Adam Bramburger
Beaver Staff
The clear, sunny skies Sunday were quite conducive to Mother’s Day visiting, but some of the most sought after appearances in town were not with flesh-and-blood kin.
Or, perhaps, several generations decided they wanted to try something a bit out of the ordinary together as a family. Regardless, the long lines of cars on both sides of County Rd. 2 west of Napanee showed that many wanted to see some of the young guests staying at the Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. they were coming and going in all directions at a property that’s usually off limits for visits and tours. The occasion was Sandy Pines’ annual Baby Shower fundraising event.
While vendors, a petting zoo, and live musicians immediately caught the eye, it was shoulder-to-shoulder inside the clinic. Families could stop to see veterinary interns cuddling baby squirrels and feeding adolescent raccoons. Down the hall, volunteer Susan Irving was discussing turtle rehabilitation.
Irving says hundreds of turtles pass through the facility each year and with the status of species in the province now, work done at Sandy Pines is essential conservation.
“Squirrels are important, but we’re not going to run out of squirrels. We may run out of turtles,” she said. “All of the turtle species in Ontario, except for one, are considered at risk by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.”
According to Irving, many of the turtles brought into Sandy Pines were injured in vehicle collisions. Some of those injuries, she said, would kill warm-blooded animals, but the reptiles can survive. While many times, they have shell injuries, some have neurological damage, spine problems, or other wounds.
The animals receive care, then rehabilitation, moving from a dry surface to larger tanks before they are released into the wild.
“When they’re healed, they’re pretty much ready to go,” she said, explaining the MNRF has strict criteria that turtles will go back within a kilometre of where they were found. In the cases where mothers can’t be returned, Sandy Pines may incubate their eggs and those hatchlings, too, will be returned to the same location.
“It’s like if I live in this wetland and I’m healthy and you live in that wetland and you’re healthy, we don’t want to chance mixing that up,” she told young audience members. “It’s like mixing our toothbrushes. We don’t want to do that.”
Like Irving, volunteers working with various species at Sandy Pines shared their areas of expertise. One explained how the centre tries to shield deer from contact with people so they’ll return to the wild wary of human interaction. Another explained how habitats are designed differently for the needs of geese and ducks.
Assistant director Leah Birmingham said good weather and strong public interest after a devastating fire in January helped to make Sunday a success.
“We needed that good day. The past two years in a row, it had been raining,” she said. “It’s a morale low for volunteers when we have bad weather. Everyone was very excited and all the volunteers were happy with the day and amount of people. We were able to educate about what Sandy Pines does.”
Judging by entries in a raffle that greeted guests as they walked up the drive, Birmingham estimates over 1,000 people attended. That is the largest turnout in memory. An initial count of their donations suggests over $20,000 was raised.
Birmingham said she felt guests might have dug a little deeper in hopes of seeing a new barn built.
“I’m sure many people wanted to see the difference. The people coming back this year likely noticed a gaping hole where the barn was,” she said. “They’ll be excited to see how we do when we get it built.”
The funds raised with assist that project as well as day-to-day rehabilitation efforts.
She said that rebuild, complete with an aquatic centre, should be started by the end of this month. The hope is to have it in place by fall when more waterbirds are in need of attention.
Beyond the reactions from the public, Birmingham said the Baby Shower event is always one volunteers look forward to as well.
“A lot of previous interns were there and they’re always helpful at sharing the information they’ve learned over the years,” she said. “This weekend is a reunion of sorts for the people supporting Sandy Pines. They always show up for the Baby Shower, so it’s a great day internally and externally. The volunteers don’t always see each other, so events like this bring everyone together.”
Several new vendors took part this year alongside returning contributors like Caitie McNichols, who brought her young animals for the petting zoo and allowed young visitors chances to pet and feed them, including a week-old calf. She said the animals were well received.
Birmingham credited volunteers Marsha Donald and Janet Drew for their months of hard work in organizing all aspects of the big day.