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Sustainability
Recycling • Resources • Lifestyle
Photos by Isadora Pennington
[Gaption
A s the population of Atlanta
continues to grow, and new
developments encroach
upon neighboring
forests, there are more and more
risks to native wildlife. Cars,
refuse, diminishing local plants
that typically provide food and
shelter, and the effects of pesticides
all have a negative effect on the
environment and its inhabitants.
In an increasingly unwelcoming
world, who is there to look out for
the animals whose presence long
predates condos and malls?
Animal AWAREness
Nonprofit rescue organization helps rehabilitate Georgia wildlife
By Isadora Pennington
r-
Vv
AWARE, which stands for Atlanta
Wild Animal Rescue Effort, is a center
dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating
local animals. Located near Arabia
Mountain, the organization helps around
2,000 orphaned and injured animals each
year, and is the only center that accepts all
species of native Georgia wildlife. At any
given time, the center is full of animals,
including turtles, snakes, rats, opossums,
owls, hawks, pigeons, raccoons, ducks,
geese, squirrels, and even bobcats, wolves,
and coyotes. AWARE’s passionate carers
work long, hard hours maintaining the
property, tending to injuries, and make
every effort to prevent the animals from
becoming too accustomed to humans and
therefore unreleasable back into the wild.
“It is amazing to come to work
every day and be surrounded by such a
30 March 2018 | HU
wonderful,
caring,
dedicated team,”
said Executive
Director Scott
Lange, who
joined AWARE
as a member
of their board
of directors in
2014. “I was an
attorney who
was looking for
a way to help
animals and get
involved in the
community.”
Later, when
the director
stepped down,
Lange filled
the role as a
temporary solution and ended up loving it
so much that he formally accepted the job.
One thing that the administrators,
caretakers, and volunteers all have in
common is a passion for saving and helping
wildlife. “Dedicated animal care volunteers
are the folks who make AWARE work,”
explained Lange. “They commit to weekly
five-hour shifts, receive training, and then
deliver care for all our wild patients.”
Once a month, on the first Saturday,
AWARE hosts orientations for new
volunteers who are then trained on tending
to various parts of the center, such as food
prep and cleaning. The center also is open
at 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays for
brief 30 to 45 minute visitations, and they
host two major events each year: the Night
Owl 5K on April 21 this year and a gala
and art auction called Wild Night Out
which occurs in the fall.
“As a nonprofit wildlife hospital, funding
is always a challenge,” Lange continued.
“Food and medicine for a coyote who needs
months of intensive care can really add up.”
Caring for a vast array of animals
requires a multitude of supplies, food, and
medicines. This is the case especially in
‘baby season,’ as they call it, which is a span
of time that runs from Spring until Fall,
when orphaned babies are brought into
the center in spades. While many times
the animals are truly abandoned and need
help, there are some that are also mistakenly
removed from their parents and natural
habitats by well-intentioned rescuers.
Public education is a big part of the
work that the center does, though it is often
behind the scenes. Misinformation about
the wildlife around us leads to errors in
judgement, and those who work at AWARE
actively try to improve the community’s
understanding about these creatures.
“We have to find a way to educate the
public,” said Sami Netherton, a wildlife
care supervisor at the center. Originally
volunteering at the center in the summer
of 2016, she later accepted a permanent
position near the start of 2017. Pier
bachelor’s in biology has served her
immensely in caring for her wards, and
it’s clear that she’s very passionate about
the work, though she admits that “you are
always learning... to the end of time.”
Julia Sparks followed a similar path.
Rather than coming from a background
in biology, Sparks had gone to school for
humanities.
“I had not planned on being a vet,”
Sparks explained, but began working at
AWARE because she was interested in the
work. Sometimes, being a wildlife care
specialist is a particularly unglamourous
job, as all of the creatures in her care require
cleaning, along with their enclosures, on a
daily basis. But if you ask Sparks what it’s
like? “It’s very exciting,” she said with a smile.
So what can the public do to help
AWARE in their selfless cause? Well,
beyond offering your time and energy as a
volunteer (“no prior experience needed!”
assured Lange, who said interested parties
should email volunteer@awarewildlife.
org), the community can also contribute by
attending the center’s fundraising events,
contributing financially or purchasing items
from AWARE’s Amazon Wish List, buying
their promotional shirts designed by local
artist Black Cat Tips, and informing friends
and family about the center and their
mission.
For more information, visit
awarewildlife.org. ITT
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