Bats: Friends—not Fiends!

Bats and Halloween go hand in hand. But do bats deserve their spooky reputation? Bat conservationist and community scientist Danielle Gustafson dispels the many myths about bats and sheds light on the diversity and value of these misunderstood creatures, both locally and worldwide. And if you enjoy mangoes, bananas or tequila, you have bats to thank!

Find out how climate change and habitat destruction is threatening bat populations and how you can help. Connect to Bat Week (October 24–31), an international annual celebration designed to raise awareness about the need for bat conservation, and read more about it here.

Space is limited, registration required, online or at 718,549,3200 x251, and closes at 6PM on Wednesday, October 28. Registrants will receive a follow-up email with a secure and private link to the event the day before. If you have any questions about this program or registration, please contact us at 718.549.3200 x251 or information@wavehill.org.

About Danielle Gustafsen

Trained as a visual artist and working as a digital strategist for start-ups, not-for-profits and corporations, Danielle Gustafsen has been (literally) moonlighting as co-founder of the New York City Bat Group since 2004. In addition to her professional consulting work, where she is currently the Executive Director of the EMS FDNY Help Fund, Danielle now advocates for broader awareness and study of bats, and believes that the smartphone, in the hands of the citizen scientist, may be the most important conservation tool of the 21st century. She also serves on the Board of Bat Conservation International and the International League of Conservation Photographers.

Danielle is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz, and has an MFA from California Institute of the Arts. She was a fellow at the Whitney Museum of American‘s Independent Study Program, studied e-business strategy at MIT Sloan School of Management and is a Resident at TED.

You can find her TED Talk here: The future of conservation is in your pocket. And she can be found on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.