Image: Left to Right: Students Jackson, Joshua, Conner, Antoinette and Kody with painted microbat boxes created by the Kalamunda Men’s Shed members.

Mayor Margaret Thomas said recently the City’s Community Services and Environmental Health team has been working with Kalamunda Secondary Education Support Centre sharing the importance of microbats, along with teaching students about the impact of European wasps and mosquitos on the local environment.

“The interactive, educational program really engages the students which has helped reinforce the many underlying environmental messages,” Cr Thomas said.

“Another positive of the program is the connection it has created with the Kalamunda Men’s Shed. For the past few weeks, members have been busy building microbat boxes which the students then paint following the City’s educational workshop.”

The painted boxes are then placed in known mosquito hotspots around the City to help reduce the insect’s numbers. Pest-eating microbats are known to munch 40% of their body weight each night so encouraging them to nest in mosquito-prone areas is a win-win for the community.

“The City will continue to monitor the results of the pilot study to see if an increasing microbat population slashes mosquito totals,” Cr Thomas said.

Find more information here on the program or the City’s other environmental projects, services and programs, email enquiries@kalamunda.wa.gov.au or phone (08) 9257 9999.