How Bats and Soil are Shaping the Future of Africa
08.12.25
By Deborah McKew, Josh Guilbert, & Winifred Frick
In the vast rangelands of Kenya’s Kajiado District, the rustle of dry grass and distant lowing of cattle carry with them a quiet revolution—one rooted in the soil and lifted by the wings of bats.
At the heart of this transformation is the Soils for the Future of Africa initiative, a visionary 1.5-million-hectare soil carbon project supported by CarbonSolve and Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) and is managed by Soils for the Future Africa. BRI works in partnership with CarbonSolve to advance rangeland carbon projects in Africa.
With the aim of restoring rangelands and supporting long-term environmental stewardship, the project champions rotational grazing practices that not only enrich the land but honor indigenous Maasai traditions. The local office in Kajiado, led by Jackson Suyianka, a Maasai community member, proudly employs 60 individuals from surrounding villages—proof that local leadership and livelihoods are central to the work.
This spring, the Kajiado office became more than a hub of soil science. For three days, a workshop brought together an inspiring mix of voices: Bat Conservation International joined the Kenyan Wildlife Service, the Wildlife Research Training Institute, and respected Maasai leaders like Commissioner Joel Ole Nyika of the Kajiado County Conservation Committee. They were joined by Kenyan bat experts Dr. Paul Webala and Sospeter Kibiwot, along with team members from CarbonSolve. The goal? To explore how bats, often misunderstood or overlooked, could help to measure soil health.
Why bats? Because these winged mammals do more than consume insects—they serve as bioindicators, providing real-time insights into the health of rangelands. Bats make excellent indicator species because they are sensitive to changes in habitat quality. Additionally, bat species can be identified by their echolocation calls, allowing them to be monitored using acoustic recorders. This allows cost-effective, automated monitoring, supporting the long-term commitment to measuring how biodiversity benefits from land stewardship.
These winged mammals do more than consume insects—they serve as bioindicators, providing real-time insights into the health of rangelands.
Just as birds and dung beetles already inform the carbon project’s Climate, Community, and Biodiversity goals, bats could help verify restoration impacts and guide future decisions.
Discoveries and Collaborations
The three-day workshop wasn’t just talk. After a full day of presentations and training sessions, the participants ventured into the field from dusk to midnight to capture and tag bats, using harp traps and mist nets. With purpose and camaraderie, crews worked together for a common cause.
Over the course of three nights, the team captured 13 bat species across seven families, releasing each with care and recording their calls to enhance the region’s growing acoustic library, a valuable resource for further species identification. In addition, the team made connections with several African groups, including the National Park Service, and initiated the first steps towards a long-term monitoring program.
Vision that Reaches Beyond Borders
The success in Kajiado is inspiring bigger dreams. Conversations are in motion to expand the Soils for the Future model into Tanzania and Zambia, bringing bat expertise and acoustic monitoring into new landscapes in need of restoration and resilience.
As the sun sets over the rift valley and the first bats take to the skies, the message becomes clear: healthy soils and thriving bats go hand-in-hand. Together, they tell a story of regeneration—one shaped by science, grounded in tradition, and carried forward by communities determined to protect the land they call home.
Healthy soils and thriving bats go hand in hand. Together, they tell a story of regeneration.
Over the course of three nights, the team captured at least 13 bat species across seven families, releasing each with care and recording their calls to enhance the region’s growing acoustic library, a valuable resource for further species identification.
These identified species included:
- Little free-tailed bat (Mops pumilus)
- Angolan free-tailed bat (Mops condylurus)
- Yellow-winged bat (Lavia frons)
- Andrew Rebori’s house bat (Scotophilus andrewreborii)
- Webala’s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus webalai)
- Rüppell’s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus fumigatus)
- Slit-faced bat (Nycteris sp)
- Wahlberg’s epauletted fruit bat (Epomophorus wahlbergi)
- Schlieffen’s twilight bat (Nycticeinops schlieffeni)
- Egyptian tomb bat (Taphozous perforatus)
- Mauritian tomb bat (Taphozous mauritianus)
- Hairy slit-faced bat (Nycteris hispida)
- Dark-winged lesser house bat (Scotoecus hirundo)
Winifred Frick, Ph.D. – Chief Scientist
Dr. Winifred Frick serves as our Chief Scientist and leads scientific research that informs our evidence-based approaches to conservation. She is responsible for integrating science and conservation at Bat Conservation International to achieve lasting impact for bats around the world.
Dr. Frick has more than 20 years of experience studying bat ecology and conservation biology. She has published more than 80 scientific research papers and is a recognized global expert on bat ecology and conservation. She directs high-priority research and development of scalable solutions for achieving meaningful conservation outcomes for bats, including research on the threat of climate change, the disease White-nose Syndrome, and contributing conservation evidence to protect bats globally.
Dr. Frick is an Associate Adjunct Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She received her Ph.D. from Oregon State University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz in Environmental Studies.
Email: [email protected]
