Members of the Wareham Boys & Girls Club went batty for bat houses on Friday, March 18.

The children all got a chance to participate in building one of four bat houses, following a talk given by Martha Maguire and Jesse Ferreira of the Wareham Land Trust.

"We're here to educate the youth and shed some light on bats," Ferreira said. "During this time of year, as birds migrate, so do bats. It's a good time to put up bat houses."

As Maguire and Ferreira explained, there are two types of bats in Massachusetts. Bothin the brown bat family. However, due to disease, populations have become greatly reduced in recent years.

"We need to protect them," Maguire explained. "They do a lot for the planet."

Bats help pollinate plants, provide raw materials for medicines, and eat bugs - especially pesky mosquitos.

In addition to helping build the bat houses, the children also played games to simulate echolocation, the biological sonar bats use to navigate, and tested their bat knowledge during a question-and-answer session.

The workshop was presented as part of the Club’s ongoing Kukoo for the Boys & Girls Club Birdhouse Project.

The birdhouse project is an educational opportunity that invites members of the club, environmentalists, artisans, and the community at-large to create and decorate birdhouses and bird-related pieces of art, such as drawings and paintings to donate to the the group. The donations will be auctioned off at a gala scheduled for June 18 with all proceeds directly benefiting the Wareham Boys & Girls Club.

All the bat houses built on Friday were donated to the project by the Wareham Land Trust.

For more information about Kukoo for the Boys & Girls Club or to donate, call the Boys & Girls Club at 508-295-5400.