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| The "Almost Monthly" NEWC Newsletters |
NEWC Newsletter Summer 2008  Adobe ® PDF Format
NEWC Newsletter Winter/Spring 2008 Adobe ® PDF Format NEWC Newsletter Adobe ® PDF
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| NEWC thumbnail |
The New England Wildlife Center was founded in 1983 by a group of veterinarians at the Hingham Animal Clinic.
In 1985 the Wildlife Center expanded it's operations and moved to the Hingham
Ammunition Dump located in Bare Cove Park. There it had access to a bunker,
a house and a building for education. To the left is the original building that
was used for teaching and is now used as our clinic. 1985 was also the first
year that the Center held summer camps. Originally the camps were called Summer
Safari..in later years they would be called THE SECRET OF THE
CALLING CROW, WHERE'S FRED'S HEAD? and THE SECRET OF THE ORB.
In 1989 Greg Mertz , D.V.M. was hired as Executive Director to further expand the many programs and services that the Center was offering.
1993 was our first Walkathon and Children's Fair. It was a huge success with clowns, amusements, crafts, games, cotton candy, raffles, hayrides, and pony rides.
Our Science and Nature Programs were initiated in the early 90's. Programs such as Birds of Prey, How Things Fly, The Wonderful World of Water, and Forest Animals empowered students of all ages to observe and investigate their environment and the wildlife around them. Our innovative SEVENS education program took them one step further into the environment. AWASH! (introduced in 2003) and AS CLEAR AS MUD (introduced in 2004) built on all previous experiences. NEWC's education programs now reach over 5,000 students a year. Since our founding, more than 100,000 students have benefited from our education programs!
The Wildlife Medicine Internship Program was introduced in the 1993-1994 school year. This highly successful program has trained over 300 graduate and undergraduate students in wildlife medicine, medical techniques and comparative anatomy. In 2002, this program was expanded internationally with our first two students coming here from the Bahamas and Tobago.
Through the years the Center's staff has collaborated with other environmental and animal groups to address emerging issues resulting in such initiatives as a state-wide toxin study, a public health study and action plan implemented on a local pond, a specimen preparation monitoring system with local public health officials on Rabies and West Nile Virus and the administration of an experimental "birth control" vaccine for deer with the Humane Society of the United States.
Over 25,000 volunteer hours have been logged in caring for our animals, in research, in assisting with education programs, in providing office support, and in maintaining grounds. Also, our staff, interns and volunteers answer over 10,000 telephone calls every year from individuals with questions about wildlife and zoonotic diseases.
Since 1994 NEWC has produced over 250 educational 1/2 hour television programs. This program, New England's Wild Legacy, has involved our staff, interns, volunteers, campers, board members and guests.
Since 1983 the New England Wildlife Center has treated over 48,000 wild
animals representing over 225 species of wildlife spanning invertebrate to vertebrate groups. Approximately 67% are birds, 29% are mammals, 4% are reptiles. All animals, regardless of species receive the same quality medical care. All animals successfully rehabilitated are released back into the wild.
100% of all patients provide a learning experience.
The future...
The New England Wildlife Center is in the midst of a capital campaign to build
the Thomas E. Curtis Wildlife Hospital and Education Center. You can see that we’ve come a long way since 1983. Please consider making a donation to the Center. Don't take the wildlife around your home for granted. They
are like the canaries in the mines. They are the monitors of our natural world.
Help us to continue to help them! |
| Facts About the Center’s Hospital |
225 species of wildlife spanning invertebrate
to vertebrate groups are treated by hospital staff
all animals, regardless of species receive the same quality
medical care
Each year over 3,300 patients are treated, 67% are birds,
29% are mammals, 4 % are reptiles and amphibians
All animals successfully rehabilitated are released. 100%
of all patients provide a learning experience.
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