The find of the century

S4E36 You join us in a secret location this week. Back in 2019, Scotty Dodd from the Sussex Bat Group made the most significant discovery in the history of the bat group...the first maternity roost of greater horseshoe bats in Sussex for one hundred years. Truly the find of the century! In a small dry valley surrounded by beech trees, Scotty & Steve are sat in front of the run-down stable block as Scotty describes to Steve how he came across the roost and got the verification he was looking for.As you'll hear in this episode, the team need a lot of money to save this roost and improve it so that the colony has every chance of survival. So if you can,donate to the JustGiving appeal hereSee the roost on the VWT websiteSee what else the Sussex Bat Group get up to and follow them on twitterSend a voice message to BatChat! We want you to get in touch with your favourite bat experience. It doesn’t matter whether it was the first time you’ve ever seen a bat, you might have seen a brief shadow flying past as you were leaving your house, perhaps you’ve been checking bat boxes with your local bat group and saw bats up close for the first time or saw a bat species you've never seen before, perhaps you’ve counted a bat roost this summer and something unusual happened, maybe you heard what bats sound like on a detector and thought it was the coolest thing ever! Whether you’re new to bats or a seasoned bat lover, we want to hear all about your favourite bat experience from this year. Record your voice message here. Don't worry, you can hear it back and re-record it if you don't like it.Join the conversation on social media using #BatChatProducer: Steve Roe @SteveRoeBatManThis week it’s the world famous RHS Chelsea Flower show and for the first time ever, the Bat Conservation Trust have a show garden there. The nocturnal garden demonstrates how you can create a beautiful, wildlife-friendly garden that supports bats and other nocturnal species. Discover our tips on how to garden for bats and keep an eye out for the nocturnal garden on the BBC coverage all this week.Support the showPlease leave us a review or star rating if your podcast app allows it because it helps us to reach a wider audience so that we can spread the word about how great bats are. How to write a podcast review (and why you should).Got a story to share with us? Please get in touch via [email protected] are magical but misunderstood. At BCT our vision is a world rich in wildlife where bats and people thrive together. Action to protect & conserve bats is having a positive impact on bat populations in the UK. We would not be able to continue our work to protect bats & their habitats without your contribution so if you can please donate. We need your support now more than ever: www.bats.org.uk/donate  Thank you!