Posts by Emily Johnson
Volunteer Newsletter / April 2025
Timecards are due to Erica for volunteer hours between Apr 1, 2024 and Mar 31, 2025. On the excel sheet, please enter the Dept code and the number of hours you worked each day. I’ve received many timecards from baby bird feeders and transporters already, thank you. Let me know if you have any questions!…
Read More2024: A Record-Breaking Year for VINS Wildlife Rehabilitation
By Grae O’Toole, Director, Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation and Ambassador Care In the heart of Vermont, our Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWBRAC) has just completed its most extraordinary year yet. In 2024, we admitted an unprecedented 1,254 avian patients, shattering our previous record of 1,098. This remarkable achievement represents our commitment…
Read MoreRecord-Breaking Baby Bird Season at VINS: A 2024 Recap
By Grae O’Toole, Director of the Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation and Ambassador Care As the leaves begin to change and the air grows crisp, we at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) find ourselves reflecting on an extraordinary summer season at our Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation and Ambassador Care (CWBRAC). The past…
Read MoreWho Looks for You: Thoughts on Barred & Spotted Owls
Alden Smith, VINS Executive Director, reflects on the personal and emotional connection with barred owls, drawing parallels to their late mother, while also addressing the difficult conservation decisions regarding the culling of barred owls to protect the declining spotted owl population. This tension between emotional attachment to individual animals and the necessity of biodiversity conservation highlights the complexity and challenges faced by VINS in their mission to protect avian species.
Read More2023-2024 Trout in the Classroom Highlights
By Eleanor Hitchings, Science Educator Thank you! There are so many people who work together to make the magic of Trout in the Classroom happen. Thank you to the teachers who took on this project – it’s not a small amount of work, but it brings so much to your classroom and your students. You…
Read MoreFarewell to Neddick
By Lindsay Garrett Honoring the Legacy of Our Red-tailed Hawk Ambassador At VINS, working with wildlife brings us immense joy, but also moments of deep heartache. It is with this sentiment that we share the news of the passing of Neddick, our beloved Red-tailed Hawk ambassador. Grae, VINS Director of the Center for Wild Bird…
Read MoreThe Remarkable Journey of Manu the Golden Eagle
By Grae O’Toole, Director, Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation and Ambassador Care On January 2, 2024, our team at the VINS Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation and Ambassador Care received a phone call from a concerned member of the public who had spotted what they believed to be an eagle on the ground in a…
Read MoreNew Owl Ambassadors
Last May, we acquired two new members from St. Louis, Missouri for our Environmental Education team at VINS.
Read MoreAmerican Kestrel Nest Boxes
The VINS research staff are continuing our important work with American Kestrels in Vermont and New Hampshire.
Read MoreAmphibians: Why Are They So Important?
– Mary Davidson Graham, Assistant Executive Director & Calah Beckwith, Press & Grant WriterIllustrations by Mal Muratori, VINS Environmental Educator Amphibians are incredibly sensitive to environmental changes, and they not only provide valuable ecosystem services, but they also provide information about how an ecosystem is functioning. Tadpoles are able to help maintain clean water by…
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