Toby Rowland has landed his dream job.
Ever since his childhood in Wales, where he spent his time hiking in the mountains or exploring the coastline, he has been fascinated with wildlife.
“For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in animals and always wanted to work in a field where I could study and help preserve wildlife," Rowland says.
Rowland is now the Citizen Science Field Coordinator with The Couchiching Conservancy. This means he spends much of his time “in the field,” coordinating a large team of volunteers who monitor wildlife on the thousands of acres protected by the Conservancy.
After moving from the U.K. to the Peterborough area when he was a teenager, Rowland studied ecological restoration through a joint diploma/degree program at Sir Sandford Fleming College and Trent University.
He was introduced to the work of The Couchiching Conservancy through a summer internship program and is now happy to be working full-time with the land trust organization.
“This is what I’ve always wanted to do and I like the idea that my job spans many different species,” said Rowland. “Through our Citizen Science program we monitor and care for the birds, reptiles, mammals, plants and aquatic life found in our region.”
One of the most recent monitoring programs involves a species at risk – bats. Rowland explained that of the eight species found in Ontario, four are at risk.
Bat monitoring involves teams going out to a designated property at dusk with bat recording technology to record the echolocation calls of bats, which are then analyzed.
“Bat monitoring is exciting because it opens up a whole world of wildlife that you don’t typically pay attention to. You see bats fly by once in a while, but you can’t hear them or identify them. With the help of technology, we can understand where they are and how many different bats are out there,” explains Rowland.
The Conservancy had planned to offer a bat monitoring experience as part of its Passport to Nature program but because of COVID-19 restrictions, the originally scheduled night walk and exploration will be offered as a webinar.
The webinar will feature the premiere presentation of a video demonstrating how volunteers discover a world of bats (and mosquitos!) using technology and Rowland’s guidance.
“Bats might be one of the most misunderstood species,” said Rowland. “For the most part, people don’t think about bats. If they do, they may think of them negatively. So in this webinar, we hope to help people become more aware of how important bats are and why we need to protect them.”
Since 2006, when white nose syndrome (a fungus disease affecting hibernating bats) emerged in North America, the population of little brown bats (or little brown myotis) in Ontario has declined. If the disease infects the bats during hibernation, an average of 90 per cent of the population is lost.
“Bats are also being affected by habitat fragmentation and loss of habitat,” explains Rowland. “They’re insectivores, relying on insects as a food source and insects are declining, partly because of the use of pesticides.”
Rowland says he is looking forward to helping people become more aware of the fascinating ecology of bats.
“When I talk to people about bats, they usually come back and say how they’ve started noticing them. People don’t usually think about looking for bats, but once you are aware of where they roost and what kind of habitat they like, you will discover a whole new world of bats out there.”
The webinar, All About Bats, will also offer an opportunity for questions and answers. In addition to explaining the habits of bats in the wild, Rowland will be able to offer suggestions about bats found around homes and the use of bat houses.
All About Bats takes place on Wednesday, Aug. 26 from 7 to 8 pm. The program is free, but registration is required. For further details and to register, click here.
To get a sneak peek at the video of bat monitoring in action, click here to watch a video.
