Scarsdale High School Student Turns Years of Bat Research Into Local Conservation Project

SCARSDALE, N.Y. — While bats may conjure images of Halloween and haunted houses for many people, Scarsdale High School student Sam Morgulas sees something very different: ecologically important animals that are often misunderstood.

Sam's interest has led him deep into chiropterology, the scientific study of bats, and ultimately inspired him to turn years of research and study into a hands-on conservation and education project. He has built large, specialized bat houses known as rocket boxes and worked with local conservation organizations to identify appropriate locations where the structures can be installed.

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Sam has already installed rocket boxes at the Nature Center at Greenburgh and is also working with Westchester Land Trust on additional installations at their preserves.

"Where others see diseased, blood-drinking monsters, I see our most unique, misunderstood and ecologically indispensable relatives," Sam wrote about the interest that inspired his project.

His study of bats extends well beyond his community project. As a high school student, Sam has conducted science research with Bat Conservation International, studying bat calls and their ecological significance.

For his local project, Sam wanted to find a way to combine that scientific interest with something tangible that could help people better understand the important role bats play in the environment.

The structures he chose to build are not simple backyard bat houses. Known as two-chamber rocket boxes, the pole-mounted structures consist of multiple nested wooden chambers that create narrow roosting spaces for bats. Construction requires precisely measured boards, interior grooves that bats can grip, passage openings between chambers, ventilation slots, spacer blocks, weatherproofing and careful assembly.

Sam built the boxes himself, carefully measuring and cutting lumber and assembling the multiple layers before painting and preparing the completed structures for installation.

The process required patience and problem solving. Boards split, measurements needed adjustment and warped wood sometimes refused to cooperate. Sam found himself drawing on woodworking skills he had developed while volunteering with Habitat for Humanity as he worked through the challenges of constructing the unusually large structures.

But building the boxes was only one part of the project.

Before installing them at the Nature Center at Greenburgh, Sam studied the property and identified potential locations based on conditions that could make them suitable for bats. His recommendations considered sunlight and microclimate, surrounding vegetation, access for bats in flight, proximity to water, potential predators and the feeding behavior of bat species commonly found in the area.

Sam deliberately focused on the southern portion of the property in part because the northern section contained inhabited owl boxes. He also sought more open edge habitats, including an area near Woodfrog Pond, to provide unobstructed flight access and accommodate the feeding behaviors of little brown bats and big brown bats, two species found locally.

Sam's work also caught the attention of the Westchester Land Trust. When his project was initially proposed to the organization, Preserve Manager Ben Kleist responded enthusiastically, noting that several Land Trust preserves could benefit from additional bat boxes. Sam and Kleist subsequently began discussing possible locations for the structures.

For Sam, however, the project's larger purpose extends beyond whether bats ultimately take up residence in every box.

He hopes the conspicuous black structures rising above the landscape will make visitors curious.

"If someone sees a big black box 15 feet in the air, they'll ask what it is," Sam explained. "Then they'll learn about bats. If they learn about bats, they'll care more about them. That's where conservation starts."

That philosophy reflects what Sam believes may be the project's most important contribution: replacing fear with curiosity.

By putting his research into practice and sharing what he has learned, Sam hopes his rocket boxes can provide more than potential roosting habitat. He hopes they can start conversations about animals that play an important role in local ecosystems but are still frequently feared and misunderstood.

For Sam, that may ultimately be the most meaningful form of conservation.