Bat Competency Training
Providing a structured training pathway for ecologists and conservation practitioners looking to develop bat survey and management skills—from core competencies through to advanced field techniques.
Our curriculum has been designed in consultation with the
Department of Conservation Bat Recovery Group
ADVANCED BAT SKILLS TRAINING
We provide trainees with a rare opportunity to develop advanced survey competencies for long-tailed bats. Trainees will work towards key Level 1 and 2 competencies, with training covering bat handling, trapping, radio tracking, roost watches, and more.
Our advanced bat skills training is offered once a year in collaboration with the Department of Conservation (Geraldine). Course participation directly supports long-term population monitoring of the Kakahu and nearby bat populations, as well as the development of conservation monitoring techniques.
We consider this course suitable for ecologists and conservation practitioners wanting to develop recognised bat competencies, organisations developing in-house bat survey and management services, and anyone wanting to learn about techniques and technology for monitoring bats.
The 2026 course will run from Monday 4 January to Saturday 16 January 2027 (12 nights). Trainees may attend both weeks or a single week—either Week One (4–10 January) or Week Two (10–16 January).
To secure a place for 2026 or request an information pack, please register your interest below.
High-Risk Bat Management Training
This course provides trainees with an introduction to best practice bat management in New Zealand. The course focuses on the 'High Risk' bat activities 3.1 Acoustic surveys, 3.3 Habitat assessment and the currently-in-development 3.4 Endoscope surveys.
The course commences with a series of desk based modules where we will focus on ensuring trainees understand the fundementals of bat management , acoustic analysis, bat management plans, data management and more. We will then shift into field based elements of bat management, focussing on habitat assessment and presence/absence acoustic surveys. We have also teamed up with Alato who will deliver an online introduction to Alato Lab, an AI-powered platform that automatically detects long-tailed and short-tailed bats in AR4 and AR5 recordings.
Trainees will come away with certification in 3.3 Habitat assessment and strong base for working towards competency in 3.1 Acoustic surveys (which requires 10+ actual surveys to achieve).
Trainees will also receive a laser pointer (the use becomes obvious during the training), a handheld bat detector to detect bats recreationally, and access to The Bat Cave - our online resource repository full of known roost examples, thermal emergence videos, key resources and documents, data management templates, and call examples from bats.
These courses are run on demand across the country between May and August. To secure your place on our next available course, please register your interest below.