Amy Thurston
Toronto and Region Conservation Community Engagement Team

In 2017, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) set out to shift how people see bats—and succeeded. Through their Bats in Your Backyard program, over 100 community members stepped into the role of citizen scientist, learning to spot, hear, and understand the bats that quietly share our evening skies.

Using Wildlife Acoustics' Echo Meter Touch technology, participants attended five community events that combined science, storytelling, and nighttime adventure. They learned about local bat ecology, the threat of white nose syndrome, and built bat boxes to support declining populations. With bat detectors in hand, they ventured into the dark, recording the echolocation calls of Big Brown Bats and Hoary Bats, with a few mysterious calls possibly belonging to Silver Haired Bats.

The program didn’t just collect data—it changed minds. Before the experience, a third of participants believed most bats carried rabies. Afterward, 100% understood the truth: only a small percentage do. Knowledge and appreciation soared, with one participant declaring, “I got to be a citizen scientist tonight, and it was very cool... I’ve been converted as a bat fan.”

TRCA also trained staff across four field centres and equipped them with bat detectors to bring this program into school settings, laying the groundwork for even greater engagement in 2018.

What started as a science program became something more—a chance for people to connect with nature, reframe misconceptions, and fall in love with the night’s most misunderstood flyers.