Hands on ways to help/rescue/be with animals?

[robinwhiskers]

Sometimes I get the feeling I want to go outside and just help and rescue animals, but I can not drive so my opportunities are limited. What are some ways to have experiences with wild animals (or domestic) from home when longing to do something unique and interactive with animals?

[wodesorel]

I'm not permitted to drive because of medical reasons. It's a special kind of loneliness when you loose that ability to go and do what you want when you want. :/

If you have the space available to foster, there are rescue and rehab groups who will provide transportation. The big things that groups need are people to provide socialization, and private housing to prevent cross contamination while animals are new and either going through quarantine or waiting for their vaccination series or spay/neuter. I know of several local groups who would do anything to get more fosters, I'm sure the situation is similar across the US. Smaller groups are easier to work with on this.

That would give you the ability to work with dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, and small pet mammals. Reptiles rescues generally don't use home based fosters, but you can always make the offer and if they ever do a huge raid or rescue (the one here did 200 snakes in a day once) they may reach out due to lack of space. If you're lucky enough to have a farm, places are always in need of fosters for large animals like horses and goats and chickens as well. But especially horses!

Wild animals generally require state sanctioned training. There is a permit process and I know for Ohio where I am you have to shadow an already licenced rehabber for a number of years. There are only maybe 40 people in the entire state that can legally do it, and even then it's species specific. It takes planning and money and a lot of time and effort. (Can you tell I've been thinking about it? lol)

[robinwhiskers]

I don't think I could do anything with welcoming animals into my home, even temporarily.

Do you have any ideas of things involving wild animals I could do right in my yard and on my street?

I literally don't know what to do yet I want to do something so bad, lol

[wodesorel]

You could always set up feeding stations and habitats for them. Hummingbird feeders, bird feeders, brush piles, native plants, bee hotels, etc. It can take a few years for wildlife to recover when given the right habitat, but we went from a barren yard to an insane amount of diversity due to the choices we made. Everything from deer to snakes to caterpillars!

This time of year is great for starting perrenial flower beds. All the garden shops start going on clearance because the plants stop flowering and get leggy. Just because the plants look horrible doesn't mean they won't bounce back beautifully. (With perrenials it's First year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap - which means it takes a few years for them to really take off, but once they do they pretty much effortless.) In any case, with plants as cheap as $1 a pot, you can do an epic garden bed for chump change. That attracts birds, insects, amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals.

Changes around town can yeild the same results. We are in serious need of good bee habitats and food everywhere if that's something that interests you!

A little pond if there's none nearby can also be beneficial and attract various species. I get birds galore at mine! And a few frogs.

This is my little haven. [SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

[LadyJinglyJones]

Other garden building projects: bat boxes, hybernaculums for snakes, species-specific bird houses.

Check out what local & national naturalist groups exist in your area to see if they run citizen science programs. Bird feeder counts, reporting frog calls, even (if you're in a city that lies on a bird migrational rout) counting/collecting migratory birds that are killed hitting windows during spring & autumn migrations (like, for science... you dont keep the dead birds, you label where & when you found them & hand them over to the ornithologists... provides crucial population data), native plant assays... all of these are activities that assorted conservation organizations might train volunteers for.

Native plant groups are scattered all over the states... it is super rewarding to learn about all the intricate ecological relationships of your home. When you plant species indigenous to your region you help to shore up the whole food chain for the wild animals around you. Also, protecting plant biodiversity & promotiong genetic diversity of native plant stock is pretty important work.

For bird stuff, check out Cornel's Ornithology website. They do citizen science-y stuff.

I give native plant gardening 6 out of 5 stars.

[robinwhiskers]

Those are some great ideas, I'll have to look at ways to make our yard more wildlife friendly.

Yeah, it stinks I can't drive (I'm only 14) and I can't say I really have any friends so I enjoy being with animals.

One con about not being able to drive is that I plan on getting a fourth hermie, a teeny crab, next time we're at Petsmart but it's 20 minutes away now and we don't go there much.