By: Rex, Olivia, and Jenetta
Today we visited Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge! The organization facilitates environmental education, wildlife rehabilitation, and conservation. Our guide, Frank, showed us around the property, which contains almost 3 miles of hiking trails.
He led us into the area where there are enclosures for animals that have injuries or conditions that make reintroduction into the wild impossible. The group collected rakes and gloves, and we swept up the paths surrounding the nature center and the animal enclosures.
Soundtracked by bird screeches and the soft rush of the lake, we raked pine needles into neat piles and laughed together at the curious animals watching us work. A certain crow named Crogin cooed “hi” over and over, and Ember the fox shyly peered at us from her den. We were even allowed into the staff-only area that contained residences for animals staying temporarily; last year, Cedar Run rehabilitated around 8000 animals!
“The owl has a scowl!” – Rex B.
Meet Jesse the red-tailed hawk! She’s 32 years old. At Cedar Run, all animals are cared for in the hospital building before graduating to the temporary residence. If their conditions are too severe, they move to the permanent enclosure area.
All in all, we had a great day of service and got a valuable look at environmental stewardship and responsibility in action.
