This year, Wildlife In Need was lucky enough to send one of our very own staff, Jen Brei, to the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association’s (NWRA) annual symposium. The NWRA is dedicated to improving and promoting the profession of wildlife rehabilitation and its contributions to preserving natural ecosystems. Each year, they hold a symposium that covers all aspects of wildlife rehabilitation; attendees can expect:
- A chance to learn the latest techniques in the field of wildlife rehabilitation from knowledgeable speakers
- Over 90 lectures worth of valuable information
- To meet others in the same field who know exactly what you do and why you do it
- To network with fellow rehabilitators and share ideas and contact information
- To earn continuing education credits from attendance
- To interact with various vendors offering everything from books to formula to capture equipment
This year’s symposium, themed “Success Takes a Village”, was held in Princeton New Jersey on March 10-14. This was Jen’s first experience at the NWRA symposium, and her days were packed full of incredibly useful and relevant lectures and workshops…here’s a glimpse at some of the sessions that she attended!
Lectures:
- Disaster Contingency Planning for Wildlife Rehabilitation Facilities
- Biosecurity Basics
- Keeping Our (Wildlife) Customers Satisfied
- A lecture on animal enrichment
- Raising Aquatic Birds
- Hand-rearing Clapper Rail, Willet, & Black Skimmer
- Swallow Rehabilitation: Techniques for Success
- Nestling Identification
- Release Criteria and Considerations for Hand-Raised Birds
- Designing a Fantastic Intern Program
- Wildlife Search & Rescue
- Wildlife Capture Strategies & Techniques
- Raptor Identification at All Life Stages
- Bald is Beautiful: Vultures in Rehabilitation
- Captive Rearing of Mink & Weasels
- The ABCs of Bobcat Rehabilitation
- Eastern Cottontail Rehabilitation
- Working with Rabies Vector Species
- Avian Hematology Basics
- Practical Wildlife Endoparasitology
Workshops:
- Basic Turtle Rehabilitation
- Adult Avian Critical Care
- Heron & Egret Rehabilitation
Jen spoke very highly of the symposium. In her words, “The symposium not only provided me with an overload of useful information, but also allowed me the unique opportunity to network with rehabilitators from all over the United States. It was interesting to learn about how other centers do things differently!” We know that we will be able to use the valuable information that Jen learned at the symposium here at WINC, and we are so happy that she is back to help before the craziness of baby season begins!
