Katherine Gividen has always loved bats, so when the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries started looking for volunteers to help monitor bat colonies in the state, she immediately signed up.
“It took a while to get started, but I was persistent,” said Gividen, who really can't explain her infatuation with these creatures, which many liken to flying rats.
Gividen's bat love, and that of other volunteers, is helping the LDWF monitor bat populations to determine shifts in species distribution and how they're faring in numbers due to changes in habitat and the environment. They're also trying to detect white-nose syndrome in bat populations in the state.
​Read the full article by Louisiana Master Naturalist Colette Dean in the Advocate...
This article features Katherine Gividen. Katherine is a member of the Louisiana Master Naturalists of Greater Baton Rouge.

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Join a worldwide challenge this weekend and help put your city's flora and fauna on the map.
It's called the City Nature Challenge, and all you need to participate is the free iNaturalist app on your smartphone and some time outside.
The challenge is to see which city can tally the most wild plants, animals, insects, mushrooms, fish, turtles — anything that can be photographed with a smartphone and sent to the app.
The challenge takes place across the globe for four days — from 12:01 a.m. April 30 to 11:59 p.m. May 3.
​Read the full article by Louisiana Master Naturalist Colette Dean in the Advocate...

Last year, the Wings of Hope Wildlife Sanctuary set a record, caring for more than 550 animals at the Livingston facility. As baby owls, purple martins, otters, pelicans and even a bald eagle continue to show up at the door this year, director Leslie Lattimore says that record will be shattered.
Lattimore attributes the increase in wildlife patients to the pandemic "because more people were staying at home, and they began to notice birds or other wildlife in their yards.”
Other events, like February's ice storm, also brought in lots of animals. In Denham Springs, the storm caused icicles to form on purple martin birdhouses in a colony created by the Adams family. Sixty ailing birds were collected and brought to Wings of Hope.
​Read the full article by Louisiana Master Naturalist Colette Dean in the Advocate...

Keep your eyes peeled: Now is the time to catch Louisiana irises blooming in swamps, bogs and roadside ditches.
At one time, vast expanses of Louisiana irises bloomed in the state's swamps and marshes, but development, herbicides, hurricanes and saltwater intrusion into marshes has decimated the fields.
“A whole generation in southeast Louisiana has never seen the springtime bloom of wild irises,” said Gary Salathe, founder of the Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative.
With other volunteers, Salathe formed the nonprofit Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative to rescue wild Louisiana irises and replant them in new spots.
Read the full article by Louisiana Master Naturalist Colette Dean in the Advocate...

If Brad “Bones” Glorioso has his way, every classroom, park, nature center and museum in Louisiana will be hanging up a poster identifying the state's venomous snakes.
Glorioso spent the latter part of last year helping to create the large, glossy poster, and now he's distributing them to help everyone learn more about these snakes.
“I’m hoping to change a lot of hearts and minds about snakes,” said Glorioso, a professional herpetologist, someone who studies reptiles and amphibians. “Snakes are a part of Louisiana’s rich natural heritage. Fifty species of snakes reside in our state, most of them harmless and rarely bite people.
"Venomous snakes pose virtually no risk to people," he added. "Most bites happen to people who try to handle or kill snakes; the rest are due to people not watching where they put their hands or feet.”
Read the full article by Louisiana Master Naturalist Colette Dean in the Advocate...