Tamahere Bat Sign

If you’ve spotted the new bat sign by the Allan Turner Bridge in Tamahere, there’s a lovely story behind it.

Photo: J Morgan - The bat sign at Allan Turner Bridge, Tamahere — a small sign with a big story.

The idea was sparked by Predator Free Tamahere, working with students at Tamahere Model Country School to create bat artwork and share what the kids wanted people to know about bats. The project was enthusiastically supported from the outset by Project Echo, Waikato Enviroschools facilitator Adrienne Grant, and the school’s teachers and principal.

With encouragement from Waikato District Council councillors Crystal Beavis and Mike Keir, we applied for council funding to take the project further. The final sign was shaped with expert sense-checking from Kerry Borkin (DOC), features a stunning bat photo from Grant Maslowski, and was brought to life with brilliant design input from Area Design, production by Annex, and installation support from Citycare.

Photo: J Morgan - The bat sign at Allan Turner Bridge, Tamahere

After a long process, it’s wonderful to finally see the sign in place — helping raise awareness that long-tailed bats / pekapeka-tou-roa live right here in Tamahere. It’s particularly special that ideas from local school children are now reflected in a permanent piece of public signage — a reminder that young voices can shape how we think about and care for our environment.

Long-tailed bats use gully systems like ours as feeding and flight corridors, which makes protecting connected gully habitat and keeping predator numbers low especially important. Next time you’re passing by the bridge at dusk, look up — you might just see one flying overhead.