BAT boxes will be installed at a nature reserve near Grange-over-Sands this weekend as part of a project to find what species are using them.

Bat numbers have been in decline since the 1960s with 11 of Britain's 16 species designated rare or vulnerable.

Now Robin Eddlestone, of Finsthwaite, near Newby Bridge, has linked up with Cumbria Wildlife Trust and the Westmorland and Furness Bat Group to plan an environmental project.

It follows his trip to Kenya last year to carry out research for Earthwatch, after he won a Millennium Award funded by the Millennium Commission and the Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance. Mr Eddlestone said he was now keen to implement a local environmental project.

The boxes will go up around Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve near Grange. John Martin, of the Furness and Westmorland Bat Group, said of the project: "We still do not know enough about the habits and preferences of bats, and putting up roosting boxes in areas where there are few natural sites helps us learn more about the different species."

John Dunbavin, reserves officer for Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said: "I have seen a number of different species on the reserve, and have wanted to put up some bat boxes but never had the time or the funding. I am delighted that Robin decided to do his project here."

Mr Eddlestone said timber and materials were purchased from local suppliers following a grant from the Lottery Millennium Fund.

He also brought together volunteers and the boxes were assembled at the trust offices in Plumgarths, near Kendal.