You helped us soar past our July Bonus Day goal!

July Bonus Day 2023 is in the books! Thanks to your generosity, we received a total of $6,059 in donations, including matching funds from both GlobalGiving and our anonymous donor.

What will $6,059 accomplish here at Piedmont Wildlife Center?

• $2,334 will be offered in camp scholarships, which will allow 6 kids in need to attend a week-long session of camp at no cost to their families

• $2,010 will replace worn-out radio transmitters and receivers for our on-site box turtle research and get more people involved in our citizen science project

• $1,590 will defray transportation costs and purchase binoculars, field guides, and other supplies for afterschool programs at local public schools

• $125 will replace all the light bulbs in our reptile Ambassador Animals' enclosures... with enough left over to buy Parsley a bag of hay!

Summer is our busiest season at PWC, and it's also the time when we feel the impact of your generosity most. From our entire team, thank you for helping us soar past our $3,000 goal and turning your love of nature into action this July Bonus Day!

Tomorrow is July Bonus Day on GlobalGiving!

Summer camps, wildlife programs, backpacking trips, tours, outreach events - summer is our busiest season at Piedmont Wildlife Center. It's also the time when we're reminded daily why we work hard to connect people with nature:

• Seeing a kid who's afraid of getting dirty take their first step into the woods.

• Watching a family's eyes light up when they meet Apollo and realize the bird calling outside their apartment at night is a barred owl.

• Helping teens discover inner strength they never knew they had on a backpacking trip to the mountains.

As a small nonprofit, PWC relies on your support to make these magic moments possible - and tomorrow, Wednesday, July 12th, your gift can connect even more people with nature when you give to PWC on GlobalGiving.

This Wednesday, July 12th is July Bonus Day on GlobalGiving! Starting at 9 AM EST, GlobalGiving will match all donations of $100 or more made on their platform. The bigger the gift, the higher the match:

Donations of $100-$499 will be matched at 30%
Donations of $500-$749 will be matched at 40%
Donations of $750-$1,000 will be matched at 50%

As an extra bonus, an anonymous donor has offered an additional 100% match on the first $1,000 we receive on July 12th! Between GlobalGiving and this private match, your gift of $100 becomes $230... $500 becomes $1,200...  $750 becomes $1,875... and $1,000 becomes $2,500!

Can we count on your support this Wednesday, July 12th? Learn more about July Bonus Day and view our GlobalGiving projects below - then mark your calendars for July Bonus Day on July 12th!

Introducing Pancake the Gray Squirrel!

You might say our newest Ambassador Animal is a little... squirrelly. Give a warm Piedmont welcome to Pancake the eastern gray squirrel!

Pancake arrived at PWC after being seized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission from someone who kept her as a pet illegally. Because she's spent her entire life with humans, she never learned how to be a wild squirrel and can't be safely released into the wild.

The eastern gray squirrel is the state mammal of North Carolina. They’re also the most commonly observed of our 5 tree squirrel species. These bold and clever rodents are equipped with teeth (incisors) that grow continuously their entire lives. They keep them in shape by chewing on hard objects such as tree branches. Squirrels are opportunistic omnivores who famously love tree nuts, and will cache them in preparation for winter. Many of these nuts are never recovered, resulting in successfully planted trees! This makes squirrels important seed dispersers in the wild.

Not only is it illegal to keep squirrels (and other native wildlife) without a permit - they don't make good pets! Even a relatively tame squirrel like Pancake can do serious damage to fingers, furniture, and anything else they decide to bite. Squirrels also have complex dietary, space, enrichment, and health needs that are very difficult to meet in a household setting.

Please, if you find an abandoned baby squirrel, reach out to a licensed rehabber who can give them the care they need to successfully return to the wild. While some animals can't be released due to injuries or other issues, we believe every healthy wild creature deserves a chance at a full, rich life in their natural habitat.

Remember: Piedmont Wildlife Center is an environmental education and conservation nonprofit. We are NOT equipped to accept, treat, offer advice on, transport, or raise injured or orphaned wildlife. If you are in the Durham-Raleigh-Chapel Hill area and find a wild animal who needs help, please contact Our Wild Neighbors (919-428-0896) or one of these specialized organizations: Carolina Raptor Center, Carolina Waterfowl Rescue, or NC State Turtle Rescue Team. You can find additional resources at Animal Help Now and the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. It is illegal under North Carolina law to keep or attempt to raise wildlife without a permit.

5 (More) Black Naturalists You Should Know

Happy Juneteenth from Piedmont Wildlife Center! Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, TX learned from federal troops that they had been freed. This holiday holds special significance for PWC staff and leadership, both because of our commitment to inclusivity and because two of the sites where we operate (Leigh Farm Park and Blackwood Farm Park) were once plantations where enslaved people worked the land against their will.

As we move forward with a vision of justice and inclusivity, we believe it is important to share this history with visitors, campers, and staff, while also amplifying the stories of the Indigenous and enslaved people who have cared for this land over the centuries. Learn more at our Land Context page.

PWC’s office and camps are closed today in observation of Juneteenth. While we’re away, we want to turn the spotlight on 5 incredible Black naturalists, birders, and ecologists who are shaping the future of conservation in the United States - and beyond!

Miss our Black Birders Week post from last year? Here are 5 Black naturalists you should know.

1. Tykee James

As a teenager, Tykee James took a job as an environmental educator in his Philadelphia neighborhood, hoping to earn enough to buy a phone and a bike. But the experience gave him more than spending money – it gave him a passion for birds, conservation, and inclusion that continues to drive his career in environmental advocacy. Tykee now works in Washington, D.C. as Senior Government Relations Representative at The Wilderness Society, which works to protect wild public lands across the United States while promoting accessibility and inclusion in outdoor spaces. He is also President of the D.C. Audubon Society and leads regular bird walks on Capitol Hill for bipartisan groups of Congressional staff and legislators.

In addition to his conservation advocacy, Tykee works tirelessly to create a more inclusive, equitable culture in birding and beyond. He co-founded Amplify the Future, Freedom Birders, Birder’s Fund, and Black Birders Week, and has hosted several podcasts on the Wildlife Observer Network – which he also co-founded!

You can keep up with Tykee on Twitter (@Tykee_James) and Instagram (@tykeejames). Stay tuned for his newest project, Wild Thoughts, coming soon on Wildlife Media Network.

2. Murry Burgess

Wildlife biologist Murry Burgess is a PhD candidate in Fisheries, Wildlife, & Conservation Biology at NC State, where she studies the effects of light pollution on barn swallow chicks. Her research shows how being exposed to artificial light at night harms chicks’ metabolism by affecting their cortisol, melatonin, and glucose levels. These changes, in turn, may cause stress, elevated blood sugar levels, and difficulty sleeping – unhealthy conditions for growing birds, and yet another reason to turn off your lights at night!

In 2022, Murry’s experiences doing fieldwork as a Black woman in predominantly white, rural parts of the South led her to co-found Field Inclusive. Field Inclusive seeks to make fieldwork safer and more inclusive for all by raising awareness of social field safety issues and supporting biologists from marginalized backgrounds. Murry is also an author of two nature-themed children’s books.

Follow Murry (@murryloub) on Instagram, Twitter, or her website. You can also get involved with Field Inclusive by becoming a donor or signing up for their newsletter. Don’t forget to buy her book, Why Wolves Howl, for the young nature-lover in your life – and keep an eye out for Murry’s new book, Sparrow Learns Birds, coming soon!

3. Jerome Ford

Anyone who’s ever marveled at migrating raptors, wondered at wild geese flying south, or seen a rare songbird at their feeder owes a debt of gratitude to Jerome Ford. Since 2011, Jerome has been Assistant Director of the Migratory Bird Program at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where he’s responsible for putting federal bird protection laws (like the Migratory Bird Treaty) into action.

For Jerome, protecting birds also means protecting people. “If we pay attention, birds will help us understand where threats are, where the healthy habitats are,” he told Audubon Magazine in 2021. “So birds are critically important to our society, if we give them a chance and stop to look at what those benefits are. That’s what our program is trying to do, is to keep birds relevant and keep birds common to people.”

Learn more about Jerome by reading his Audubon Magazine feature from 2021, or watching “A Conversation With Jerome Ford” from Black Birders Week 2022 on Facebook.

4. Rue Mapp

Entrepreneur, author, speaker, public lands champion, hunter, clothing designer, lifelong adventurer: Rue Mapp is a true Renaissance woman of the outdoor industry. In 2009, she turned her lifelong passion for nature into a blog called Outdoor Afro. Outdoor Afro has since expanded into a nationally-recognized nonprofit whose mission is to “celebrate and inspire Black connections and leadership in nature.” Under Rue’s leadership, Outdoor Afro has connected more than 60,000 participants with nature through outdoor recreation, education, and conservation programs. Their annual offerings include Making Waves, which teaches children and their caregivers to swim, as well as leadership training programs and events in honor of Juneteenth and Black History Month.

For Rue, empowering Black communities to connect (or reconnect) with nature is especially important because of the history of violence against Black bodies in the outdoors. It’s also a powerful way to overcome differences. “We all have a connection to nature,” Rue told Andscape in 2020, “and we can talk about nature in the way that nature views us… The trees don’t know that you’re Black, the flowers are going to bloom no matter how much money is in your account. The birds are going to sing no matter your gender or political affiliation. In that way, we can have a very different conversation about what that connection to nature can teach us about being with one another.”

 Follow Rue (@ruemapp) on Instagram and Twitter, and Outdoor Afro (@outdoorafro) on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. You can also support Outdoor Afro’s life-changing work by donating or getting involved with an Outdoor Afro network near you. Be sure to grab a copy of Rue’s book, Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors!

5. Derrick Z. Jackson

Journalist Derrick Z. Jackson is best known for his versatile and insightful columns in the Boston Globe, where he wrote on topics ranging from race and politics to education and sports. One of his most enduring interests, however, is environmental justice. He currently holds a fellowship at the Union for Concerned Scientists (UCS), where he writes on climate, energy, and the relationship between science and democracy. His commentaries for UCS won first place in the Outdoor Writers Association of America’s 2022 Excellence in Craft Awards – just the latest award in this Pulitzer Prize finalist’s long and celebrated career!

Derrick is also an accomplished birder and wildlife photographer. His favorite photography subject? Puffins! For decades, Derrick has led the way in documenting the work of Project Puffin, a National Audubon Society conservation initiative that celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. He has co-authored two books on the subject: Project Puffin: The Improbable Quest to Bring a Beloved Seabird Back to Egg and The Puffin Plan: Restoring Seabirds to Egg Rock and Beyond.

Read Derrick’s latest writing on climate and science at his UCS blog or follow him (@DerrickZJackson) on Twitter. His books on Project Puffin are available wherever books are sold.

Mushrooms, coral, & Memorial Day

Our new conservation intern Ren recently came across a magnificent patch of “chicken of the woods” mushrooms (above) in the woods at Leigh Farm Park. This Memorial Day, Executive Director Karen McCall reflects on the connection between mushrooms, coral, and memory:

I have salt water in my blood. The ocean has always been a huge draw to me. My ancestors were sea captains. I lived on my own and worked sailboats in the Caribbean for several years, utilizing the wind, breathing the salt air, soaking up the sun, and snorkeling almost every day. The creatures that live in the sea captured my imagination, especially the corals. They are animals that are the structure for reefs teeming with life, vital to the Earth’s existence - and, consequently, ours. I miss the ocean and its creatures every day.

But then something magical happens here in the woods that connects me to the corals I long to see. Yesterday, our new summer conservation intern, Ren, came in from turtle-tracking excited because she stumbled upon a beautiful display of mushrooms! This beautiful sea of mushrooms Ren shared with us, was on land, growing near an oak tree in the woods not far from our office. The color, shape and size brought the vision of scroll coral into my mind. The mushroom’s fruiting body felt fleshy but firm. There were shallow grooves or wrinkles running from the edges to the base of the fan shaped cap. The underside was smooth as opposed to the gills like portabella or button mushrooms have. Breaking a piece apart revealed its similarity to cooked chicken. I could envision fish lurking under the “fan blades” just like they do with scroll coral. Memories of my time in the garden under the sea flashed through my mind as I soaked in this stunning mushroom. 

Then other memories flooded my mind. Memories of the many people with whom I shared snorkeling and diving outings in the Caribbean; of my ancestors who sailed the seas; of my Dad, who passed away a few years ago; and of my mentor, whose celebration of life I attended a couple of weeks ago. All species working together in the cycle of life, transforming into another, helping us give back, survive, connect.

We spread my Dad’s ashes in the ocean.

The mushrooms help break down trees that have passed.

My mentor, Peetie, had a house on the Neuse River. We went there one weekend, and I had the privilege to share our love of the water, the beaches, birds, trees. At Peetie’s service, her family passed out the Peetie Pledge with tips on recycling, green burial, and reusing items instead of discarding them so we can continue to care for and protect the earth so all species can survive.

Peetie continues to teach us, connect us...

As the coral connects us by absorbing carbon, harboring fish, sharing its beauty…

As the mushroom provides shelter and food for slugs, snails, turtles, insects, people, and transforms us into soil so we can bloom again. 

This Memorial Day, take a moment to look at the creatures, soil, sky, stars and clouds that surround us. See if you can feel the spirit of those who have gone on before us and continue to live on within us. Share your gratitude for all they did to protect us, sacrifice us, provide for us, and pave the way for us to have better lives, more opportunities, room to thrive.

We are all connected.

— Karen McCall, Executive Director