Every January the Wildlife In Need Center holds a celebration to show our appreciation for our amazing volunteers. This party is all about our volunteers and recognizing the hard work they do all year long. This year we were excited to host the party in our own gathering room here at the center!

The night is filled with food, drinks and lots of fun. Staff gives a presentation thanking all our wonderful volunteers and also awards the new Volunteer of the Year. This year the award went to Christine Fuller. Christine’s 2011 hours totaled 244.5 hours (average volunteer will clock in about 200 hours per year). Since becoming a volunteer in 2009 she has come to WINC with a wonderful attitude every shift; lifting the spirits of both staff and the resident ambassadors. Staff is lucky enough to encounter her wonderful attitude twice a week. Christine is here at the center every Saturday morning and has stepped up to help on Tuesday afternoons since the beginning of last summer. She gives incredible kindness to our patients and her fellow team members. Her heart has a big warm place for wildlife and it shows! Christine also helps at other WINC events including our dog cookie cutting party to make cookies for the World’s Greatest Cookie Sale.

Christine is dedicated, reliable, and has a great attitude. The center would not be the same without her and we are very grateful to have her as part of the Wildlife In Need Center’s volunteer team.  Thank you, Christine for all that you do. Congratulations on being 2011 Volunteer of the Year!

Interested in volunteering? The center is always looking for more volunteers! We have volunteering opportunities in animal care, grounds and maintenance, office, phones and admissions, baby bird feeding. For more information call the center at (262) 965-3090. We offer volunteer orientations once a month here the center to give you an idea of what we’re really about.

RSVP for a volunteer orientation today!

Tuesday, February 28^th from 6:30-8:00PM

Tuesday, March 20^th from 6:30-8:00PM

Tuesday, April 17^th from 6:30-8:00PM

 

This could be you!

Guest Blogger M.F.

Do you know what day it is?

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

A woodchuck would chuck all the wood a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

Thanks to Rebecca Seymour for the photo of Waldo during his 2010 prognostication

But Waldo the Woodchuck would rather have a dried banana or a nut in the shell. And that sort of treat will be his reward for his official prognostication on Thurs, February 2^nd - Groundhog Day. The story goes that if Groundhog Day is sunny and bright, woodchuck sees his shadow and it will scare him. He will run into his burrow and sleep 6 more weeks. That means we will have 6 more weeks of winter. Why would a woodchuck be scared of his own shadow? Well, you probably aren’t your sharpest when you first wake up in the morning – poor Groundhog has been hibernating since October, no wonder he is a little confused.

The origins of Groundhog Day probably go back to the European Christian holiday of Candlemas “For as the sun shines on Candlemas day, so far will the snow swirl in May”. German immigrants brought the idea to the Pennsylvania area. The local abundance of groundhogs that would begin rousing from hibernation in spring somehow got mixed into the tradition and Groundhog Day was born.

You may have heard of a chuck called Phil that tells the weather out east in Pennsylvania. But weather is a regional effect. When I lived in Georgia, General Lee foretold Atlanta’s weather. Here at WINC, we count on Waldo the Woodchuck and his backup Gregory the Groundhog to let us know if we will have an early spring. So here’s hoping for a cloudy February 2^nd so Waldo will forecast an early spring. The earlier the spring the sooner Waldo will get the first spring dandelion leaves handpicked by his friends here at WINC so he has a little added incentive.

Guest Blogger L.R.

Come Gather with Us

Change can sometimes be good, sometimes bad but the changes for our Education Department is GREAT! Moving into our new facility is opening up a wonderful new component for education. In the past our educational leaders and the animal ambassadors would and still do travel to your location of choice for an educational program. With our new Gathering Room we can offer educational programs on site. On October 20th we offered our first in house program to the Passage School students at Lad Lake. What a great experience we had not only the kids but also myself. With this new room the environment is much more inviting and receptive to an up-close and personal experience with the animal ambassadors that make up the education department. The kids could ask as many questions as they wanted to without any time constraints. Because the ambassadors were at their own home the kids could spend more time with them too. The critters appreciate not having to be packed up one-plus hours before the program and not going out into extreme heat or cold.


Question and Answer time with Dakota the Great Horned Owl


The space itself invites a more natural setting for wildlife education. Our building is surrounded by beautiful pines and prairie fields. You come into the Gathering Area to warm hues trimmed in maple and pine. The room is outlined with our herp educators who would love to inspire you.



Private lessons with Daphne the Muscovy duck



In addition to our programming, if your group or organization is in need of a gathering place give us a call to make arrangements to hold it at our facility 262-965-3090.

Guest Blogger L.K.

Notice: Today’s Groundhog Day event has been cancelled

Groundhog Day is today and everyone is wondering, where’s Waldo?

He’ll be snoozing in his favorite log; he’s heard about the blizzard outside and has chosen to sleep in today. I think it’s safe to say that he will not see his shadow even if he does emerge for breakfast; or lunch. No shadow means an early spring!

We have regrettably cancelled the planned education programming and celebrations at the Elks Lodge due to today's winter storm.

The celebration of Groundhog Day arose from a variety of traditions, including some religious, some seasonal and most importantly, observational. It gradually became a time when both people as well as animals emerged from their winter slumber to welcome the strengthening sunshine, only to return in wait for the actual coming of spring. Groundhog Day is now held annually on February 2nd which also happens to be the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The most important thing is that the observance of this day gives those of us in colder climates an excuse to celebrate, breaking up the monotony that leads to spring fever.

We Wisconsinites will have to settle for the next Packers match-up to lift our spirits instead. Waldo and his fellow animal ambassadors have been hosting pep-rallies for our selfless volunteers who come in on game days. In addition to predicting an early spring Waldo also predicts that his favorite team, the Packers, will win Sunday’s game 35-21. He’ll be sound asleep in his favorite log for most of it, but we’ll tell him who won when he wakes up.

Daphne, as quarterback, is a force to be reckoned with



Slither is all over the ball!



Jewel always picks the role of half-back



Waldo waits for the hike...



and tackles the ball to the ground!



While Pecan is busy preparing for the celebration party!