Whether you run a summer camp, teach at a school, run the activities for a nursing home, or lead an organization, a nonprofit in Monroe County wants to get on your radar.
Pocono Wildlife Rehab and Education Center (PWREC) in the Stroudsburg area wants to do even more community outreach in our area.
The director, Kathy Uhler, has been rehabbing wildlife since 1982. She runs the rehab and education center which is licensed (and has to be by law) by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, PA Game Commission, US Dept of Agriculture, and PA Fish and Boat Commission.
PWREC is not funded by any tax monies/government agencies and relies solely on donations along with program revenues to keep the doors open. The entire staff is volunteer.
The organization covers Monroe, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wyoming, Pike, Wayne, Susquehanna, Bradford, Northampton, and Lehigh Counties.
The nonprofit provides a variety of live wildlife presentations for groups that request them. Those groups include homeowners associations, scouts, camps, assisted living/nursing homes, and other civic groups of all ages.
PWREC’s wildlife ambassadors include hawks, owls, falcons, opossum, skunk, flying squirrels, porcupine, turtles, and snakes.
The presentations focus on wildlife native to PA, their adaptations, their importance to our health and safety, habitats, ways in which we can all help them, and the problems these creatures face in a human world.
Due to insurance and state laws, Pocono Wildlife Rehab and Education Center is not allowed to have non-staff members touch or handle any bird or mammal at the center. The facility is not open to the public, hence the push for more community outreach.
The community programs offered include:
- Amazing Animal Adaptationism
- Predators and Prey
- Creatures of the Night
- Birds of Prey
- The Unhuggables
- A seminar for homeowners on how to deal with human-wildlife conflicts
Since the group’s program director is a teacher certified in PA for K-12 Environmental Education, the community events can be tailored for age, PA State Standards, and needs of your group.
The costs varies depending on group, program, and duration. On average, PWREC, a nonprofit, charges $300 an hour for a community program.
Interested to learn more or book a program? Contact Kathy at Pocono Wildlife Rehab and Education Center at 570-402-0223 or email poconowildlife@gmail.com.
Head here for the nonprofit's website.