MORE than 30 children and adults attended a bat and moth evening at Roadford Lake recently, when the fascinating lives of the animals was explained by ecologist Martin Summers.

Mr Summers organised games to show how bats use echo-location and demonstrated the techniques used by moths to avoid becoming prey.

The group then went down to the edge of the lake and through the fields to look for Noctule and Pipistrelle bats, plus Daubenton?s bats, which hunt over water.

Liz Eagle, education officer for South West Lakes Trust, said: ?There was great excitement as the children used bat detectors to pick up the sound of hungry bats.

?They were very quickly able to tell the difference between various bats by the pitch of their calls.?

The evening finished when the moth trap was checked to discover several species of night-flying moth.

The children attending the bat and moth evening are members of the Root Group, an environmental club for children based at Roadford Lake which meets once a month.

Liz said: ?We have a similar club at Burrator reservoir and are always looking for new members ? our next project is a float for Launceston Carnival.?

For further details of the Root Group, call Liz Eagle on 01837 871534.