Earth Day Welcomes Pocono Wildlife Center

By Zachary Gotthardt
SC Staff Writer

Each spring, nature welcomes a new generation of animals into the world. Many of these baby animals will find themselves in need of human assistance. The Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Center provides aid to these animals in need.

Unfortunately, the wildlife center struggles to meet the demand each spring. To manage the influx of new patients, they are enlisting the help of the community to raise funds for this year’s batch of baby formula.

The Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Center is a small facility located outside of Wind Gap that is dedicated to saving sick and injured wildlife.

Led by the Uhler Family, the center takes in wildlife from the Poconos that would otherwise not survive.

“It’s a safe haven for injured wildlife. They provide diverse pens for different kinds of animals, including a large ring for deer,” said ESU senior Briana Magistro, who has completed volunteer training at the wildlife center in the past.

Anyone who finds an injured animal is welcome to bring it to the center, so long as it is brought safely and within the confines of the law.

Once there, the animal will be rehabilitated to the best of the center’s ability with the intention of releasing it back into the wild.

The Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Center is on the forefront of local conservation and recognizes that one of the most important parts of conservation is education. When an animal cannot make a full recovery, a common occurrence for birds, the center will keep the animal for their educational programs.

By utilizing rehabilitated animals, they hope to gain support for animals that will come to the center in the future.

Spring is the busiest time for the wildlife center. Newborn animals result in many new patients, and these animals are often found when they are so young that they require specialized diets to survive.

Furthermore, the special baby formula that they necessitate is expensive, costing $200 for one bucket. This year, the center hopes to raise enough funds for 17 full buckets of formula.

To meet this end, the Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Center has called upon the community for assistance. ESU’s Biology Club has answered.

Throughout the semester, the club held a number of fundraising events and sales to raise money for this project. After the club’s most recent bake sale, it has raised $400 for the center — enough for two buckets of formula.

Jacqueline Kramer, Biology Club’s president, said, “I think Biology Club raising money for something that’s overlooked so often, or taken for granted, is really admirable. We’re trying to make a lasting impact in our community and benefitting our wildlife is one of the longest lasting ways we can think of.”

Biology Club members Eric Kump and Rebecca Carroll were very proud of the club’s accomplishment.

Kump said, “I think the sales were a great and ingenious way to fundraise the money to help the Pocono Wildlife Center, and I’m glad everyone was able to participate in order to raise enough to feed the babies.”

Carroll added, “I think it’s great that we could get this amount of support from the students for something so important.”

For the considerable donation, the wildlife center has agreed to come to ESU’s Earth Day Celebration. They will be bringing several of their rehabilitated animals and teaching interested students about their care and conservation.

They will be on campus from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM on Earth Day, April 23, on the Shawnee Quad.

While the Biology Club’s efforts are considerable, the Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Center is still far from reaching their goal. Anyone attending Earth Day is encouraged to donate to the cause.

Email Zachary at:
zgotthar@live.esu.edu