Bloomington Field Office biologist, Lori Pruitt, discusses Indiana bats with students at the Indianapolis Youth Conservation Field Day. - Courtesy photo by Marvin Brethauer, Indianapolis Airport Authority

Bloomington Field Office biologist, Lori Pruitt, discusses how similar a bat skeleton is to a human skeleton with Indianapolis Youth Conservation Field Day participants. - Courtesy photo by Samantha McGuire, Indianpolis Airport Authority

The annual Indianapolis Youth Conservation Field Day was held at the Indianapolis Airport’s Conservation Management Area.  The conservation area was established as part of the Habitat Conservation Plan for the Six Points Road Interchange and Associated Development (HCP). 

This HCP was developed to conserve a resident maternity colony of Indiana bats that lives adjacent to the Indianapolis International Airport.  The Indianapolis Airport Authority and other HCP partners are working closely with Service to ensure that airport expansion and other development in the area is compatible with the long-term conservation of Indiana bat habitat. 

Over 100 middle school students from Indianapolis Public Schools spent the day in the field learning about bat conservation, as well as other conservation topics.  Lori Pruitt of the Service’s Bloomington Field Office presented information on bats. 

The presentation was given at the edge of a pond on the Conservation Management Area – Indiana bats are known to roost and forage in the immediate area.  Students were excited to learn that they were standing in the habitat of a federally endangered species.

Each student was given a parting gift of a wufu -- a Chinese good luck symbol composed of five interlocking bats.  Since the field day was held on the Thursday before Mother’s Day, it was suggested that the wufu might make a good gift for mom.  Hopefully, some Indianapolis mom’s got a dose of good luck and learned a little about bats this Mother’s Day!