Giving the gift of bats

Bats have gotten a bad rep this year.

Chelsea Elementary School third grader Bella Smith next to a bat house that she and her classmates built. Photo courtesy Keri George

They’ve been the butt of insensitive jokes about how the COVID-19 pandemic started with tainted bat meat being sold in open-air meat markets, but they’re a very important part of the local ecosystem as most Hill residents know all too well.

If you hate mosquitos and other bitey bugs, which plague the region throughout the warmer months, then you should love bats because they love to eat those pests.

To help out our winged allies, and the community, Chelsea Elementary School donated two student-built bat houses to