June 17 program to focus on benefits of bats, current research, conservation

The Pacolet Area Conservancy (PAC) and Walnut Creek Preserve (WCP) invite the public to attend a free presentation by Tanya Poole, NCWRC education specialist, on “For the Love of Bats!” 

The program will be held at the Anne Elizabeth Suratt Nature Center at Walnut Creek Preserve on Saturday, June 17 at 10:30 a.m.

Join us to learn about the only flying mammal, bats. Poole will discuss some of the bat species found in western North Carolina, where they live, and why they are beneficial to have around.  She will also share the most recent research on White Nose Syndrome and the NCWRC’s bat conservation efforts.

To get to Walnut Creek Preserve’s Nature Center from the Tryon and Columbus area, take Hwy. 108 E and turn left on Hwy. 9 toward Lake Lure. Follow Hwy. 9 North for five miles and turn right onto McGuinn Road (at the Exxon Station). Go one mile to the intersection with Big Level Road; turn left, go 2/10ths of a mile and take the first right onto Aden Green Road. Follow Aden Green for 4/10ths of a mile and turn left on Wood Thrush Lane and into Walnut Creek Preserve. Take the first left onto Conservatory Lane, which takes you to the parking area for the nature center. (GPS coordinates to the Nature Center are available at the PAC website.) 

For more information or directions from another location, contact the Pacolet Area Conservancy at 828-859-5060 or e-mail landprotection@pacolet.org. The next PAC/WCP program will be held on July 15, when Patrick McMillan, host of ETV’s Expeditions with Patrick McMillan, will present, “The Southern Blue Ridge – Crucible of Life,” at the Anne Elizabeth Suratt Nature Center at 10:30 a.m.

For more information about Walnut Creek Preserve, visit walnutcreekpreserve.com. Walnut Creek Preserve is private property and guests are only allowed on the property by invitation (a planned event or scheduled group).

– article submitted by Pam Torlina