The 5th Annual Wildlife Charity Party



And another year helping native wildlife in Utah! The 5th Annual Wildlife Charity Party went off with a bang, and I will be sending a large chunk of change to the Southwest Wildlife Foundation (SWF). Their goal is to build an official animal rescue, rehabilitation center and educational Nature Park in the hills of Cedar City - which will be the first of its kind in Utah.

property donated by Pacificorp
A few years ago, Pacificorp Power donated land for the Nature Park, after meeting Martin Tyner's giant Golden Eagle, Scout. Scout is an educational eagle and creates love and respect in the minds of many who meet him. Martin's heart, hard work and dedication moved Pacificorp, and the land was given over to wildlife.

Martin started gathering the troops to begin building on the property. Volunteers built a bridge connecting the Nature Park to the surrounding hills of Cedar City. Boy Scouts built a sign for the property.

Volunteers painting the pedestrian bridge

Boy Scout-made sign
A waterfall runs through the property. Temporary raptor rehab facilities now exist tucked in the back of the property. The idea is to eventually use this space as not only a rescue and rehab center, but as an educational center. Visitors will be able to walk through the property, looking at the animals and the rehabilitation process, learning a love for the animals of Utah and the people who work for their survival every day. A conservation education.

Waterfall
Temporary raptor rehab facilities just past the campsite and peeking out of the trees

Martin Tyner, the founder of SWF, is big on education. Not only does he spend every day helping care for sick, injured or orphaned utah native wildlife such as eagles, hawks, owls, rabbits, squirrels, and so much more - he also travels the country educating folks on the importance of his work and of conservation of both wildlife and its habitat.
Martin with hawk at an educational event
Martin has a great big heart, and a dedication that cannot be matched. He is one of my real-life heroes. And one day, when his Nature Center is built and up and running, I hope to be a part of it. I hope to dedicate my life to saving animals and their habitat, too.

Martin and Scout - a bond like no other
 More pictures of animal rescue...................................................................................................................
orphaned baby barn owls becoming ready for release




Martin feeding an injured barn owl
Release of a hawk that had been hit by a car a few weeks earlier

Martin with injured bald eagle

New Beginnings
...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

The 5th Annual Wildlife Charity Party


Myself, the hostess, with a python
This year I branched out and chose my own venue (rather than having the party at an established club venue). This way I could bring in my own entertainment (snakedancers, live creatures, and a great big mobile DJ booth called the Jellyfish 12000). I chose the Utah Arts Alliance as a venue, as my friend Derek Dyer owns it, and it has an indoor and outdoor space. In the main room I set up 3 big DJs, a catering table for Cantu's Catering, a face-painting station, a giant interactive art project by Aspen Moon, and surrounded the room with wildlife art by local artists such as myself, Rob Daugherty, Alice Toler, and Spencer Barton. Creature Encounters brought in some of their pythons and boa constrictors, as well as some scorpions and tarantulas. This created the animalistic scene that I wanted. Guests came in animal attire and some of the costumes were tip-top.
Ladies enjoying Sutra
Outdoors I had the giant Jellyfish, (donated by Jared Gallardo and the Jelly crew) pushing beats out all night long with its 5 DJs, blinky lights, and general awesomeness. Sutra the giant polar bear (donated by Scott Keller) was also in attendance, head swaying to the music, falling in love with all the cute animal girls at the party.
Our snakedancer, Michelle
We had a photo booth, compliments of Brett Colvin, and two great photographers, Brett himself, and Rudy van Bree. As usual, I was also snapping shots of the show. At 10:30 Salt Lake City's BBoy Federation came and danced for us. At 11:00 the lovely Michelle Sorensen did a belly dance with a python on her hip. There were LED hoopers and go-go dancers for every DJ set. At the end of the party, Aspen's art project was burned in a burn barrel for symbolic reasons. It was a fun party and there was much to do. I will definitely keep up this tradition and hopefully get more and more people involved and interested in the cause. I want to make millions!!!! (and why not?) ;)

You can learn more about the Southwest Wildlife Foundation, or donate to the cause, by visiting their website at www.gowildlife.org.




MOAR Pics ..............................................................................................................................................


























More photos can be found on Rudy van Bree's Flickr album at

http://bit.ly/1fINPTB

Photos on this post compliments of Southwest Wildlife Foundation, Rudy van Bree, Randi Gurule, and Jenny Baird.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Antelope Island State Park - best place for sunsets in all of Utah

Image
If you've never been to Antelope Island State Park in Syracuse, Utah, then you are missing out on a wonderful wildlife and nature viewing experience. Antelope Island is a preserve made up of a desert shrub and grassland island surrounded by the scenic Great Salt Lake. Standing on the shore of the Great Salt Lake is like standing on the coast of an ocean. Tiny islands dot the view and the lake goes on as far as the eye can see. Lone Pronghorn On the island you can see all kinds of wildlife, including pronghorn, bighorn sheep, American bison, porcupines, badgers, coyotes, bobcats, owls, and millions of waterfowl. The Great Salt Lake is an important rest and nesting stop for birds migrating through the Western United States. Looking to the North from the rocky cliffs at my favorite sunset spot This all adds up to a beautiful and scenic day at the "beach". Although camping is allowed at a campground on the island so you can extend your stay. The entran...
Read more

The Case for Gray Wolf Reintroduction in Colorado (on the ballot for November 2020)

Image
There is a motion on the 2020 Colorado ballot to allow the reintroduction of gray wolves to the state of Colorado. This is an exciting opportunity for animal lovers and conservationists alike. And though the subject is a much-debated one, here is my reasoning for voting for this initiative... The Science: In a perfectly balanced world, all ecosystems are self-sustainable. This means that vegetation is lush and abundant, providing food and shelter for prey and other animals alike, while top predators keep prey animals (herbivores) in check, so that they don't decimate the vegetation. It's a perfect circle, and can naturally remain in balance until something comes along and upsets part of it. For example, humans killing off all of the top predators. Wolves, mountain lions and grizzly bears are the top predators of Colorado (although wolves and grizzlies have been extirpated by hunters since the 1950's). They hunt prey that are larger than themselves, such as elk and moo...
Read more

A Day with the Wolves

Image
I drove 3 hours down to Guffey, Colorado the other day to visit the rescued wolves at Rocky Mountain Wildlife Foundation. I had been wanting to visit them for a long time, and finally found some time to do it right after New Year's. The sun was shining and the day was clear, despite the wintry weather, and I had the wolves all to myself! Mark, the founder of RMWF, told me a little bit about the wolves under his care, which for the most part were rescued from abusive pet owners who had bitten off a little more than they could chew with trying to raise a wolf. Some of the wolves were wolf-dog mixes, and some of them were 100% wolf. I got to get up close and personal with some of these wolves, and they were full of pure love and affection! Mark spent years working with these rescued animals, some of which were so fearful of humans when they came to the center that they wouldn't let him anywhere near them. Now they all love him, and it's fun to watch him interact and play ...
Read more