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...
Daniela Castillo DVM, MS
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 joined IWRC in October 2020. I became involved because Wildlife Rehabilitation is my true passion. I worked as a wildlife rehabilitator and director of a wildlife center 10 years ago and I really miss everything about it. One of my biggest goals in life is to start a wildlife rehabilitation center in my hometown, Oaxaca, in southern Mexico. Currently there is not a wildlife rehabilitation center per se and I think that it...
Danene Britell RVT
Spotlight on our new board member Please share an early/childhood experience that was pivotal to your personal relationship to wildlife. When I was growing up my mother and I spent a lot of time at the beach. When I was about seven years old I clearly remember a time where we were walking on the beach and came across a down seabird (Northern Gannet). I would not leave until my mom went to the lifeguard stand and came up with a plan for how they were going to get someone to look at this animal. This was a time with...
Bird Safe Windows
It was a warm, late summer day in 2020. Like many people, I was working from home, sitting in my living room, laptop on my knees, coffee at my side. Suddenly I heard a very loud THUNK in the vicinity of our back door. I sprang up and ran to the back of the house. I knew there was only one thing that could make that sound. Something had hit the glass on our back door, something big. I rounded the corner and felt simultaneously relieved and concerned. Sitting on our porch bench was a perplexed juvenile Cooper’s Hawk. It...
2021 Van Doninck Scholarship Open for Applications
June 15, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE [Eugene, Oregon] — Dr. Helene Marie Van Doninck, is remembered by friends and colleagues as a dedicated, passionate and determined veterinarian, and also as a positive and effective force on behalf of wildlife. She co-founded the Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre (CWRC) outside Truro Nova Scotia in 2001. She worked tirelessly to eradicate lead ammunition and tackle for hunting and angling purposes and won support from all sides. Her sense of humor, depth of knowledge, and understanding of people gained her entry to circles that could be otherwise unwelcoming to a veterinarian and avid wildlife rehabilitator,...
Summit Highlights Beaver Impact
This April I attended the California Beaver Summit, an event focused on the positive impact of beavers on the California landscape and their key role in ecological restoration projects. As a wildlife rehabilitator the information on managing common human/beaver conflicts was especially useful. The full summit is available to watch. I found these three presentations particularly interestingas a wildlife rehabilitator: Michael Callahan: Beaver Institute – CommonConflicts and How to Manage Kevin Swift: Swift Water Design – Local Examples ofBeaver Management Emily Fairfax, Cal State Channel Islands – Beavers& Fire Refugia
IWRC Member Spotlight: Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute
Our Member Spotlights feature our incredible members across the world, rehabilitating baby penguins in South Africa, sea turtles in Cyprus, bats in the United States, brown bears in Kosovo, and beyond. We invite you to visit our map to meet more members and click here if you are an IWRC member who would like to be featured. Organization: Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute) Location: Kyrenia, Cyprus IWRC: Hello! So, tell us a little bit about your organization and the work you do. The Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute (CWRI) was established in 2018, in Kyrenia, Cyprus as part of...
Spotlight on New Board Member, Ashley Ihrke
How did you initially become involved with IWRC and why did you choose to become involved on a board level? I started volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation center in early 2017 and became a staff member shortly before going back to graduate school that same year. Once I became a staff member, I did more research and background around professional organizations in the wildlife rehabilitation field and discovered IWRC. I signed up as a member that year and have beena member since. Since graduating from school in 2019, I left my position at the rehabilitation center and have been involved...
Spotlight on New Board Member, Lindsay Jones
Please share an early/childhood experience that was pivotal to your personal relationship to wildlife. From my earliest memories, I have always felt a close connection with all animals. As a young child, I was always bringing home stray animals and those in need of care, much to the dismay of my family. I started attending The Green River Preserve around the 3rd grade, which is a nature camp for gifted and motivated learners located in the mountains of North Carolina. There I was taught that our wildlife was to be respected, not feared, and I learned to walk through the...
2020 Annual Members Meeting
IWRC held our 2020 Annual Members Meeting Oct 17. A full recording of the meeting is available to members (log in). President Adam Grogan provided a brief presentation on our response to the COVID-19 pandemic and our other activities this year. Active committees, including Membership; Course Development; Executive; International; Finance; and Development, provided brief updates on their recent work. We thanked our 49 volunteers! Adam then introduced the member slate for our upcoming board election, which will begin November 2: Ashley Ihrke and Lindsey Jones. We gave thanks to outgoing board members Laurin Huse and Lloyd Brown. Executive Director Kai...