2013 Year in Review: Kim Beard, Treatment Team volunteer
Because I started volunteering with the Treatment Team in January 2012, this month wraps up my second full year as a volunteer, and the experience continues to delight me.
Because I started volunteering with the Treatment Team in January 2012, this month wraps up my second full year as a volunteer, and the experience continues to delight me.
This year has been such an exciting and educational year for me; it was so hard to pick one opportunity to talk about. This year I have had the chance to work more hands-on with the animals and have released a number of our patients back into the wild myself!
Fall at the Wildlife Center of Virginia is an amazing time of year. Not only do the vibrant colors of the changing leaves create a picturesque environment, but it also marks the beginning of the raptor season.
“Intense learning experience” -- that’s what I was told this externship would entail at the Wildlife Center of Virginia, and they weren’t joking!
I can’t believe my time as an extern at the Wildlife Center of Virginia is coming to an end; eight weeks flies by when you work with amazing people, education animals, and patients.
“We have a surprise auction item”, said Ed Clark as a picture of a Peregrine Falcon came on the big screen. Little did I know that the auction item would turn into one of the most memorable moments of my life. “We are auctioning off the opportunity to release this falcon back into the wild at tomorrow’s release.” “Wow, that would be so …” was all I could think before my mom whipped around with this awesome smile on her face and she asked me if I wanted to do it. I said of course I would want to do that. I mean come on, how many people can say they have released a falcon back into the wild?
The past 13 weeks at the Wildlife Center of Virginia have been nothing short of amazing. I have been able to see summer turn into fall and the animals change along with the seasons.
The Wildlife Center of Virginia (WCV) admits thousands of patients each year consisting of a wide range of species.
If I could describe the Wildlife Center of Virginia in one word, it would be “education”. Everyone who works at the Center is willing to lend their knowledge to teach someone something they didn’t know before walking through the doors. From the tour groups on open-house days that learn about everything that goes into running the Center, to the volunteers, high-school apprentices, community service helpers, interns, and externs who learn the ins and outs of rehabilitation or veterinary medicine – everyone has something to learn and someone to teach them.
How many of you have actually had the opportunity to live out a lifelong dream? Well I finally have, or will have over the next few months. I have always been entranced by the natural world – so many wondrous things to see and experience. Plants, animals, birds, insects … all existing in their own unique way as they travel through their time on this earth. I am passionate about learning all I can and then finding ways to teach others about these wonders in a way that helps to build a deeper appreciation for the natural world. This, of course, lies at the heart of my dream.