The SLH team were delighted to be invited to Heaton Norris Primary School in January to do the assemblies for both the older and younger children. The assemblies formed part of the school’s work on sustainability this term and they had been clearly thinking about many issues that are close to our SLH hearts – biodiversity, how to look after the planet, recycling, reusing, and working together to care for our local area.
We always love talking about some of our regular activities and that day we explained about the Heatons Repair Café, taking family groups on SLH cycle rides and building bug hotels. But the main focus was on bats: where they live, what they eat, the sounds they make, and what we can do locally to help bats survive. The children were memorised by the sounds the bats make – echolocation – and how these sounds are picked up using special bat detection monitors. Demonstrating bats using soft toys and origami bats of various sizes was fun.
We joined up with a member of Heatons’ Men in Sheds who demonstrated some of the bat boxes they have made in their sheds. The children were surprised at the small size of the holes that the bats have to get in!
We hope that lots of the children will bring their families on our next series of bat walks, starting mid-April, where they will get the chance to listen to and see the bats using our special bat detection equipment.
Thank you, Heaton Norris School, for welcoming us and listening so attentively. If any other local schools would also like to discuss an SLH assembly contact info@slheatons.org