Grateful to be Part of Such a Caring Community | by Yara Delgado …..

Looking back, there is one thing very clear about 2018, we worked a lot of cases! A good total of 2,600 cases, that’s about 50 per week! We wouldn’t be able to do this without the dedication of an amazing team of volunteers.

But the truth is, our volunteers wouldn’t be able to do much without the help of the community. Letting us know when an animal is hurt or in danger, giving us a hand keeping our neighborhoods clean, sharing our blog posts, meeting us at educational events, these are only a couple examples of how you play a role in our organization. Our community efforts are truly indispensable and we feel so grateful.

Owl’s Nest Sanctuary for Wildlife is a 501c3 non-profit organization that operates with 100% volunteers and funded solely by donations. With Kris Porter’s huge heart and leadership, we’ve been able to build an incredible organization, and caring for wildlife is something we’re truly passionate about.

We would like to take some time to highlight some of the great contributions we received the last month of 2018 and thank you for your gratitude towards us, it means so much!

Christmas came the last week of December when we received over $20,000 in donations from the community which jump started our efforts for 2019. We can’t express just how much this warms our hearts knowing we are not alone in our efforts to care for our injured and orphaned wildlife. As they say “It Takes a Village” and that village is You!

We were able to build the new pond and waterfall with the generous donation from Downtown Aquarium, Denver, just in time for baby otter season 2019 and we already have our first orphan

Also in December, we received a generous donation of $4,000 from Downtown Aquarium in Denver, CO, to help us cover the costs of re-doing our otter’s pond. We were able to build a bigger pool and get new pumps just in time for breeding season which usually starts in March/April, but we already have our first otter pup this year.

We have a very good relationship with the Aquarium since they welcomed precious little Olive in 2016. Olive is an otter that was found distraught at a gas station in Tampa, FL, and was soon discovered to have become imprinted on humans. This dependency on humans made it impossible for her to live in the wild but we were able to find her a forever home in Denver where she would live with other otters and amazing caretakers.

LynnLee Schmidt, right, Curator of Birds and Mammals at the Denver Aquarium gets Olive, a North American River otter, to swim with her hand in her enclosure at the Denver Aquarium on July 26, 2017 in Denver. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post via AP)

Not all our donations are monetary as shown by Boy Scout from Troop 12 in Lutz, FL. This time, Nicholas Evans choose us for his Eagle scout project by offering his precious time and carpentry abilities to build us an 8’x6’ flight cage and two carriers. This cage is not at all ordinary, it complies with all federal requirements to rehabilitate birds, and will allow us to be self-sufficient providing a temporary home for them. So far, we have partnered with Nature World Wildlife Rescue in Homosassa, FL, who have been incredibly helpful and welcoming with our cases. This cage means a lot to us. The two carriers are perfect for transporting birds through long distance. They will also be used to transport our ambassador screech owl, Noel to educational events. They fit comfortably and safe inside, I’m sure the birds would thank him too if they could talk!

Big shout out to Troop 12 Boy scouts in Lutz Florida!!! Nicolas Evan’s did his Eagle scout project by building Owls Nest new education flight cages and these two gorgeous travel cages for Noel!

We would like to thank you for meeting us at educational events over the past year and looking forward to seeing you at more in 2019. Being able to share our stories and passion with the community is truly what keeps us going and your donations are literally what keeps us operating year after year. Spreading awareness is key to allow us to live in harmony with all wildlife in our ecosystems.

References:

https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/oliver-the-otter-makes-the-downtown-aquarium-his-new-home/106333590

https://theknow.denverpost.com/2017/08/02/olive-the-otter-denver-aquarium/153444/