Community Spotlight: Rachel Lithman & NetApp Serves

If you’ve visited us at Leigh Farm Park recently, you may have noticed that some of our raptor enclosures are getting on in years – especially the standalone enclosure that used to house Otus, our elderly flightless screech owl. After Otus passed this summer, our Conservation Team knew we’d need to rebuild it before another bird could live there. Luckily, we’ve had extra helping hands on this project from NetApp Serves – including this month's Community Spotlight, Rachel Lithman!

Rachel Lithman grew up here in Durham, NC, and loves that she can call the Bull City home. She works as a technical writer at NetApp, a global data infrastructure company with a branch office in nearby Research Triangle Park.

Luck led Rachel to volunteer with Piedmont Wildlife Center. NetApp’s volunteer program, NetApp Serves, enables their employees to support causes they care about by granting them 40 hours of paid Volunteer Time Off to volunteer with local nonprofits. The company also donates an additional $15 per volunteer hour to the charity of the employee’s choice!

Rachel happened to search NetApp’s volunteer portal for outdoor opportunities at just the right time to find PWC’s call for volunteers to help re-build our screech owl enclosure. As an avid nature lover, Rachel knew this would be a great way to give back to the wildlife she loves. “Nature is so important to me and to all of us,” she says. “I love walking outdoors, gardening, showing my son local wildlife, and just being one with nature.”

Over the last few weeks, Rachel has worked closely with PWC’s Conservation Team and former Executive Director Gail Abrams to tear down our aging enclosure and begin constructing a new one. As of November 15th, the new enclosure is nearly finished! (See pictures of the enclosure in progress below.) Rachel’s favorite part of volunteering with PWC? “My favorite part of volunteering has been working with Noelle, Gail, Kaitlin, Cam, and Briana,” she says, “and learning from you all.”

When Rachel isn’t working at NetApp or volunteering, she enjoys traveling the world, hanging out with her cats Orion and Cleo, and spending time exploring the Earth’s beauty. She is passionate about preserving natural landscapes and wildlife, both in NC and beyond! Her favorite animals are owls, falcons, and big cats of all kinds.

We feel so grateful for the help Rachel and NetApp have given us this fall. Building a new raptor enclosure can be a long and expensive process, costing more than $5,000 in materials and months of physical labor. Volunteers like Rachel allow us to complete this project in a fraction of this time, and NetApp has generously offered to cover the cost of building materials. Their support will directly improve the lives of our Ambassador Animals – and, in turn, allow us to connect even more people with nature in 2024 and beyond!

Thank you again, Rachel, for volunteering to help us with such a huge project. We’re so grateful to have you in our community, and we hope to see you and other NetApp employees back at PWC again in the future!

In Memory: Pepper the Virginia Opossum

We’re deeply saddened to report that Pepper the Virginia opossum passed away last Saturday, November 4th. At about 3.5 years old, Pepper lived nearly twice as long as wild opossums, who typically live only 1-2 years. Starting in October, our staff and volunteers noticed Pepper showing decreased interest in food and sleeping more than usual. She declined further at the beginning of November, becoming uncharacteristically lethargic and refusing to eat. When it became apparent that she would not improve, we made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize her to prevent further suffering.

The fact that Pepper retained a high quality of life until the very end is a testament to the hard work of our Conservation Team, especially Kaitlin Saxton (Research & Husbandry Coordinator). Over the last year and a half, Kaitlin made huge improvements to our opossums’ diet, adding more calcium-rich foods like yogurt, broccoli, and kale to prevent metabolic bone disease. She also put together a ‘possum playground outside the cabin so Pepper could enjoy supervised outdoor enrichment - and even built a new, larger indoor opossum enclosure from scratch with help from Camryn Jefferson (Conservation Assistant)! Because of these improvements to her care, Pepper remained active, inquisitive, and healthy until her final days.

Pepper and her sister were found as orphaned babies in early 2020. They were brought to Our Wild Neighbors in Hillsborough, NC, where they were given the care they needed to grow up strong and healthy. Her sister was released after a few months, but Pepper remained so small that she wouldn’t have survived in the wild. She was deemed non-releasable and came to live as an Ambassador Animal at Piedmont Wildlife Center in November 2020.

Over the 3 years she was with us, Pepper went on countless programs where she met hundreds of students, campers, and adults. Her inquisitive and calm personality (not to mention her adorable face!) helped teach them not to fear these beneficial, often-misunderstood animals. Pepper was also popular online, receiving the second-highest number of “adopters” through our Adopt-an-Ambassador program. Most of her adopters were from out of state, including Georgia, Pennsylvania, and even the United Kingdom! Pepper educated so many people during her lifetime, and we are forever grateful for her time with her.

If you feel moved to make a gift in Pepper’s memory, you may do so below. Thank you, Pepper, for working so hard to connect people with the wonders of native NC wildlife. We hope you’re enjoying yummy snacks, interesting smells, and cozy naps over the Rainbow Bridge.

Community Spotlight: Camryn Jefferson

Did you know that during our 2022-23 fiscal year, PWC conservation educators taught 5,232 kids, teens, and adults about wildlife? As demand for our wildlife programs grows, our Conservation Team is growing, too. Join us in welcoming Camryn Jefferson, our newest Conservation Assistant!

Cam grew up in Wilmington, NC, and attended NC State University, where she earned a B.S. in Zoology. While in college, she conducted research at the North Carolina Zoo, where she studied zoo-housed giraffe behavior and welfare. After graduating, she worked for Alabama Audubon, researching human disturbances to nesting shorebirds.

Cam brings a wealth of wildlife research and animal husbandry experience to her role here at PWC. She works closely with Kaitlin Saxton, Research & Husbandry Coordinator, to make sure our Ambassador Animals receive the best possible diet, enrichment, and housing. They recently finished building a new, larger enclosure for Pepper the opossum, and have started constructing an outdoor box turtle enclosure as well.

"At PWC, you never know what each day will entail," says Kaitlin. "Cam has welcomed every challenge and has an eagerness to learn and improve that makes her a perfect fit for Conservation Team!"

When not studying animals, Cam loves hiking, gardening, and scuba diving. Her favorite Ambassador Animal at PWC? Jade the eastern rat snake!

Thank you, Cam, for everything you've brought to PWC so far. We love having you around the cabin, and we're so excited to see how our Conservation department grows with you as a valued team member.

Welcome Juniper and Wink!

Piedmont Wildlife Center recently welcomed two new raptors to our Ambassador Animal family! Both birds came to us from Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter in Brunswick County, NC, where they were treated for their injuries and deemed unreleasable. Give a big PWC welcome to Juniper the great-horned owl and Wink the red-tailed hawk!

Juniper the Great-Horned Owl

Juniper was found with a wing injury when she was still a nestling. The person who found her tried to care for her, but didn't have the proper training or permits to prepare her for life in the wild. She was eventually given to Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter in Oak Island, NC, where she was deemed unreleasable because of her lack of fear around people. Juniper came to PWC this fall and will spend the rest of her life educating people about great-horned owls.

Because Juniper was cared for improperly as a young bird, she became semi-imprinted on humans. She doesn't fully understand that she's an owl - she thinks she's a human! Because of this, you may hear her "talk" to you if you visit her enclosure at Leigh Farm Park. These chirping sounds are similar to the noises a baby owl would use to call to their mother.

Wink the Red-Tailed Hawk

Wink was found as a juvenile with his right eye missing - hence his name! This kind of injury is a big deal for a hawk. Hawks rely on their keen sight to hunt prey, so losing an eye can be deadly. Unfortunately, this kind of injury is common in young, inexperienced hawks who don't yet know how to avoid injuries while hunting.

A hawk who loses an eye can easily die from starvation. Luckily, Wink was found by kind-hearted individuals and brought to Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter on Oak Island, NC, where he was deemed non-releasable. He came to PWC this fall, and will be a great Ambassador for his species.

If you find an injured or orphaned animal, please don't attempt to raise or care for them yourself. Owls and hawks are cute, but they're not pets! Not only is it illegal to keep wildlife without a permit, but this can make it impossible for them to return to the wild - and can even lead to worse injuries or death.

Instead, call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator who can give them the best chance at a wild life. Piedmont Wildlife Center is NOT involved in rehab and is not equipped to accept, treat, transport, or raise injured/orphaned wildlife. If you’ve found an animal in need of help, we highly recommend Our Wild Neighbors and Turtle Rescue Team in the Triangle area.

Let's all do our part to keep wildlife wild!

You helped raise $5,173 for nature connection!

Our hearts are full this season. With help from nature lovers like you, our Autumn Adventures online auction raised $5,173 for our environmental education and conservation programs. That's 103% of our $5,000 goal!

Whether you contributed an auction item, placed a bid, bought something, donated, or just spread the word, thank you for sharing your love for wildlife with us last month. We're so grateful for your support - and excited to put your generosity to work connecting people with nature!

Winners will receive an e-mail from our staff this week with details about receiving or redeeming your item/experience. Thank you, again, for your support. From our team to you, we hope your autumn is full of adventure!

With gratitude,
Your friends at Piedmont Wildlife Center

Join us in "howling" one final THANK YOU to our 2023 auction sponsors: Haw Honey, Deep Roots Natives, Rachel's Native Plants, NewSoil Vermiculture, Carrboro Coffee Roasters, Eno Animal Hospital, Domestic Doodles, Wellsport Bodyworks, Sarah Haggerty Consulting, The Lift Fly Fishing, Sweet Serendipity, Arachne Weavings, and Leaf & Wing. Go support these incredible local businesses this season!