Program:
Wildlife/Environmental Outreach and Education
- Budget:
-
$19,975
- Category:
-
Animal-Related
- Population Served:
-
General Public/Unspecified
-
Females, all ages or age unspecified
-
Males, all ages or age unspecified
Program Description:
On-site and off-site programs with live nonreleaseable birds of prey promoting the human-animal bond, encouraging respect and appreciation of native wildlife, how it enhances our quality of life, and how we can help preserve and protect it. Engaging our youth, our seniors, and others in a mutually beneficial relationship with our wildlife.
Program Long-Term Success:
Our goal is to preserve through education a vanishing way of life in the Pikes Peak region, including one of our greatest natural resources-our indigenous wildlife. We hope to build a legacy of learning, appreciation, kindness, and care of all living creatures and the environment we share with them.
Program Short-Term Success:
Repeat requests for our programs continues and in 2009 due to budget cuts county-wide, we experienced a 100% increase in request for our educational programs.
Program Success Monitored by:
Documented data, program attendee questionnaires.
Program Success Examples:
People know why bird and bat boxes are a preferable alternative to toxic poisons. People know there are no vampire bats native to Colorado and will hopefully quit beating bats to a pulp out of ignorance and fear. In our rural/agricultural area, people know how and why local wildlife, including birds of prey, are beneficial to their livelihood. People know what they can do as individuals in their own back yards to help wildlife (native landscaping, etc.) Scouts are completing their Eagle and Silver Award projects while actively participating in helping their community, seeing the results of their efforts (some come back each year to view their past projects here.) Program growth is a success...
Program:
Wildlife Rehabilitation for Release Back to Nature
- Budget:
-
$28,275
- Category:
-
Animal-Related
- Population Served:
-
General Public/Unspecified
-
General Public/Unspecified
-
General Public/Unspecified
Program Description:
Each year we provide rescue, rehab, and educational services to over 2000 individuals. From home-based facilities, we provide hands-on care to approximately 300 animals annually, and that number continues to grow. We have no paid staff, limited space and resources, and we are not funded by any agency, relying on donations and small foundation grants to provide services. Quality animal care is our priority, along with educating the public in concerns regarding wildlife (disease including rabies, parasites including fleas and ticks, and worms, etc.) that can be passed to them and their pets. We care for small and medium mammals, turtles and snakes, songbirds, water birds, and birds of prey. As one of the largest facilities in the state in terms of outdoor wildlife housing, we accept wildlife for rehab from other rehabilitators and rehab facilities.
Program Long-Term Success:
We would consider long-term success as informed people making informed decisions about wildlife resolution and conflict. A HUGE success would be a state-of-the art, model wildlife rehabilitation and education facility in our area (Colorado currently offers no such centers, as other states do) to care for our wildlife, educate our community, and help strengthen our local economy by bringing tourism (we're 30 minutes from the Colorado Springs airport) to our area. Long-term success would be reintroducing declining species into areas where they are being depleted. Long-term success would be developing our communities and our roadways to help preserve wildlife (migration corridors, raptor-friendly utility lines, etc.) Long-term success would be cohabitating responsibly with wildlife and preserving our fragile ecosystem, preserving our short-grass prairie land where we are located, and our environment overall.
Program Short-Term Success:
Short-term success would be financial sustainability, and we need financial help (paid regular staff) to accomplish this. Short-term success would be continuing this work we've done for the last 15 years, successfully in our depressed economy.
Program Success Monitored by:
Wildlife intake/release; number of people and families served, growth in all program areas including volunteers, financial sustainability.
Program Success Examples:
Success/release rate exceeding national average; people receiving prompt and friendly service; maintaining our high standard of animal care, growth in all program areas.
Program:
Volunteerism!
- Budget:
-
$3,500
- Category:
-
Animal-Related
- Population Served:
-
General Public/Unspecified
-
General Public/Unspecified
-
General Public/Unspecified
Program Description:
For the last 10 years we have been an all-volunteer organization; we the Board/Rehabilitators, veterinarians and staff, wildlife transport volunteers, facility/education/fundraising volunteers, and youth groups (Scouts, students, interns) as volunteers. The Colorado Division of Wildlife provides trained wildlife transport volunteers who transport wildlife from location found to and from veterinarians and our facility, as well as conduct releases with the animals' happy finders! We have a steady, reliable, committed group of volunteers, and this group grows annually. Many have been with us 10 years, going on 11!
Program Long-Term Success:
Repeat and increased growth in volunteer program, particularly with educational program conduction.
Program Short-Term Success:
Same as above!
Program Success Monitored by:
Documented volunteer hours and miles.
Program Success Examples:
As of November 10, 2009, volunteer miles exceeded 14, 543 and volunteer hours exceeded 7413, at an estimated dollar value (Independent Sector) of $150, 113!