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First Posted: 12/22/2014 PLAINS TWP. &#8212; Cub Scout Pack 100, along with the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Plains Township are doing their part to save the local bat population.
Before you freak out &#8212; as many do at the mere sight of a bat flying in their general vicinity &#8212; know that an average brown bat eats about 600 mosquitoes per day.
And that&#8217;s the value of a project at the Plains Township Municipal Park in the Hilldale section, which will enhance the park&#8217;s rain garden and add bat boxes to allow a better place for the nocturnal flying mammals to reproduce.
Plains Township Commissioner Jerry Yozwiak was at the park on Monday with Bill Williams of the state Game Commission and township worker John Minnick, who represented Cub Scout Pack 100, to talk about the rain garden and the bat boxes.
Construction of the 2,310 square foot rain garden at the park was made possible with a $10,000 grant from the Pennsylvania American Water Co., Yozwiak said, adding that the township picked up the tab for the $8,733 needed to finish the job.
Yozwiak said the rain garden is located where storm water runoff is channeled and it was back-filled with mulch to promote storm water infiltration and filtering, then planted with more than 500 individual plants/shrubs to promote storm water runoff filtering. He said the project impacts the storm water runoff quality from the municipal park and also serves as a habitat for the bird population within the area.
&#8220;The rain garden, which is located near the park pavilion, adds to the aesthetic value of the park and benefits the community by serving as a tool to educate the public about storm water quality concerns,&#8221; Yozwiak said. &#8220;The rain garden will serve as a learning center for local schools and residents to provide an example of how rain gardens can be used to enhance the environment from not only an aesthetic standpoint, but from a water quality aspect as well.&#8221;
The bat boxes project is expected to be completed by May of next year, Yozwiak said. Williams was at the park Monday to choose the best locations for the bat boxes.
Williams said the local and statewide bat population has suffered a significant depletion due to &#8220;white nose syndrome,&#8221; creating the need for a habitat for bats.
Williams said &#8220;white-nose syndrome&#8221; is a disease affecting hibernating bats. It is named for the white fungus that appears on the muzzle and other body parts of hibernating bats. Williams said the syndrome was first documented in New York in the winter of 2006-2007, and has spread rapidly across the eastern U.S. and Canada.
&#8220;Bats have been found sick and dying in unprecedented numbers in and around caves and mines,&#8221; Williams said. &#8220;The disease has killed more than 1 million bats in the Northeast and Canada. In some areas, 90 to 100 percent of bats have died.&#8221;
Williams said the bat boxes will keep the bats away from people&#8217;s homes for winter hibernation. He said more than one female bat can exist in each bat box and nurse their young.
Cub Scout Pack 100 built four bat boxes for the park. Minnick said there are 38 members of the Cub Scout pack.

Bats welcome at Plains Twp. park