Elmwood students working hard
It is always nice to see lots of bright flowers around the site, and this week a group of students from Elmwood School have been busy planting. The students are a familiar sight here, as they visit every Thursday and help out with any tasks that need doing. Our learning and engagement officer Ellie was keen to brighten up the boarders near the fox pen, and the students were only too happy to oblige! We have been working with Elmwood School for around 12 years now, providing practical experiences for students with a range of additional learning needs. The skills that they learn here will help them to prepare for working life, and we are proud to be helping them to develop.
The heron recovering
We had a call at the beginning of the week from a couple who had found a heron when they were out walking. He had been unable to find food and was so weak that they were able to gather him up and take him to their kitchen. One of our response drivers went out to pick him up and bring him back to our site. When he arrived animal carer Sarah found him to be very underweight and she was worried that he wouldn’t survive. She placed him in a casualty pen with a heat lamp to warm him up. Sarah was very pleased when she fed him some fish and he wolfed it down! He is now much stronger, and should be released soon.
Sarah assessing the swan
Our response drivers have been kept busy this week, going out to help animals in need across the big area we cover. Graeme went to the aid of a swan who had collapsed on a path near Bawdrip. When he arrived at our centre he was found to be quite weak, but luckily had no obvious injuries. He was given food and care, and once recovered was moved to our water paddock for the final stage in his rehabilitation. We are always on the look out for more response drivers, so if you could spare a few hours a week and are interested in helping British wildlife get in touch! Visit the volunteer section of the website to find out more.
It is clear that Spring is here as our Spring newsletters arrived on site this week! Packed full of updates on our animals and interesting features they are ready for distribution. We particularly like the cover photo, which was taken by our regular photographer Richard Austin. You can download a copy from the website – visit the newsletter section. We hope you enjoy reading it!