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Congratulations to MWR Wildlife Director, Stephanie Hogan, for her recent renewal as a Certified Wildlife Rehabilitator. This rigorous certification, administered by the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, recognizes rehabilitators who achieve the highest standard of wildlife care through academic excellence.

Stephanie first achieved this designation in 2021 and is the only IWRC Certified Wildlife Rehabilitator in the State of Mississippi. Renewal is required every two years and involves completion of approved continuing education courses in the wildlife rehabilitation field.

Stephanie was personally chosen by MWR Founder Valery Smith as her successor for the Wildlife Director position. We are proud and honored to have Stephanie leading our daily wildlife rehabilitation program.

With Christmas celebrations in full swing and 2023 coming to an end, Mississippi Wildlife Rehabilitation had an eventful December. We were chosen as a finalist for the Desoto Times Tribune 2023 Desoto’s Best awards for categories of best charity and best trails. And as we eagerly await the results, we are very honored to be considered. On the last day of the year, Wildlife Director Stephanie Hogan lead a team of amazing volunteers on an adventurous 20-hour rescue of an American Bald Eagle.  Read the full story HERE.

Patient Update:

This month we admitted 32 new patients into care, 31 birds and 1 turtle of 15 different species.

Sponsor Thank You:

A big Thank You to Doug Cooke and Dana Young Alvarez who answered the call to sponsor our rehab patients through Sponsorship Sunday this month. Your gift is life-giving for these animals.  Keep an eye out for upcoming Sponsorship Sunday opportunities

Program Update:

We visited Pleasant Hill Elementary.  Athena the Barn Owl and Rufous the Eastern Screech owl helped us teach 44 3^rd grade students about animal adaptations.  We also learned how all things are connected through the food web. The students enjoyed exploring this concept hands on by dissecting owl pellets.  We are looking forward tovisiting  more schools in 2024.  Please reach out if you would like us to come to your school.

Looking Ahead:

As we enter the new year, MWR is excited about the many upcoming programs, workshops, camps and projects we have planned.   Continue to follow us on Facebook or at our website to find out what we have going on.  And don’t miss our Bioactive Terrarium Workshop coming up on January 13

Wishing everyone a blessed 2024.

This is the first of what we plan to be a monthly update on what is going on at Mississippi Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc.

November is a month designated for giving thanks. And MWR is thankful for so many things. For our followers and supporters. For the opportunity to care for the many patients we receive and especially for those memories when we release them back into the wild. So many great things happened in November, here are just a few highlights.

Patient Update:

This month we admitted 26 new patients into care, 23 birds and 3 turtles of 18 different species.

Sponsor Thank You:

A big Thank You to the following people who answered the call to sponsor our rehab patients through Sponsorship Sunday.

Your gift is life-giving for these animals. Keep an eye out for upcoming Sponsorship Sunday opportunities.

And a very special thank you to Trunkline Gas Company for their generous year-end donation.

You can make a year end gift HERE.

Programs update:

• On our Fall Forest Hike, we enjoyed the beautiful autumn foliage and explored how the life cycle of trees sustains the forest, while meeting some amazing forest friends along the way. Check our page often to learn about upcoming programs.
• North Point Christian School learned about nocturnal animal adaptations, got to meet Athena the barn owl and got hands on as they dissected owl pellets. Teachers, we would love to meet your students.
• The Moreau family had an up-close encounter with our education ambassadors through our Meet & Greet program. Reach out today to schedule this unique memory making experience for your family.

Thanksgiving month would not be complete without acknowledging the $3000 we raised for Giving Tuesday to help feed our patients in 2024. We cannot express how grateful we are to all those that participated.

The Board of Directors of Mississippi Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc is pleased to announce the hiring of our new Executive Director, Mykl Wallrath.

Mykl brings a wealth of professional experience from all over the United States in leading environmental conservation and education. He was brought in to advance the mission of MWR and to lead the effort to build a state of the art Nature Center and the Valery Smith Wildlife Hospital.

“Valery Elizabeth Smith dedicated her life to saving thousands of animals and inspiring our community to protect wildlife,” says Mykl. “It is my honor to carry on her mission of caring for wildlife, inspiring our community, and leading MWR to accomplish her goals of a wildlife hospital, nature center, and flight cage.”

Please join us in welcoming Mykl to the MWR team!

Respectfully,

The MWR Board of Directors

• Wayne Spell
• Karen Brown
• Kate Friedman
• Donnie Chambliss
• Russ Kicker
• Brett Hogan

Thank you to Mark Randall at Desoto Times Tribune for the great article!

We had a great group of kids for this year’s summer camps! They were enthusiastic and had a fun time while learning.

We would like to thank these sponsors:

Chick-fil-A for providing lunch one day.
Sirius Survival for donating first-aid kits for the kids.

Camp would not have been possible without all our great presenters and educators! A huge thank you goes out to these folks who made it happen!

We started the week with Hunter Pridgeon from Ducks Unlimited. He brought duck calls for the kids and talked to them about duck and turkey calls.

Melissa Gilbert of No MS Mammal Rehabilitation spoke to the kids about native mammals, hunting laws and how rehabilitators work together with hunters.

MWR Volunteer Penny Gallenbeck brought “Mochni” the Red-shouldered Hawk and explained the sport of falconry.

Stephanie Allen, another MWR Volunteer, brought “Cornelius” the Corn Snake and everyone learned about venomous and non-venomous snakes.

MDWFP Officer Jakobe Richards talked about his job as a wildlife officer, and the equipment he uses.

MWR Volunteer Brett Hogan brought our American Kestrel, “Koda” for a visit. The kids got a close up look at this small falcon!

Campers made tie-dye t-shirts with the help of volunteers Laine and Catherine Agee.

MWR Volunteer Theresa Hissong led activities on making solar ovens, sun dials, and solar water sterilization.

Professional fisherman, Don Arnold showed the kids how to make fishing lures and demonstrated fly fishing techniques.

Hunter Gainey gave the campers a great demonstration on how to clean fish.

We also had a team of great naturalists who led nature walks, campfire and shelter building, orienteering, and survival skills activities! Thanks go out to Michael Wallrath, Phil Vance, Pam Routh, Wyndell Robertson, and Shannon Maris for their expertise.