GREATER Bendigo mayor Jen Alden says the community can lead the way on flying foxes as debate continues over installing a Rosalind Park bat cooling system.
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She has written a letter to the editor after strong public reaction to a Bendigo Advertiser article on a $30,000 proposal for the aerial cooling system in the park's fernery.
"Although there are divided opinions on the bats, the Greater Bendigo community is playing a leadership role in demonstrating how urban communities and wildlife suffering from habitat loss can live together in a safe and balanced way," Cr Alden wrote.
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The system could stop bats dying during extreme heat and encourage them to roost on cabling rather than trees.
Some have described the plan as "batty", with one letter-writer questioning whether the system was what a majority of Bendigonians would want, and that there were ways of humanly moving colonies.
"Rosalind Park and fernery, adorned with predominately non indigenous trees and shrubs, is not a natural bat habitat," David Allan wrote in a letter to the Addy's editor.
Others including Ray Peck said Rosalind Park is one of only a handful of breeding and birthing sites in Victoria.
"The animal is particularly affected by extreme heat, made more frequent and extreme by human-induced global warming ... we owe it to all life on earth to do our best to ensure its ongoing survival," he wrote.
Cr Alden wrote in to make clear the situation Victoria's flying fox population faces and clarify facts as debate continues on the proposal.
"First, the bats are a protected species under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act and the Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act," she wrote.
"These acts also protect the habitat in which the animals choose to live.
"They arrived in Bendigo in 2010 and have chosen to remain here, therefore the city as the land manager for Rosalind Park must reasonably accommodate them, ensure they are not damaging our heritage trees and attempt to minimise physical contact between the animals and park visitors."
Cr Alden said the bats have likely stayed in the area because of food shortages in other parts of their colony's range.
"They have a significant role as dispersers of pollen and seeds, which is important for native forest regeneration in Bendigo and also provides a feeding habitat for this threatened species," she said.
Cr Alden said the cooling system would cost ratepayers a third of the total price tag, with the World Wildlife Fund and Department of Land, Water, Environment and Planning paying the rest.
She noted the plan would help the fernery's plant population, not just the bats.
Heritage Victoria is currently considering feedback on the council's cooling system application for the heritage-listed fenery.
Any person may lodge a submission with respect to the application before February 23, in writing, to Heritage Victoria PO Box 500 Melbourne.
Bendigo mayor Jen Alden's letter to the editor in full
The City of Greater Bendigo understands the presence of Grey-headed Flying Foxes in Rosalind Park is of much community interest. A recent article in the Bendigo Advertiser reporting on plans to install a new atmospheric cooling system for the bats, as part of broader plans to update the fernery, has again got people talking.
First, the bats are a protected species under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act and the Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. These Acts also protect the habitat in which the animals choose to live.
They arrived in Bendigo in 2010 and have chosen to remain here, therefore the City as the land manager for Rosalind Park must reasonably accommodate them, ensure they are not damaging our heritage trees and attempt to minimise physical contact between the animals and park visitors.
The proposed cooling system will cost approximately $30,000, of which the City is contributing $10,000 and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and World Wildlife Fund will fund the rest. The system will help to prevent the bats dying and suffering in extreme heat, will improve the micro climate for the fernery's plant population and it is hoped will encourage the bats to roost on the system's cabling rather than the trees.
Rosalind Park is considered an established breeding and maternity camp for the bats and it is likely they have stayed in the area due to food shortages in other locations. They have a significant role as dispersers of pollen and seeds, which is important for native forest regeneration in Bendigo and also provides a feeding habitat for this threatened species.
There is only one bat population in Australia and the colony in Bendigo is part of the same population that lives in Yarra Bend in Melbourne as well as NSW and Queensland.
Although there are divided opinions on the bats, the Greater Bendigo community is playing a leadership role in demonstrating how urban communities and wildlife suffering from habitat loss can live together in a safe and balanced way.