3 Ways to Support PWC this Valentine's Day

This Valentine's Day, Pumpkin the opossum invites you to celebrate your love for wildlife, conservation, and outdoor education by supporting Piedmont Wildlife Center. Whether you're head-over-heels for romance or would rather say "not today, Cupid," you can make a big difference this month - while having a blast learning about native NC wildlife!

Keep scrolling for 3 easy (and fun!) ways to support nature connection at PWC this Valentine's Day. Thank you for sharing your love for nature with us!

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1. Enter our Valentine's Day raffle for a chance to win a pet portrait, animal encounters, and more!

$625 down, $3375 to go! Help us reach our goal of $4,000 before 11:59 PM EST on February 15th by joining Love at First Flight, an online raffle for Piedmont Wildlife Center. You can purchase entries on our RallyUp raffle page for a chance to win the prize(s) of your choice:

• One Week of Summer Camp at PWC

• A Custom Oil Painting of Your Pet

• A Private Raptor Tour

• An Opossum Squishmallow Plush

• A Private Turtle Trek

• Two $50 Apple Gift Cards

• A Private Animal Encounter

Tickets start at $10 for 10 entries. The more you buy, the more you save - and the better your chances of winning your favorite prize! Winners will be drawn on Friday, February 16th.

Void where prohibited. Piedmont Wildlife Center is an IRS-designated 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Proceeds from this raffle will support the care of our Ambassador Animals, provide camp scholarships to kids in need, and help sustain our award-winning environmental education programs.

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2. Surprise your sweetheart with a personalized video from one of our Ambassador Animals...

Celebrate your sweetie's love of wildlife by gifting them an Ambassador Animal sponsorship! Our Valentine's Day "adoption" packages include a personalized video and virtual Valentine's Day card from Pumpkin the opossum, Shelly the box turtle, Wink the red-tailed hawk, or Parsley the rabbit. Your loved one will also receive an adoption certificate and an information packet about your chosen Ambassador.

This $30 sponsorship package makes a great Valentine's Day gift for the nature lover in your life, whether they live nearby or across the globe!

Please note: Packages must be ordered by noon on Monday, February 12th in order to be received by Valentine’s Day. Any order placed after noon on Monday, February 12th will be delivered by February 23rd.

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3. ...or unleash your petty side by feeding our Ambassador Animals a rat, worm, or veggie in "honor" of your ex!

Not feeling the love this Valentine's Day? We get it. Put your spite to work for a good cause with a "Petty Pals" Ambassador Animal sponsorship!

Your $30 sponsorship will feed Pumpkin the opossum or Wink the red-tailed hawk a tasty rodent in honor of the "rat" in your life. Feeling a little more earthy? You can also opt to sponsor a superworm for Shelly the box turtle, or a veggie snack for Parsley the rabbit! Whatever option you choose, you'll receive a personalized video of your Ambassador Animal eating their snack, plus a virtual Valentine's Day card, an information packet, and an "adoption" certificate.

Please note: Packages must be ordered by noon on Monday, February 12th in order to be received by Valentine’s Day. Any order placed after noon on Monday, February 12th will be delivered by February 23rd.

Community Spotlight: Irene Faust

This month, we’re highlighting a member of Piedmont Wildlife Center’s dedicated and hardworking Board of Directors! Meet Irene Faust, board member and raptor care volunteer.

Irene joined PWC as a raptor volunteer in Fall 2022, shortly after moving to the Triangle from southern California with her husband and three rescue dogs to live closer to her daughter. Last year, she decided to get even more involved by joining our board of directors! As a retired primary care physician, Irene brings her passion for human (and animal) wellbeing to everything she does at PWC.

Irene’s interest in public health and animal welfare has taught her the importance of empowering people to protect our environment. “I believe that the more we do to educate people, young and old, about conservation, the more likely we are to have a world for our grandchildren,” she says. “As a physician, I know how important interaction with the world and with nature is to our mental health.”

While the focus of Irene’s work at PWC has shifted since becoming a board member, she continues to volunteer with Conservation Team as one of our raptor feeders. “I have still not lost my awe at seeing these birds up close,” Irene says. “They have encouraged me to read more about owls and other birds. I love watching the public watch the birds, and hope that it motivates them to be involved in conservation.”

Irene’s favorite Ambassador Animal at PWC? Juniper the great-horned owl, because “she looks so cool and has such fuzzy toes!”

When she’s not writing our end-of-year letter, attending board meetings, or caring for our raptor Ambassadors, Irene enjoys hiking on the Triangle’s many amazing trails. “Since moving here, we’ve enjoyed Umstead and the Eno parks, along with some local trails,” says Irene. “I can walk to University Lake from my house through the woods and along a creek so I can watch birds and turtles.”

We’re so grateful to have you on our board, Irene! Thank you for all the ways you’ve helped us connect people with nature over the last year and a half. We can’t wait to see how you help PWC grow in the future.

In Memory: Miracle the Dove

Our Conservation Team has had a rough start to 2024. We are heartbroken to announce that Miracle, our frizzled ringneck dove, passed away last week on January 2nd. He was 16 years old.

Miracle was born in 2007 to a pair of doves kept at a library as education animals. His parents always laid two eggs each year, and their caretakers would remove the eggs before they hatched. One year, unknown to the library staff, the pair laid an additional egg – which hatched into Miracle! The library donated Miracle to “Birdman” Dave, and Piedmont Wildlife Center adopted Miracle from Dave in 2009.

While ringneck doves are domesticated birds not native to North Carolina, Miracle played a very important role in our animal programming. Unlike our raptors, which do not enjoy touch from humans, Miracle happily accepted pats from both PWC staff and the public. Getting to meet a gentle, patient bird up-close was an inspiring educational moment for students at the schools he visited. His unique characteristics helped our educators teach about albinism, feathers, bird anatomy, and responsible pet ownership, among other topics.

Even adults found Miracle inspiring. Many visitors at outreach events told us that Miracle was the first bird they’d ever touched!

Miracle’s sweet-but-sassy personality made him a favorite among our staff and volunteers. As the “training bird” for our Raptor Team, Miracle gave new raptor trainers valuable experience holding and transferring a bird before moving on to handle our hawks and owls. He also kept our office staff in line, diligently interrupting meetings with his cackling call and overseeing important computer work from staff members’ shoulders.

If you would like to make a gift in Miracle’s memory, you may do so at the link below or at https://www.piedmontwildlifecenter.org/donate. Thank you for helping us keep him happy, healthy, enriched, and curious about the world for the last 14 years. We miss you, little buddy.

In Memory: Arlo the Eastern Screech Owl

We are so sad to share that Arlo, our eastern screech owl, passed away unexpectedly last month. Arlo came to us in October 2022 from Nature’s Nanny Wildlife Rehabilitation in Chesapeake, VA, where he’d been deemed non-releasable after sustaining head trauma and an eye injury in a collision with a van. His calm temperament on the glove (and adorable fluffiness!) quickly made him a favorite of our raptor handling team.

Our staff and volunteers work hard to give our Ambassador Animals the best quality of life possible. Because we only work with non-releasable wildlife, however, we understand that many of our animals come to us with permanent injuries that may ultimately shorten their lifespans. After speaking with our vet team and other experts, we believe Arlo’s neurological issues played a role in his passing.

During the year he was with us, Arlo met hundreds of kids and adults at school programs, outreach events, field trips, and raptor tours. His story helped us teach the importance of coexisting responsibly with wildlife, and gave nature lovers of all ages an opportunity to learn about the smallest owl species native to the Durham area.

Arlo may have been a small owl, but we know he had a big impact on our team and the communities we serve. Whether you worked with Arlo as a volunteer, met him at a program, or donated to our Wildlife Ambassador fund, thank you for helping us share our little friend with the world. If you would like to make a gift in Arlo’s memory, you may do so at the link below or at https://www.piedmontwildlifecenter.org/donate

(Note: Piedmont Wildlife Center focuses on education and conservation, and does NOT rehabilitate injured or orphaned wildlife. If you’ve found a wild animal who needs help, please contact Our Wild Neighbors at 919-428-0896)

Community Spotlight: Dave "Crescent" Cook

What makes Piedmont Wildlife Center's outdoor education programs the Best Summer Camp in Durham? It could be the supportive, close-knit community among our campers and staff. It could also be our hands-on approach to nature education through fun skill-building activities and games. Maybe it's that we get to use some of the best parks in the Triangle as our classroom, or the occasional exciting visit with our Ambassador Animals. Or maybe it's how much fun we have climbing trees and wading in creeks!

But at the end of the day, it's our amazing staff (and their passion for sharing the wonders of the natural world) who really set our camps apart. This month, we're celebrating an educator who goes above and beyond to help our campers connect with nature: Dave Cook, better known by his camp name Crescent!

A longtime outdoor educator, Crescent has spent most of his life here in the Piedmont, learning its plants, animals, and ways. He joined our staff as a specialty counselor in Summer 2023 because, in his words, he wanted to "help give children the opportunity to develop a relationship with nature." Crescent quickly impressed the rest of our team with his vast knowledge, musical talents, and ability to inspire campers! When summer camp ended, Crescent opted to stay on with us as a lead counselor in our Homeschool in the Wild program.

Crescent's favorite part of working with our campers is their enthusiasm for life. His favorite outdoor skill to teach at camp? "Fire," Crescent says. "Definitely fire." When he's not leading camp at PWC, Crescent enjoys playing music, cooking, reading books and poetry, and wandering. He also enjoys connecting with nature by walking outdoors. While he likes all animals, his favorite bird is the crow!

Thank you, Crescent, for sharing your expertise, mentorship, and sense of fun with us this year. We're so grateful to have you on our team, and we know our campers have grown so much learning from you.