Discovering bats and so much more at The Deneway as part of my Masters

admin
, 15 July 2026
Discovering bats and so much more at The Deneway as part of my Masters
Emma McCarthy

Emma McCarthy 

I'm currently changing careers and studying Applied Ecology. I love being outdoors and learning how to protect nature. This bought me to The Deneway Nature Reserve in Brighton to undertake a Masters project with Sussex Wildlife Trust, exploring which plants and animals were using the site, and how volunteers could help make it even better for nature. 

When I first visited The Deneway in February 2026, it felt as though the whole nature reserve was still asleep. The trees were bare, the ground was quiet. But, by May, everything had changed. The site was buzzing, I enjoyed seeing how much life can be found in even such a small space on the edge of a city. Due to its location, The Deneway is an important nature pathway that could help wildlife move safely between nearby green spaces and the South Downs. It is also close to transport links, so it is important for people and nature education too.

Pond dipping at The Deneway © Victoria Barrell

The project itself included lots of surveys. Firstly, a National Vegetation Classification survey – a plant community survey that determines the direction of travel for the site, improving or degrading. It highlighted just how important volunteer conservation actions had been bringing ecological stability in the areas where they work the most. This survey was undertaken alongside the Youth Rangers and it was great to get their help, hear their ideas as well as made me realise citizen science or working with volunteers is something for me to consider for a future career. I also surveyed butterflies, pollinators, reptiles, amphibians, bats and checked for invasive plants, which can spread quickly and make life harder for native wildlife. 

Slow Worm © Bruce Shortland

One of the most exciting discoveries was how important the site is for Slow Worms. These shy, legless lizards seemed to love the The Deneway in comparison to other possible habitats to the north – the survey showed the hotspots for them especially areas where conservation work had already taken place, such as the reptile bank. The pond was another wildlife hotspot. It was full of Smooth and Palmate Newts, as well as a Common Frog and dragonfly larvae. I also found lovely wetland plants such as Ragged Robin. All of this is a good sign that the pond is healthy and valuable for wildlife.

My favourite part was discovering bats at The Deneway, including Serotine Bats, one of the UK’s largest bats and a designated vulnerable species. They were using the site to forage for insects as well as access other foraging grounds to the north.

The final report and data collected will be shared with Sussex Wildlife Trust. Bringing this project to a close marks the end of my Master's course for the year, it's been a great way to combine university coursework with real-world conservation work.

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1787380127.27710 [907] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1787380127.31880.0417Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1787380127.31890.0001Server address: 216.73.216.140
1787380127.31890Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1787380127.31890Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/discovering-bats-and-so-much-more-at-the-deneway-as-part-of-my-masters
    [s] => discovering-bats-and-so-much-more-at-the-deneway-as-part-of-my-masters
    [1] => discovering-bats-and-so-much-more-at-the-deneway-as-part-of-my-masters
)
1787380127.31930.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787380127.32060.0014 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1787380127.32310.0025 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1787380127.32390.0007INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1787380127.33510.0112 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=24371330
1787380127.33580.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=24371330
1787380127.33640.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-08-22 06:28:00' AND saleTo>'2026-08-22 06:28:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1787380127.33770.0013 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='discovering-bats-and-so-much-more-at-the-deneway-as-part-of-my-masters')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-22 06:28:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1787380127.34310.0055 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1787380127.34370.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3970 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-22 06:28:00'
1787380127.3450.0013 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1787380127.3460.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1787380127.34690.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=73 LIMIT 1
1787380127.34750.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=95 LIMIT 1
1787380127.34810.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=36 LIMIT 1
1787380127.34880.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787380127.3490.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1787380127.350.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-22 06:28:00' AND postSlug='discovering-bats-and-so-much-more-at-the-deneway-as-part-of-my-masters'
1787380127.37970.0297Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787380127.38020.0005 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1787380127.3820.0019Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1787380127.38230.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1787380127.38330.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1787380127.3850.0017 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1787380127.38920.0042 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787380127.39010.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787380127.39310.003Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1787380127.39310 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787380127.39380.0007 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787380127.39430.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787380127.39640.0021 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787380127.39720.0008 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787380127.39780.0006 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787380127.40060.0028 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787380127.40170.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1787380127.40470.003 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1787380127.40520.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787380127.40550.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1787380127.40640.0009Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1787380127.40680.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='discovering-bats-and-so-much-more-at-the-deneway-as-part-of-my-masters')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-22 06:28:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1787380127.40960.0029 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1787380127.41020.0006 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787380127.41310.0029Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1787380127.41410.0011 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3970 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1787380127.49390.0798 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1787380127.49410.0003Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787380127.49450.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1787380127.49550.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1787380127.49630.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1787380127.49710.0007 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1787380127.50010.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787380127.50070.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787380127.50330.0026 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787380127.50450.0012 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1787380127.50660.0021 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1787380127.50730.0007 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1787380127.51070.0034 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787380127.51150.0009 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787380127.51490.0034 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787380127.51780.0029 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1787380127.51920.0015 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1787380127.51990.0007 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1787380127.52350.0036 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787380127.52430.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787380127.5270.0027 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787380127.52940.0025 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1787380127.53050.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1787380127.53120.0007 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1787380127.53420.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787380127.53620.002 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787380127.53910.003 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787380127.54060.0014Request time: 0.2685
1787380127.54060Process time: 0.2684
1787380127.54060Memory: 1.6306