Centerport teen builds bat habitats for Huntington community garden

Hoping to help both gardener and wildlife, a Centerport student installed houses for bats in a community garden as part of his Eagle Scout project — an effort to help the animals thrive and to control the number of mosquitoes.

From May to October, Robert M. Kubecka Memorial Organic Garden in Huntington is abuzz with people planting and harvesting vegetables. But during the summer, the gardeners are bugged by mosquitoes, which are attracted to wetlands on the 15-acre site.

Harborfields High School senior Peter Louis Rocco, 18, a Boy Scout with Troop 113, said that during a brainstorming session last year on possible Eagle Scout projects, some adults who have plots in the garden told him improvements were always welcome there.

With that in mind,  Rocco did some research and found out bats have been victims of a virus that has decimated their numbers in recent years.

According to the state Department of Environmental Conservation website, the state's population of bats has seen a major decline because of white-nose syndrome, a disease caused by a fungal infection that leads to sickened hibernating bats starving to death over the winter. In 2006, the disease was discovered in New York.

Rocco realized he could lead a project that would aid in two ways: It would create homes and roosting areas for bats to help increase their numbers. And in turn, the bats, which serve as natural predators to mosquitoes and other bugs, would make gardening less of a challenge.

There also was a bonus. Part of the garden is dedicated to growing food that will be donated to food pantries.

“The project helps the community and the gardens,” Rocco said. “Hopefully the bats from the bat boxes will decrease the amount of produce lost to pests, and if that can increase the amount of food that goes to people in need, that’s great.”

The highest ranking

Eagle Scout is the highest ranking in the Boy Scouts of America, according to the group's website. Before becoming an Eagle Scout candidate, a Scout needs at least 21 merit badges and to complete a service project. 

The project was put on the back burner as Rocco focused on school, but earlier this year, he made it a priority. An Eagle Scout project must be completed by a Scout’s 18th birthday.

Starting in January, with just months to spare before his April 10 birthday, Rocco put in the work.

He confirmed with the town he could complete the project at the garden and filled out paperwork. A March fundraising car wash in 40-degree temperatures raised about $800 to pay for materials.

Finally, it was time to assemble the houses, prep the area where they were to be installed and then raise them. All along the way, he was supported by his dad and other Scouts and leaders, he said.

The garden was established in 1972. It allows Huntington residents to rent sun-drenched parcels to plant vegetables, flowers, shrubs or ornamental grasses, the town’s website said. Gardeners are prohibited from using pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or chemical fertilizers, town officials said.

In five locations across the 15-acre site, Rocco placed 16-foot-tall posts with wooden boxes affixed to them to serve as bat houses. 

'These bat houses will help'

Amanda Lerch, senior environmental analyst for the Town of Huntington Department of Environmental Waste Management and the person who oversees the garden, said she thought Rocco's idea was great when he approached her with it last year. And she’s thrilled with the result. She said she has wanted bat houses in the garden for a long time.

“With the wetlands, it does breed a lot of mosquitoes and pest insects, such as squash beetles and others that damage a lot of typical vegetables that you see here,” she said. “Bats are insectivores and they reduce the inspect population, especially pest inspects, so they will help with pest management.”

Enrico Nardone, executive director of Islip-based Seatuck Environmental Association, a wildlife advocacy group, said on Long Island bats generally use tree trunks as daytime roosting sites. But because many old trees are cut down and removed, there is less opportunity for that.

“That’s where these bat houses will help,” he said. “It will be a place for them to rest during the day.”

There was a bonus addition as part of Rocco's project. He refurbished a kiosk that's used to store donations for food pantries. He put on a new wooden top, added a latched door, painted it and added a sign he had wood-burned that says: “Sharing Table.”

Rocco said striving to be an Eagle Scout is an accomplishment that puts him in league with elite leaders.

“I’ve been doing scouts since fifth grade,” said Rocco, who is considering studying chemical engineering when he enters Wake Forest University in North Carolina this fall. As he waited last week to learn if he had reached the Boy Scouts' premier level, he said, “it would be a nice full-circle moment for six years of work.”

The circle is now complete: On Thursday, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout.