Compassion

Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA
Audubon Arizona
Grand Canyon Trust
Liberty Wildlife
Phoenix Zoo
Second Chance Center for Animals
Tucson Audubon Society

Quotes and Stories from Arizona Animal Welfare League and SPCA

Quotes and Stories from Audubon Arizona

Quotes and Stories from Grand Canyon Trust

"Thank you all for the amazing experience that you provided for MYC. The transformation we have seen with our students has been tremendous - it is truly hard to put into words how great the Grand C Trip was for all of us. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to keeping us safe, fed and most importantly happy. Oh and how could I forget - Hydrated!"
"I am so honored to have gotten to learn about work @Kane Ranch w/ GCT. I have been inspired by the on-the-ground work we did to help improve a huge area around the Grand Canyon."
"It was especially rewarding to be part of a real scientific data collection project, not just a pair of hands doing keep the volunteers busy work"
"Thank you for bringing us quality volunteer opportunities like this. I am grateful to be a participant. I plan on doing it as often as I can."

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Quotes and Stories from Liberty Wildlife

Referral of animals:

A young girl drove into the parking lot with her mother as one of our education volunteers was leaving. The girl ran over to her and said, “I found this baby bird and brought it to you because of what you said in the program at my school. Can you help it?”
A phone call came in from a woman who had seen us on a tv program. She had found an electrocuted hawk in her back yard and wanted to see if someone could help it and get the pole retrofitted.
A school bus driver diverted on her path to school to drop off a bird that a young boy had found on his way to school. We had recently done a program at his school and he was taking it to school to see if the teacher could get us to come help them with the bird. Coincidentally, the bus driver had brought many animals to us before and new where we were located.

Educational programming:

Three teenaged boys approached one of our educators at a community event. One of the boys went up to the education volunteer and gave her the name of the animal saying that she had been to his class at the detention center two years before. He said to his other two friends that he decided at that point that he wanted to get out of the detention center and become a biologist. He was able to leave the detention center and is currently working toward getting into college to study biology.
Another gentleman approached a volunteer and asked about “Bailey” the turkey vulture that she was holding. He remembered all of the details, the birds name, its individual story, how long we had had it. He said that we had come to his elementary school 12 years ago when he was in the fifth grade. He was now out of college, but had never forgotten the stuff that he learned from the presentation.
A detention center girl remarked that she wanted a second chance like the injured birds got and that we had captured her mind and her heart.
A young girl approached one of our educators at another program telling the presenters that she had spent the last weekend with her parents picking up monofilament line at the lake because one of our presenters had told her that it was problematic for eagles especially young ones in the nest.

Rehabilitation:

Three young children found a baby kestrel. They called to find out what they could feed it until we got there to pick it up. We told them mice. They wanted to know how much mice cost and we told them between .50 and a dollar. But, they were also told that they should keep the kestrel in a warm, dark, quiet place. When the rescue volunteer arrived the kids had darkened the living room and had strips of bologna hanging from the chairs, sofa, and coffee tables. As the volunteer got ready to leave the kids ran out with a baggie of coins. They said that it was all they had left of their allowance but that it should by at least one or two mice.
On another occasion we were doing a release of a rehabilitated raptor at a facility where emotionally challenged and drug addicted people were housed. We were told not to talk to any of the clients for safety reasons. The volunteer doing the release explained to the group including the methadone clients outside the fence that the animal had been injured and was brought to us for healing to ready it for release back into the wild. The methadone clients all cheered and clapped when the bird went free and the others moved inside to finish their day. One young small and very pregnant African American girl slipped up to one of the volunteers and said in a very strange and haunting voice, “What did you do for the bird?” The volunteer said that we gave it medical attention, a safe place to heal and provided it with everything it needed to prepare for release.” By this time the person in charge steered the girl back to her area and came back to the volunteer and said that that was the first time she had spoken to anyone since she had been in the facility. We later were told that she asked to see her counselor that day, which she had never done before. She went to him and explained what she had seen in the release and said to him, “OK, I get it. I can be healed. I am ready.” She has since had her baby and been released from the facility. It is our guess that she will be not only a better person herself but that she will be a better parent.

Other:

Y'all did a WONDERFUL job today!!! What a treat!!! Your narrative is absolutely right on target!!! I've never seen so many smiles and so many "AHA's" on people's faces!!! The work you are doing is so important and we are pleased to help pass the word. Give my warmest hugs to Twilight & Acoma & (oops-- I've forgotten our Peregrine's name....).
I, too, wish to throw in my THANKS! I've been at presentations/programs that have featured Liberty Wildlife in the past, but must say that yesterday's presentation to the docents was very magical; I'm only sorry I was able to stay for bits and pieces -- but the pieces I saw were fantastic! It's so neat seeing the faces of those who've never been 'up close and personal' with such beautiful animals. Carlos is right, what you're doing is just awesome and I look forward to working with you all more in the future. We're very happy to promote your great organizations, and more importantly, AWARENESS of wildlife and what we can be doing to help out.

Quotes and Stories from The Phoenix Zoo

We are members of the Philadelphia Zoo. We enjoy our visits to the PZ but were so impressed with the design and spaciousness of the Phoenix Zoo. We will be back. The giraffe area was amazing.
What an amazing zoo. I’m from San Diego and I thought we had a good zoo but I was blown away by yours. Keep up the good work.
I was at Lower Lakeside early morning on Saturday, July 14, 2007 during Winter in July “Snow Day”. Spoke with a woman up from Yuma with her husband and grandchildren. They had come up for a baseball game, saw the info about Winter in July in the Republic and thought it would be fun. She was very enthusiastic. Her words were “This is the most fun and entertaining event for children I believe I’ve ever attended. It’s so well organized and there are so many fun things for the kids to do and learn. This is perfect for the kids to do, then we can have a nap and be all ready for the Game tonight.” She really was thrilled, and most complimentary of all the staff and volunteers she had met or observed. Overheard at least a dozen similar comments. Especially about the kids areas and the separate areas for big and little kids.
We bring our kids to the zoo at least twice a month. Each and every time we have an experience that is not mentionable by words.
Kids had a lot of fun, some of the animals they have only seen in books
It was about 4 years since my last visit, and I was impressed with all the new exhibits. The orangutan and wallaby are amazing, being able to seem so close up it made me feel how important and amazing all animals are.
I grew up here but moved away 8 years ago. I brought my daughter with me to the zoo since we’re here visiting for Christmas. The changes I’ve seen are all very positive. This zoo is one of the very best and I’m proud to share it with my daughter.
Today was very exciting because every single animal came out and the tiger roared. Also, I petted a sting ray – this was one of the most exciting trips ever.
I have been to many zoos in various states and am truly impressed by your zoo and conservation efforts.
We have a great zoo in Pittsburgh and this is just as good, for different reasons. We love the climate and open spaces in your zoo.
The Zoo employees are very knowledgeable and were very helpful and informative. The animals appear to be happy and well-cared for. Nice family day.
We enjoyed the stingray exhibit and will return to see it many times. We are glad that the zoo continues to add new exhibits/upgrades.
Wonderful spacious facilities for the animals which is most important. I also appreciate the Zoo’s focus on recycling and the smoke-free environment.

Quotes and Stories from Second Chance Center for Animals

Quotes and Stories from Tucson Audubon Society

Canyon Ranch Birding Featured Event: While setting up for the final presentation (Living with Urban Wildlife w/live birds), the Events Director told me that during dinner, she overheard some of the lecture participants passing on the information they learned from the lectures to other Canyon Ranch guests.
Tucson Audubon Ironwood Festival: Six months after the 2006 Ironwood Festival, Joe Frannea, with the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society, reported to us that while he was tabling at another event a child came up to him with his Ironwood Festival Stamp Book and reminded Joe of what he learned about cacti and succulents at the Ironwood Festival.
Service Programs at the Mason Center: In February 2007, Marlene Abraham, a teacher from the Tucson Hebrew Academy who brings her class every year, told us that the kids in her class get so excited about coming out to the Mason Center because, every year, their older brothers and sisters tell them what they learned and how much fun the program is. *See thank you notes*
Tucson Audubon Classroom Presentations: Several kids attending the 2007 Ironwood Festival approached Tucson Audubon staff to tell them they came to the festival because we came to their classrooms. To quote one father at the Ironwood Festival "I don't know what you did, but she points out all the birds you taught them and keeps talking about habitat and she told us we had to come to the Festival!"
Living with Urban Wildlife Program: After giving the presentation at the Geasa-Marana Public Library on February 13, 2007, two of the participants told the presenter that they now have a greater understanding of wildlife behaviors, habitats and the impacts, both negative and positive, that people have on wildlife and the environment. The evaluations from all the participants echo these sentiments.

Boy and Girl Scout Presentations: I just heard back from the "Den Mother" and she reports that in their excitement about what they learned, the boys have been sharing the information with friends, family and classmates. In fact, two of the boys are putting together a puppet play to showcase what they learned.