| Category | Not-For-Profit Association |
|---|---|
| Status | Finalist |
| Year | 2009 |
| Nominee | Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation |
| Project | Wildlife Health & Educational Center |
| Summary Of Activity | The Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation is a proven leader in providing comprehensive care to wildlife in distress (most of which are injured, orphaned or displaced through human activities) across Alberta and the Northwest Territories. Their full-service hospital is staffed by veterinarians and biologists, many of whom are volunteers. In addition to this, the institute: • assists individuals and landowners with wildlife issues on their property • provides education programming delivered to schools and youth groups • researches wildlife issues, encompassing broad range such as creating data bases of 'normals' to facilitating undergrads with physiology, anatomy, and ecology studies. • serves on provincial and international committees dedicated to writing curricula as well as training professionals such as police, fire, wildlife officers, field operators, and rehabilitators. |
| Barriers/Challenges To Success | AIWC's biggest barrier has always been financial. As a non-profit, charitable organization the competition for revenue is fierce and the free time to pursue funding is invariably scant. It would be inaccurate to say the barrier has been overcome as AIWC continues to struggle for revenues like most charities. In spite of this, AIWC's personnel roster has gone from zero paid staff to six; unfortunately, all of them work for below-industry wages. To help counter this challenge, AIWC has always had an open door policy that has invited participation from professionals who support their work, which has helped reduce operational costs significantly. For example, two veterinarians and several biologists volunteer their time as needed and a host of volunteers such as contractors and consultants also provide professional services. Each year, AIWC volunteers contribute more than 20 000 hours of time which, of course, saves considerable sums of money. Both staff and volunteers enrol in fundraising workshops and continuing ed programs to enhance all the essential skill sets. Staff are susceptible to burn-out due to the long hours required to save lives. As with many non-profits, time management is always a challenge. When staff are not busy with wildlife cases, they are fund raising, training volunteers, writing manuals, and so on. The demands never cease. The rewards are often intangible but can be very powerful in alleviating stress. For example, the satisfaction of saving a life or releasing a wild animal is very energizing. AIWC encourages and supports staff to attend international conferences which also invigorate and motivate. Strategies for recognition and support are part of their daily fare. Team building has become an integral part of their leadership responsibilities to help prevent burn out. It is estimated that for every wild animal receiving care, there are at least ten and possibly hundreds, that do not. 'Getting the word out' that this service exists is a big challenge and can be a source of frustration, both for AIWC and for finders of distressed animals. In order to create and publicize a significant awareness campaign, it takes considerable funding that is simply not available. The result can be more complicated than wildlife simply not receiving help. Often times, the general public will put their own safety and health at risk to provide some sort of assistance in their own homes which can lead to problems such as habituation, exposure to diseases and parasites, mistreatment, and legal infractions. Ultimately, all of these generally lead to the death of the animals in question. AIWC tries to mitigate this problem through as much free advertising as possible through press releases, radio spots, magazine articles, and so on. However, as the human population of Alberta grows and AIWC's caseload increases, it is an on-going dilemma. |
| Contact |
Ms. Dianne Wittner Wildlife Biologist Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation |
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Box 68 Madden, AB T0M 1L0 |
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| Telephone | 403-946-2361 |
| Fax | 403-946-5689 |
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Contact through Email |
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http://www.aiwc.ca |
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