Meet Garnet the corn snake!

Give a warm Piedmont welcome to our newest Ambassador Animal, Garnet the corn snake!

Garnet came to us in December from BeWild Reptile Rescue in Durham. He was surrendered to BeWild along with two other snakes, all of whom had stunted growth from poor care. He's estimated to be 2-3 years old but is much smaller than he should be at his age.

Captive-bred corn snakes are often considered good "beginner" snakes for new pet owners. But as Garnet's story shows, even "easy" pets require a LOT of specialized care to remain happy and healthy. Always do your research before welcoming a new animal into your family!

See Garnet in action on our latest YouTube Short… then show your support for our new friend by sponsoring him through our Adopt-an-Ambassador program!

New year, new Adopt-an-Ambassador experience!

Our Conservation Team has been hard at work putting together brand-new sponsorship levels for any budget, with new perks to match. Plus, for the first time ever, you can now sponsor ANY of our 26 Ambassador Animals, including fan favorites like Edgar the raven!

All Adopt-an-Ambassador sponsorships directly support the non-releasable animals in our care and make it possible for us to educate thousands of people each year about native wildlife.

Learn more about these updates by watching the video above or on YouTube. Then hit the link below to support wildlife education by sponsoring your favorite PWC Ambassador Animal!

Announcing our 2023 t-shirt design contest!

Share your love for wildlife, outdoor education, and nature connection this Valentine's Day - and all year long. It's time for Piedmont Wildlife Center's annual t-shirt design contest!

Read on for contest rules, guidelines, and prizes:

• Designs must be nature-themed and reflect what you love most about Piedmont Wildlife Center. Creative interpretations highly encouraged!

• No color images, please. Line art works best on our screen-printed shirts.

• Be original! Please do not use another artist's work, or submit a design that has been used elsewhere.

• Designs must be submitted as a PDF or vector file (.AI or .EPS) to admin@piedmontwildlifecenter.org no later than 11:59 PM EST on Tuesday, February 28th.

All members of the Piedmont Wildlife Center community are eligible to enter - including YOU! The winning design will be clear, creative, appropriate for all ages, and capture the spirit of Piedmont Wildlife Center's camps, citizen science, and conservation programs.

Need some inspiration? View past t-shirt designs on our online Nature Store.
 

The first-place winner will have their design featured on our 2023 summer camp t-shirts. They will also receive a free shirt (with their design, of course) and a $50 cash prize! One runner-up will receive a Nature Store coupon and $25 cash prize.

Will your design be the perfect Valentine's Day match for this year's camp t-shirts? We can't wait to see what you come up with!

Did you catch us on My Carolina CBS 17?

“Whooo” were those familiar faces on My Carolina on January 18th? Why, only Piedmont Wildlife Center’s very own Apollo and Shelly - with their human friends Executive Director Karen McCall and Director of Conservation Noelle Rizzieri!

Huge thanks to the team at CBS 17 for inviting us to talk nature connection, native wildlife, and PWC’s 20th anniversary. We can’t wait to come back with more of our Ambassador Animals!

Watch our My Carolina debut in the video above, on Facebook, or on our YouTube channel. You can hear Karen talk about PWC’s mission of nature connection starting at 0:30. Noelle joins Amber and Carly to share fun facts about our Ambassador Animals at 5:05.

Thanks for celebrating 20 years with us!

We had a wildly good time celebrating Piedmont Wildlife Center last Friday, January 20th - and it was all thanks to YOU!

With your help, we kicked off PWC's third decade by raising $17,033.95 to support our conservation, education, and citizen science programs. All this while listening to incredible music by folk duo Kiah Wells and Jesse Fox, walking down memory lane with past and present PWC leaders, and enjoying the company of 95 fellow nature lovers!

Whether you bought tickets, volunteered at the event, donated a raffle item or door prize, spread the word, sponsored us, made a donation toward our fundraising goal, bought a 20th Anniversary t-shirt, or simply cheered us on from afar, we could not have done this without you. 

Follow the link below to hear a special thank-you message from Executive Director Karen McCall (and Shelly the box turtle). Thank you for supporting our mission of connecting people and nature - yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Special thanks to our generous sponsors: Pinnacle Financial Partners, Carrboro Coffee Roasters/Caffe Driade/Open Eye Cafe, Cat's Cradle, & Mediterranean Deli.