At Piedmont Wildlife Center, campers enjoy outdoor adventures year-round, and this summer, our Executive Director, Nick DiColandrea, set out on one of his own! He traveled to Newport Beach, California for the Association of Nature Center Administrators (ANCA) Annual Summit, where more than 120 leaders from across the country gathered to share wisdom and resources, build meaningful connections, and dream big about the future of nature centers.
The Sci NC team from PBS North Carolina visited Piedmont Wildlife Center last fall to profile our Triangle Turtle Trekkers project! Watch to learn how Kaitlin Saxton (Research & Husbandry Coordinator) and citizen scientists across the state are protecting eastern box turtles.
Want to get involved? Take our Triangle Turtle Trekkers survey by April 10th. Then learn how to take a great “shellfie" at the link below so you can help protect our state reptile, too!
We are heartbroken to announce that Pickles, our younger female opossum, passed away suddenly on Tuesday, March 21st. In the wild, opossums only live about one year. While this is often the result of predators, they are also prone to health conditions that limit their lifespan.
Pickles came to PWC in August 2022 from Our Wild Neighbors. She immediately won over our staff and volunteers with her calm, gentle, and curious temperament. Even though she had a permanent injury to her paw, she was very active and enjoyed using her exercise wheel, taking walks outside in her harness, and climbing our staff to sit on their shoulders. (She was definitely a "shoulder opossum," and was known to grab staff members' shirts to "ask for" a ride!)
Pickles was also a wonderful ambassador for her species. Kids and adults who might have otherwise thought opossums are "dirty" or "scary" were charmed by her sweet demeanor and willingness to be pet. We're sure anyone who met Pickles walked away with a new appreciation for our misunderstood marsupial neighbors.
Even though she wasn't with us for very long, Pickles made a lasting impact on PWC, countless local elementary students, and our staff. We would love to hear your Pickles stories and see your photos of our sweet girl. If you would like to share, please e-mail conservation@piedmontwildlifecenter.org.
If you feel moved to make a donation in Pickles' memory to offset the cost of her veterinary care, please visit https://www.piedmontwildlifecenter.org/donate or click the button below.
Spring is here at Leigh Farm Park. Box turtles are coming out of brumation, redbud trees are blooming - and PWC's spring camps are in full swing! With intersession camps and Homeschool in the Wild in session, we're highlighting one of the amazing counselors who makes these programs possible: support counselor Nathan Barraza!
Nathan grew up in many different places, including Washington, but one thing they all had in common was beautiful places to visit in nature. Growing up around these natural wonders gave Nathan a deep curiosity about his surroundings, and he's made it his goal to learn as much as he can about life on our planet. When he's not working at camp, Nathan likes to garden, hike, and practice amateur botany.
Nathan joined PWC's camp staff as a support counselor in September 2022. Since then, he's become one of our campers' favorite staff members! He is always eager to teach and learn about the plants and animals campers encounter while adventuring in the woods. And despite being the youngest counselor on staff, Nathan has been a wonderful mentor to the kids and teens in our programs.
Thank you, Nathan, for being such a positive influence on our campers! We're excited to see how you grow as a leader this season.
Happy Spring Equinox, Piedmont Wildlife Center community! Today marks the first day of the new season. From the perspective of the weather, spring seemed to start around March 1st here in Durham. We've enjoyed a lot of warmer weather over the last month, even if the last few nights have dropped down around freezing! Certainly the plants have been blooming, leafing out, and dropping pollen even earlier this year.
Still, we celebrate the first day of spring on the Spring Equinox, which falls on or around March 20th here in the northern hemisphere. The word "equinox" comes from the Latin for "equal" and "night," and marks the astronomical change in seasons from winter to spring and summer to fall. It is the day we can look due east at sunrise (or due west at sunset) and be perfectly in line with the sun.
For us here in the North Carolina Piedmont, the spring equinox occurred today at 5:24 PM EST. That is the time when the sun crosses over our celestial equator (an imaginary line in the sky directly above our planet's equator) from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere. Because of this, we'll get almost exactly the same amount of daylight and nighttime today: 12 hours of day, 12 hours of night.
Either way, spring is here. It is a time of growth, energy, change, and new beginnings. Birds are singing and zipping through the sky, showing off their moves. Squirrels are building nests and squawking at anyone in close proximity. The colors of green are more electric each day.
Did you set new goals during the winter season to change habits, learn something new, or push your boundaries this year? Now is the time to pick up the pace and work on those goals! Growing is not easy. All of us, human and nonhuman, face daily obstacles: uncomfortable temperatures, unexpected dangers, dark mornings, and the fear of taking that first step toward change. Facing these challenges is what makes us feel alive and strive to be better.
So this Spring Equinox, welcome the new season by listening to the birds! Watch the plants grow, the days lengthen, and the sun race across the sky. Take the energy they share with you to rise to the challenges on the path to becoming all you are to be.
Happy spring,
Karen McCall, Executive Director
From leading tours and birthday parties to visiting Title 1 classrooms with our Ambassador Animals, our conservation educators play a hugely important role in our mission of connecting people and nature. Our Conservation Team reached more than 7,000 people in 2021-22 - in no small part because of amazing educators like Kyra Thurow Bartow!
Kyra grew up in the woods of North Carolina and quickly fell in love with birds, wildlife, and the outdoors. She attended Catawba College in Salisbury, NC, where she received a degree in Environmental Education with a minor in Religion. Since graduating in 2013, she has worked at Osprey Wilds Nature Center, Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium of North Carolina, Greenville Zoo of South Carolina, and Marbles Kids Museum. She joined PWC as an educator in February 2022 - which means she's officially been with us for a year now!
An avid birder, Kyra loves all things bird! She also enjoys board games, crafting, and desserts, as well as playing outside in the woods and teaching everyone about the wonders of the natural world.
Who's Kyra's favorite Ambassador Animal at PWC? "Choosing my favorite is super tough," Kyra says, "but right now, it is Willow the red-shouldered hawk because I love her feisty spirit! I love working at PWC because the mission to connect people to nature is really lived out in our daily activities, programs, and way of life. I also love getting to be a part of the Raptor Care Team to connect with such incredible avian ambassadors."
Kyra brings her experience, professionalism, sense of fun, and passion for wildlife to every program she leads at PWC, whether it's for a family of three or a full classroom. We feel so, so lucky to have her on our team. Thank you, Kyra, for a year of connecting people with nature. Here's to many more!
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