Sue was born in England and immigrated to Canada in 1964, after training as a Registered Nurse and doing some globe-trotting. She started wildlife rehabilitating by accident one day about 15 years ago, when the local humane society asked her to take in some orphaned raccoons. She and her husband started cage-building, and as fast as they built, the animals came. Build it and they will come! Sue herself is a full time volunteer. As she would say, “No one could afford to pay me for the hours I put in here. But it is my passion, and I enjoy every minute I spend caring for wildlife.”
Leah Birmingham, RVT: Licensed Wildlife Custodian, Assistant Director SPWC, Internship Program Coordinator
Leah is a Registered Veterinary Technologist (St. Lawrence College 2002 Alumini). She worked at a domestic and exotic animal practice for three years in Kingston after graduation. In 2005, Leah was hired on a full-time seasonal basis. At that point her dedication to SPWC’s work became a huge part of her life. In March of 2005 she was awarded OWREN's first Scholarship for Most Promising Contribution to Wildlife Rehabilitation in Ontario.Leah can often be found in the SPWC clinic tending to wounds and doing other various treatments, as well as coordinating the Internship Program. She loves spending time ensuring the patients have environmental enrichment materials in their enclosures, and monitoring patient medical improvements. Recently she has started to do more public speaking for SPWC, as well as teaching a course on Wildlife Care at St. Lawrence College to the Vet Assistant program. It is her lifetime goal is to improve the care wildlife receive when they are in need of help from the general public, as well as while they are in the care of veterinary practices. Leah relocated to a small hobby farm in the Napanee area for this job in 2005 with her husband James and their 4 cats. Since moving to the country, she has opened her home to another cat, two dogs, 3 geese, and a large flock of laying hens!
Julia
has grown up surrounded by a variety of animals. When not working at
SPWC, most of her time is spent on the farm helping her parents with
their commercial sheep flock and dairy goat herd. When she inquired
several years ago on how to become involved in wildlife rehabilitation,
Sue explained that
the first step to working at the Centre was to complete the Vet
Assistant or Vet Tech program. Julia's interest was further peaked by a
presentation in her Exotic Animal Husbandry class, taught by Leah,
describing the Centre and the amazing work accomplished by staff and
dedicated volunteers. Her passion, desire, and hard work allowed her a
placement spot in the Spring of 2007, and upon completion, became a
member of the SPWC team. Julia works in all areas of the Centre,
however her main focus is the pre-release cages which house animals soon
to be released back to the wild.
Barb: Donations and Newsletter Mail-out
Barb is a retired Medical Laboratory Technologist, with 40 years in Microbiology. She has volunteered at the Centre doing data entry, donations, and paying bills. She enjoys seeing the critters and especially likes the releases. Her dog Cooper also enjoys their weekly trips.
Faye: Fundraising Coordinator
Faye
is our fundraising co-coordinator who comes up with great ideas such as
the Art and Jewellery Sale, the Annual Baby Shower, and the famous Death By Chocolate Event. She works with Jean, Brenda and Barb in Kingston.
Jean: Fundraising
Jean has worked
at Queen's University for 26 years and retired in 2000. She owns a
Shetland pony who lives in Sydenham with her horse friend Maverick.
Jean spent four years volunteering for the Kingston Humane Society
before volunteering for SPWC, and also now volunteers at a retirement residence
in Kingston. Her summers are spent with her husband at their log cabin
on Fairbank Lake west of Sudbury, where they enjoy lots of golf and
kayaking. The rest of the year she lives in Kingston, spending most of
her time making wood crafts in a workshop. She has one daughter who lives in Mexico.
Ashley: Treasurer, Newsletters, Website, Education Outreach, and Grants
Ashley began helping SPWC in 2009 and loves handling a variety of projects such as the semi-annual newsletters, creating and updating the website, applying for grants, and doing the monthly bookkeeping. She has a Master's in Humane Education and has started developing the new & improved education outreach program offered to youth in Napanee and Kingston. Ashley has always had a strong interest and commitment to wildlife and animals. Her attention to SPWC began when she called the Centre to report an injured crow in downtown Kingston, who was rescued and later successfully rehabilitated. Ashley lives with her husband, baby on the way, and two cats close to Kingston.
Janet: Outreach Program Facilitator, Animal Help, Fundraisers
Janet
has been a volunteer at Sandy Pines since July 2006, starting the week
after she retired from her previous life teaching Science at Ernestown
and Napanee Secondary Schools. Janet has always had a special love for
biology and a life-long interest in living things, so to be able to work
in wildlife rescue and rehabilitation has been wonderful. Among other
things, she has learned how to feed tiny but feisty bats, safely handle
hawks and owls, outsmart adolescent raccoons that refuse to use the
designated litter trays, bottle-feed a half-dozen hungry young squirrels
at the
same time, and clean skunk pens without annoying the residents! In
addition to hands-on work with the animals, Janet does various handy
jobs around the centre, and helps out with fundraisers. When she is not
working at Sandy Pines, she loves taking photographs and watercolour
painting (subjects in nature, of course!), travelling, and life in the
country.
Brigitte: Volunteer Driver
Brigitte has been volunteering at the Centre for several years. She does hands-on care and also is a volunteer driver and rescuer. "I have a very big heart for animals and feel fulfilled caring for them".
Laura: Volunteer
Laura first became aware of Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre in 2006, when her mother brought home a T-shirt bought from the Sandy Pines Annual Baby Shower fundraiser at the mall. From the moment that she saw the shirt, she knew this is what she wanted to do. A couple days later she contacted the Centre to inquire about hands-on volunteering and has been volunteering since. You can find Laura at Sandy Pines most Saturdays, either working alone or orientating a group of new volunteers. When not at Sandy Pines or working at her full-time job, Laura enjoys spending time with her family, friends and her two dogs, Lexus the Boston terrier and Molly the pug. She has recently taken up the sport of agility with her dogs. It's great bonding time with the dogs!
