WildCare, the San Rafael nonprofit that treats injured and orphaned wild animals, will reopen its rebuilt complex at 76 Albert Park Lane with a ribbon-cutting at 10 a.m. Nov. 14, the Marin Independent Journal reports. The new hospital will start taking animal patients Dec. 14.
The move back
During the two-year, $24 million project, WildCare treated animals at a temporary site on Schmidt Lane, near North San Pedro Road. WildCare's website says its hospital remains open for patient intake during the move. It also says the Ambassador Zone at Schmidt Lane is temporarily closed while the ambassador animals move into new habitats. The IJ says WildCare's 35 employees and 150 volunteers will move in after the ceremony.
What's new
Executive director Ellyn Weisel told the IJ that WildCare takes in at least 3,500 animals a year and that 78% of recovered patients return to the wild. The new complex includes outdoor aviaries with small openings so recovered birds can leave on their own, rooftop ponds for ducklings and waterbirds, rooftop solar panels and bird-safe dotted windows. It also has a laundry room for staff who get sprayed by skunks.
The 1870s parish hall that has served as WildCare's education center since the 1950s was restored. It is named for longtime educator Elizabeth Terwilliger, and the IJ says it was originally built from a ship's hull. Sequoia, a northern spotted owl that has been one of WildCare's ambassador animals for 20 years, gets a large new enclosure.
Who paid for it
WildCare's chief advancement officer, Nicole Trautsch, told the paper that private donations ranged from $5 to $5 million. Marin philanthropist Mary Love was one major donor.