How you can help

Bat are considered as pests in Malawi and are actively persecuted. They are not protected even in National Parks and are not considered in conservation management plans. Volunteers can play a vital role in helping us to achieve our aims. We need as much help as we can get to make a difference for bats and biodiversity in Africa, we are a small team with a big task ahead. In return it is our hope that volunteers will enjoy volunteering with us, meet like-minded people and develop some new skills. We are conducting a national monitoring programme as well as conducting a number of smaller research projects about bats and biodiversity. Your time as a volunteer will be spent assisting ABC scientists with field research, community education and awareness including bat trapping and acoustic monitoring, creating a guide to bats in Malawi, roost surveys, habitat assessments, insect sampling, small mammal monitoring, and radio tracking bats (at specific times of year).

Why volunteer with us?

Work on a project led by an internationally renowed team of bat scientists

ABC is led and founded by Dr Emma Stone, an expert bat scientist from the University of Bristol, UK. Emma is a member of the internationally renowned Bat Ecology and Bioacoustics Research Lab at the University of Bristol, where she completed her PhD on UK bats. Emma has published in high impact journals on the effectiveness of bat licensing in England, mitigation of human bat conflict using radar and lighting, impacts of roost exclusions on bats, and impacts of lighting on bats (see publications page). Emma has Class 4 Bat License and can act as a sponsor for UK bat license applications.

ABC works in close collaboration with the University of Bristol and Professor Gareth Jones, who is a Scientific Advisor for ABC, Cardiff University (Professor Jo Cable), Nottingham Trent University UK (Dr Richard Yarnell, CRA Trustee), Professor David Jacobs (University of Cape Town) and the University of Exeter (Dr Orly Razgour). We offer a unique opportunity to work on an existing research project, alongside established internationally renowned research scientists and assist in applied conservation research and community conservation.

EXPERIENCE CITY, BUSH & LAKE !

You have a choice of camps with ABC from city to bush and lakeshore, all giving you a diverse range of bat research and conservation experience, and also a chance to explore the diversity of culture and environment that Malawi is famous for.

UNIQUE PROJECT

We provide a unique opportunity to work with bats and biodiversity research in Africa. There are very few projects working with bats in Africa, and even fewer opportunities to volunteer. Not much is known about African bats, and Malawi is estimated to have over 64 species! This makes your experience even more exciting as we are in unchartered territory in bat research, waiting to discover weird and wonderful new things about bats in Malawi. We are unlike many of the other volunteer opportunities in Africa in that we provide a unique opportunity to work alongside qualified scientists as they conduct novel research on previously unstudied species.

GAIN NEW SKILLS AND BUILD YOUR CAREER

With ABC you will have the opportunity to gain many new skills including

field research techniques including bat mist netting, bat handling, wing punch sampling, acoustic surveys, emergence counts, mitigation work, endoscope work, internal roost surveys, insect trapping & pinning, vegetation surveys and radio tracking (only at certain times of year). You can also gain lab based skills including acoustic identification of bats, call analysis and GIS.

TRAINING TO BE A LICENCED BAT ECOLOGIST? We can help!

If you are pursuing a career in bat research or consultancy you can gain specific skills which can take many years to obtain in Europe including: bat handling, internal roost visits, use of SM3/4 acoustic detectors, harp trapping, mist netting, ringing and wing punch collection; all of which contributes to a bat license in England or Wales. Dr Stone holds a Natural England bat license and would be happy to provide references to augment your Bat License application in England and Wales.

PROJECT LOCATIONS: CITY or BUSH AND LAKeSHORE