Hello. My name is Ericka and I run Microbats of Melbourne, a wildlife rescue service that specializes in the care and rehabilitation of insectivorous microbats across Melbourne and the greater surrounds.

Earlier this year, the specially designed aviary that we need to get our bats fit and healthy was destroyed when a large gum tree fell directly on top of it.

As spring rapidly approaches I am hoping to raise enough funds to replace this flight aviary and have a second aviary built to ensure all bats that come through our doors have the space they need to recover, and return home to the wild.

There are 21 species of microbat that call Victoria home, and many that have managed to adapt to human urbanization. They provide an invaluable service of insect control by eating up to their body weight in insects every night, including mosquitoes, flies, beetles, and moths. In contrast to many rumours, bats are not aggressive animals, but are actually quite shy, and would much rather keep to themselves than cross paths with us humans.

Microbats of Melbourne runs purely off of grants from wildlife organizations such as Wildlife Victoria, and donations from the public so anything that can help us reach our goal will be deeply appreciated.