointed to the southeast to allow the houses maximum exposure to the sun in the morning. One house was placed near a pond, and the other was placed on the edge of a patch of woods. These locations are suitable for bat houses because it provides shelter near necessities such as water and shelter and supplies a diverse range of insects because of the varied habitats.
It is essential to take care of the area around the school because it will help enrich the environment. The bat houses add a new aspect of nature and provide further relationships between the environment and learning. Bats offer several great benefits by helping to control insect populations and providing guano (bat feces), which is an excellent fertilizer. The guano will accumulate beneath the house and can be collected. My school has two gardens that the guano can be used as fertilizer to aid the growth of plants. Also, if the area around my school has positive environmental influences, some students may take an interest in the outdoors if they see opportunities and projects that have been done.
I believe that the area in which I conducted my project will have an impact on both the bat population and the school. The houses will provide necessary shelter for the bats, as well as an area with plentiful resources of food and water alike. Additionally, students and faculty can have an opportunity to learn about the houses and what benefits they can bring to the surrounding area. The houses can even serve as an inspiration to the students who may be interested in the outdoors, and they may want to start similar initiatives themselves to help the environment and promote environmental stewardship.
I have loved the outdoors since I was young, and being able to engage and improve the environment and areas around me is a privilege. Building the bat houses allowed me to feel accomplished and make a positive change to benefit the bats, the area around the bat houses, and my school. The outdoors has always intrigued me, and I have always wanted to help in any way. This past school semester, as the Environmental Club President, I have lead and organized several trash clean-ups, tree plantings, and the bat house project. In the next semester, I plan to coordinate the construction of a butterfly garden in the middle school garden and partner with the Science Olympiad Club to work on projects together. The Apprentice Ecologist Project pushed me to explore my interests further and has inspired me to look for as many opportunities to help the environment around me. In the future, I plan to be an Environmental Scientist or a Conservationist, and the Apprentice Ecologist Project has only reinforced my love for the natural world and strengthened my desire to better it in any way possible. I plan to attend a college such as North Carolina State University, which has a strong Natural Resource and Environmental Science program where I can focus my studies and find what I truly love to do.
· Date: December 31, 2019 · Views: 3815 · File size: 27.1kb, 3288.1kb · : 3200 x 2538 ·
Hours Volunteered: 51
Volunteers: 16
Authors Age & Age Range of Volunteers: 18 & 15 to 18
Area Restored for Native Wildlife (hectares): .6
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