Detachment Fallbrook Volunteers Help Bats

Fallbrook, Calif. (NNS) -- Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Detachment Fallbrook celebrated National Public Lands Day, Sept. 29 with an event to improve the wildlife habitat on base and involve the public.

The day was dedicated to the bat. Volunteers from local Boy Scout troops, high school students and other local citizens gathered together to build boxes to house bats in the area.

"Bats do a great service to our ecosystem," said Navy Conservation Specialist Vanessa Shoblock. "They eat thousands of flying insects every night and we have some very sensitive species on the installation, so we want to make sure they have a safe place to come home to."

Bats have been known to get into the many storage areas on the base. The boxes are intended to give them an alternative.

"We come out here whenever we can," said Selina Eich, a senior at Fallbrook High School and the military liaison for the school's volunteer program. She is attributed with gathering up many of the high school students to help assemble and paint the boxes. "It's fun to give back to the community and hang out with my friends at the same time," she said.

The event started with a Q&A session in which information was exchanged about the flying creatures.

According to Shoblock, there are several species of bats on base including the pallid bat, western mastiff, Yuma myotis, big brown bat and the Mexican free-tailed bat.

"I hope they come away with a better appreciation for the conservation work that we do at Detachment Fallbrook, and what the Navy does in terms of its overall stewardship approach to the environment," she said. "I hope that they come away with a sense of accomplishment for helping better the community by creating a service to build these bat boxes with us."

For more news from Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, visit www.navy.mil/local/sealbeach/.