(Medicine River Wildlife Centre)

By Sheldon Spackman

Who's there?

Medicine River Wildlife Centre’s new fundraiser a real hoot

May 19, 2020 | 4:30 PM

A new fundraising initiative launched by the Medicine River Wildlife Centre (MRWC) near Spruce View hopes to replace some of the income it’s lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The centre has introduced Front Yard Owl Visits, where for a minimum $200 donation staff will visit your yard with one of their education animal ambassadors, great horned owls Otis or Olive.

Each 10-minute visit will include a short presentation, an owl poster, an owl pellet for dissection, and a reusable bag.

Officials say the gift will be clean and placed on your lawn, all while respecting a minimum of two metres for physical distancing purposes.

For larger donations, you can also receive a set of children’s books, a stuffy, or Otis Gear kids’ leggings or beanie.

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MRWC executive director Carol Kelly says the pandemic has had a significant impact on not only their finances, but on their normal activities.

“We’re not connecting with the school kids anymore, we can’t go into classes and do our normal spring education programs, and we’re not connecting with the community in all the ways we would do it,” laments Kelly. “At trade shows, things like that. So we thought we could brighten people’s day by having an actual owl come to visit their front yard, while at the same time imparting some education.”

“We are losing income because of the lack of education programs,” adds Kelly. “So people donate a certain amount and then we leave them with a gift or things that they have purchased. We’ve got two owls and they get to visit with the owls and end up with a gift and some education.”

Kelly says their focus this time of year is how to live with wildlife in your own backyard.

“Things you should look for, hazards created that people don’t even realize they’re there,” she explains. “Simple things like covering your rain barrels. I had a bird nearly drown in a rain barrel, and we’ve had three incidents where people have been trimming bushes or trees and they’ve cut down trees to find that there are babies in a nest.”

She notes if people can help keep wildlife safe around their respective homes, it will help out the wildlife centre as well.

“The less patients that we have this year, the easier it will be for our smaller team to be able to make it through that busy season which is about to hit in June.”

Following the success of their first 11 Front Yard Owl Visits on Migratory Bird Day, May 9, Kelly says more are planned in the coming weeks. They include May 30 in Red Deer and Sylvan Lake, Jun. 13 in Rocky Mountain House and area, and Jul. 18 in Red Deer, Penhold and Innisfail.

“We’ve had people do it for their surprise birthday parties, for their kids,” Kelly shares. “We had one that was a memorial, so lots of different reasons why people would have us.”

Kelly says the MRWC has lost its three main ways of fundraising during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our education programs, our tourism for the summer, and our casino in the fall which is our main fundraiser for the year,” she points out. “So we’re trying to get creative and think of ways that we can replace that funding, but at the same time, remembering that there’s only very few staff here.”

They’re also short on interns this year because many of them come from out of country.

Kelly says the only areas of their facility currently open to the public are the children’s playground and nature trail. They are about to launch a new website, though, where people will be able to watch a live stream from their animal hospital.

To book a Front Yard Owl Visit or find out more about the centre, visit medicineriverwildlifecentre.ca.