07 June 2023June 8, 2023

IWRC Member Spotlight: Connie Black

DESTINED TO FLY/SONGBIRD REHABILITATORS NETWORK IWRC member Connie Black is the founder and director of Destined to Fly in Harrowsmith, Ontario. She has dedicated her life to wildlife rehabilitation, particularly focusing on the care of songbirds. With a passion for avian species, she established the Songbird Rehabilitators Network on Facebook in collaboration with Julie Eicke, a renowned North Carolina Avian Rehabilitator, back in 2016. This online community was created to provide valuable information and support to those who are permitted to care for migratory songbirds of all ages, including volunteers, staff, and interns. Having started her journey in 2003, Connie...

0 1
Read More
07 February 2023February 7, 2023

All That Breathes: Award Winning Wildlife Rehabilitation Documentary

A year after viewing All That Breathes, thoughts of the film still send vivid pictures of the wildlife of New Delhi dancing through my head; a turtle stepping through urban refuse, kites wheeling in the sky. This documentary film, featuring IWRC members Nadeem Shehzad and Mohammad Saud, explores the realities of urban human wildlife interactions. Set in the metropolis of New Delhi, the film captures moments in the wildlife rehabilitation center, Wildlife Rescue, and glimpses of the ecosystem of free living wildlife in the city.  All That Breathes started a buzz in the film industry after its January 2022 release...

0 1
Read More
09 December 2022December 20, 2022

2022 Accomplishments

Our Basic wildlife rehabilitation class continues to be our most popular. We are proud to say that both in person and online classes are well attended and our instructors are enjoying their time back in the classroom. All together we had approximately 545 students, from North America, Africa, and Asia, take the Basic Wildlife Rehabilitation class this year. This is an excellent number and proves that our new program coordinator, Samantha Lyon, has definitely surpassed all of our expectations in organizing the myriad of factors that come into play with classes. As usual the work continues. None of these projects,...

0 1
Read More
09 December 2022June 7, 2023

Emergency Vets and Wildlife

Emergency veterinarians are often asked to triage and treat wildlife patients. However, many veterinarians may have limited experience in wildlife medicine and be uncertain about assisting in such cases. This article will discuss what an emergency practitioner may do to assist in triage and temporary care of a wildlife patient until it can be transferred to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. If you live in a country that does not yet have government oversight of wildlife rehabilitation, contact your regional office that oversees natural resources or conservation on how you may assist when presented with a wildlife emergency. In most areas...

0 0
Read More
11 August 2022August 11, 2022

Lloyd Brown

Returning Board Member and IWRC Instructor Please share an early/childhood experience that was pivotal to your personal relationship to wildlife. In 1966, on a family road trip to visit my brother in the Air Force in Denver, we stopped in Amarillo, Texas for the night.  While walking from the hotel to a restaurant, I found a nestling bird that had fallen from its nest.  It was sitting on the sidewalk and I picked it up and placed it up on top of a concrete wall where by the tree from where it had fallen.  My parents said that I didn’t...

0 0
Read more...
26 July 2022December 11, 2022

Susie Sullivan – treasurer

Spotlight on an IWRC Board Member Please share an early/childhood experience that was pivotal to your personal relationship to wildlife. How did you initially become involved with IWRC and why did you choose to become involved on a board level? I first became involved with the IWRC when I started volunteering in Portland Audubon’s Wildlife Care Center. I chose to become a board member because I wanted to leverage my background in Finance and Accounting to serve an organization that I was aligned with and was furthering progress in an area I care about deeply. Wildlife rehab is grossly underfunded...

0 0
Read More
01 July 2022June 7, 2023

Meredith Whitney

Spotlight on new board member Please share an early/childhood experience that was pivotal to your personal relationship to wildlife. I grew up next to a creek and was constantly bringing home crawdads, frogs and snakes to keep as “pets”.  I was lucky enough to have parents that were understanding enough not to discourage my love of critters, and smart enough to secretly release them after letting me observe them for a day or two.  I never could figure out how all those animals “escaped” until my mom filled me in decades later!  It wasn’t until I was bitten by a...

0 0
Read More
15 April 2022April 16, 2022

Replenish

In the last two years I often found myself in a space and time where I was looking for some comfort and wondered how I could replenish myself.  Who or what could inspire me and help me get back in touch with myself?  At times, it was a nature walk or yoga, sometimes it was watching the world through my camera lens, and other times it was listening or reading the works of some very interesting people which gave me that little break, where I could feel my energy and my hope be revitalized.  After listening to conversations or reading...

0 0
Read More
12 April 2022June 10, 2022

Jennifer Boonstra DVM, MPH, DACVPM

Spotlight on our new board member How did you initially become involved with IWRC and why did you choose to become involved on a board level? I first became involved with IWRC when I started as a wildlife rehabilitator over 20 years ago. IWRC is such a valuable resource for anyone involved with wildlife rehabilitation and was especially invaluable to me during that time. I am thrilled to be able to work with IWRC on a board level to help the IWRC Mission and be a resource for other wildlife rehabilitators. Describe a skill that you have that has been...

0 0
Read More
12 April 2022May 25, 2022

Diane Séguin MS, CWR

Spotlight on our New Board Member How did you initially become involved with IWRC and why did you choose to become involved on a board level?    I initially got involved with the IWRC as a happy coincidence in 2012!  My dear friend, Lynn Miller, was going to teach courses for the IWRC in Ireland and I’d always wanted to go to Ireland.  I asked if I could be of help and went along.  I met so many wonderful people during this trip, many of which have become great friends.  This trip changed my life and I gained a much deeper...

0 0
Read More