The Bat Project

A sheltered corner of EWOS has been identified as a possible roosting place for bats. Six bat boxes were made by the volunteers in 1999 and erected on two of the tallest trees at a height of around 40ft..

The planting of a large number of native night-scented perennials and wild flower seeds in the triangular area in front of the cemetery wall took place in September 2000. A wide range of wild flowers chosen by the volunteers' plant expert, Mark Wickens, were ordered for this project. They included agrimony, garlic, kidney vetch, lords and ladies, wild basil, teasel, dropwort, ladies bedstraw, field scabious, sorrel, night flowering catchfly, betony, tufted vetch, sweet and dog violet.

The area has subsequently been mown as part of the regime agreed with the Bexley Council's Works & Contracts Department. Regular inspection has confirmed that the flowers have become well established.

It has been noted that four of the boxes have disappeared, due either to vandalism or high winds. Unfortunately, the missing boxes have not been found and will need to be replaced; the siting of these replacement boxes is under consideration.

The bat project has been kindly sponsored by the Hanson Environmental Fund.