Meet Pickles the Virginia opossum

Please give a warm Piedmont welcome to our newest Ambassador Animal, Pickles the Virginia opossum!

Pickles came to us from Our Wild Neighbors in August. She was found as an orphan this spring, possibly after falling off her mom's back and being left behind. (No judgment, opossum moms - sometimes it happens when you have 13 babies at once!)

The rehabbers at OWN noticed Pickles's right forelimb looked a little unusual. After a vet visit, it was discovered that one of her growth plates had been crushed, probably due to a predator attack as an infant. Growth plates are special tissue found at the end of bones in young mammals (including humans!) that allow them to grow, and injuries to that tissue can cause bones to grow incorrectly.

Because of her injury, Pickles could not be released into the wild. While she can walk and climb well, she would not be able to travel long distances to find food and avoid predators. Instead, she's found a home here at PWC, where she's perfecting her favorite form of transportation: riding on staff members' shoulders!

Thanks to her calm, curious temperament and comfort being handled by humans, we think Pickles is going to make a fantastic Ambassador for her species at birthday parties, animal encounters, and school programs. Welcome to the family, Pickles!

Want to receive updates from Pickles as she grows up - and learn more about opossums? Pickles is now available to sponsor through our Adopt-An-Ambassador program! Sponsorship options start at $25.

What are we grateful for? YOU!

What are we grateful for today? In a word: YOU!

Our #SupportThroughTheSeasons monthly donor drive was a huge success. This August, we welcomed 10 new monthly donors, 1 new quarterly donor, and 1 upgrading donor to our monthly donor program - which means we're now up to 46 recurring donors, who give a combined total of $27,955.24 annually!

As a small nonprofit, this incredible support makes a BIG difference in our ability to continue running our award-winning programs. Whether you're a donor, volunteer, camp parent, or support our work in other ways, we could not do this without you. Thank you for helping us connect people with nature in Durham and beyond!

P.S. Our donor drive may be over, but you can still make a one-time or recurring gift to support conservation, outdoor education, and citizen science! Learn more and donate today.

August is Support Through The Seasons, PWC's monthly donor drive!

At Piedmont Wildlife Center, we’re all about connecting people with nature, whether through an up-close encounter with an owl or an afternoon spent splashing in the mud. We believe these small moments are what instill a big passion for protecting the environment in the next generation. With your help, we can continue spreading this passion for generations to come.

Introducing Support Through The Seasons, PWC's monthly donor drive! For the entire month of August, we are offering additional perks for new or increasing monthly donors. With updated donor incentives, special drive-exclusive gifts, and a Zoom meet-and-greet for monthly donors on September 1st featuring a sneak peak at our newest Ambassador Animal, there's never been a better time to join PWC's monthly donor program.

Learn more about our monthly donor program below. Thank you for your #SupportThroughTheSeasons!

1,884 campers. 277 wildlife programs. 1 amazing year.

Here's what you helped us do in 2021-22...

1,884 campers at 61 camp sessions.
7,062 conservation program participants.
3,549 volunteer hours.
$10,721 awarded in camp scholarships.
275 students at Title 1 schools connected with nature.
152 superworms fed to Shelly the box turtle.

However you add it up, 2021-22 was an amazing year at Piedmont Wildlife Center - and it's all thanks to YOUR support! 

Whether you're a monthly donor, volunteer, staff member, camp parent, or just a fan of nature and wildlife, we could not have accomplished any of this without you. On behalf of our entire team, thank you for helping us connect more people with nature than ever before.

Learn more about how your support helped us change lives this year in our 2021-22 Annual Report.

Community Spotlight: Summer 2022 Interns

Behind every successful event or conservation program, there is an awesome PWC intern - or four! This month, we're celebrating the unsung heroes of Summer 2022: Josza, Eli, Tyler, and Alex, our summer interns!

Conservation interns play an important role at PWC, providing essential daily care for our Ambassador Animals, tracking box turtles in the field with radio telemetry to collect data for our research, and assisting with educational programs led by our conservation staff. This summer, we also welcomed our first administrative intern in recent years! Each of our interns designs and completes an independent capstone project on a topic of their choice during their internship.

Learn more about our interns and their projects:

Jozsa Incorvaia (conservation intern, top left) attends NC State and is currently pursuing a degree in animal science. She worked as a CIT from 2016 until officially becoming a counselor in 2021. Jozsa is thrilled to continue her work at PWC as a wildlife conservation intern. Her capstone project is cleaning up broken glass in Leigh Farm Park and giving our PWC kiosk a much-needed makeover.

Eli Benbenek (conservation intern, top right) plans on graduating from NC State this year with a major in zoology and minors in applied ecology and wildlife science. He like music, reading, and spending time with his new kitties Phoebe and Gus. His capstone project is studying differences in behavior between eastern box turtles in captivity and in the wild.

Tyler Musante (conservation intern, bottom left) is a rising senior at Elon University, majoring in environmental and ecological sciences. Some of his favorite tasks at Piedmont include tracking box turtles, raptor care, and helping present Piedmont’s animals through its educational programs. His capstone project is exploring new ways to provide enrichment for our resident raptor Ambassadors.

Alexandra Moehring (administrative intern, bottom right) is a graduate student at UNC Chapel Hill working on a Masters in Public Administration. When she's not working as a waitress, she enjoys working in her tomato garden, napping, and visiting with Pepper the opossum! Alex's capstone project is developing an updated operations manual for PWC.

Huge thanks to all our interns for their energy, creativity, and hard work this summer. We are so grateful for everything you've brought to PWC!

Interested in doing an internship at Piedmont Wildlife Center? Applications are open now through August 15th for our Fall 2022 wildlife conservation internships! Learn more and apply here.