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.
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| 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.
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| Volunteers painting the pedestrian bridge |
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| 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.
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| Waterfall |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Martin and Scout - a bond like no other |
More pictures of animal rescue...................................................................................................................
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| orphaned baby barn owls becoming ready for release |
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| Martin feeding an injured barn owl |
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| Release of a hawk that had been hit by a car a few weeks earlier |
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| Martin with injured bald eagle |
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New Beginnings
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The 5th Annual Wildlife Charity Party
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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