The pursuit of peaceful coexistence
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Illustration by Kami M. Koyamatsu – Website
By Mackenzie Kelly:
The first cloud-free day of spring acts as a beacon of hope in Seattle. Reminiscent of a Hallmark movie, people across the city of all ages emerge in unison from their homes, lifting their hands to shield sensitive eyes, eager to soak up the sun. After enduring my first Seattle winter, I was grateful for the additional daylight hours so I could enjoy the last moments of sunshine walking my two dogs near the lake after work. I grew to love this walk for the dichotomy between the beauty of nature and the urban landscape.
As the sun set and we made our way back home, sniffing every bush as we went, I saw little creatures erratically diving near the streetlights. I had only ever seen bats in videos on the Internet, flying out of a cave en masse like a dark cloud spilling into the sky. As the bats dove into the light, I watched with reserved excitement and a little undercurrent of fear buzzing through my body. Am I too close? Is this safe? Are the bats lost? Are they supposed to be in the city?
After doing a deep dive on our local Washington bat species, I was happy to share my warm dusk walk with these misunderstood mammals of flight. All of our local bats are insectivorous and a world with fewer mosquitoes has its appeal. Just as the people in Seattle are emerging from their winter seclusion, the local neighborhood bats are roused from hibernation and hungry. Bats can eat roughly half of their body weight in a single evening. How could natural pest controllers this efficient ever be considered insidious? As the ancient proverb goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Last year I accepted and cemented my new title as City Slicker when my husband and I became homeowners in Seattle. This came as a shock to my husband who had bet this move would amount to nothing more than a brief sampling of city living before I begged to retreat back to a more humble life in the countryside. We moved in search of better opportunities, though chasing after our lofty career-oriented dreams left us feeling like underdogs adrift amongst the crowds. Although I had made my decision to settle into my new urban existence, I still longed for backwoods amenities.
I grew up thinking city living was somehow devoid of nature which contributed to my apprehension about making this move to the big city. I worried that I had to make the choice between civilization and wilderness, but catching my first glimpse of urban bats on that spring walk calmed my fears and dispelled my reservations. Nature and civilization do not have to be incongruous presences; instead, I commenced my pursuit for peaceful coexistence.
As a new homeowner, I began my journey as an amateur gardener, focusing on making my little neck of the city a natural safe haven with the ultimate goal of creating a backyard “bed and breakfast” (B&B) for bats. I dove into researching and collecting native plants in the Pacific Northwest. Though there were a few casualties along my journey, through trial and error a few plants have now survived their first winter under my care. One of my personal favorite survivors is our mock orange flowering shrub, emitting a beautiful smell reminiscent of orange blossom mingling with jasmine. It’s also a favorite for butterflies, beetles, and moths. This motley crew of arthropods were my first residents in our backyard bed and breakfast of biodiversity! These “pests” are welcomed with open arms and hopefully open wings eventually. While I appreciate their residency, my hope is that they will ultimately play the role of “breakfast” in my aspirational Bat B&B. In order to preserve bat food, our yard is a pesticide-free zone. Using pesticides would reduce insect abundance, leading to a food shortage for my prospective tenants.
A key milestone in my campaign for peaceful coexistence is the installation of a bat house. What kind of an innkeeper would I be without a proper place for bats to rest their weary eyes? I bought a premade bat house from the National Audubon Society because I was worried my shoddy carpentry skills would soil my reputation, shifting my status into slumlord territory. With my husband’s help, we mounted our bat box under the eaves of our home. Bats need a clear, unobstructed flight path in and out of their roosting site so orienting it south only a few feet from our neighbor’s towering home wasn’t exactly ideal. Just like the rest of us emerging from our “caves” in the spring and turning our faces towards the sun, bats long for direct sunlight so we placed their home facing east for ample sunshine.
As spring returns, I continue to anxiously await our first tenant. It can take months, often years for bats to take up residence in a newly erected bat house. Although our bat house remains empty, it has turned into a symbol of hope in our new home. I can’t help but root for these misunderstood mammals. In some ways, bats are conservation underdogs with undeserved and maligned reputations who lose the spotlight to other more charismatic megafauna. As nocturnal animals, they are often only seen elusively fluttering at twilight, easily forgotten amongst the crowd. Bats are vital pest controllers and are also the primary pollinators for agave plants. Imagine a world full of mosquitoes, yet void of tequila! Instead of living in fearful ignorance, I choose to pursue coexistence with these beneficial beauties. When I can sit on my porch and see bats flitting around my mock orange bush at twilight, I will know that I have made a home for them and a wilderness for me. Everyone loves an underdog story. I’m happy to play a small part in it.
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Mackenzie Kelly is a veteran veterinary assistant and budding field biologist with a passion for conservation. She loves all critters but is especially fond of non-charismatic species like bats and insects. She studied Political Science at Northern Arizona University, but couldn't help but felt compelled by the beautiful Southwest scenery to stick around Flagstaff, AZ after graduation. While completing two AmeriCorps terms, she facilitated service-learning youth clubs that explored the rivers and canyons of the Southwest. These educational outdoor experiences sparked a passion for sharing the wonder of wilderness with others. She is currently finishing her Master of Biology through Miami University’s Advanced Inquiry Program where she hopes to inspire social and ecological change by being nature’s biggest cheerleader.