Survey Results
Thank you for taking our survey! As of this morning, we had 170 responses, with 130 of those coming in the first 24 hours of posting the survey. A quick recap of your responses:
- 89% of people indicated that the Wildlife Center was important to their visit; Trails were also an important factor.
- The majority of you visit monthly or weekly.
- The majority of you would be interested in becoming members.
As a result of what we learned from you, we are workin g diligently to save the Wildlife Center. At full capacity, it takes $50,000 annually to operate the center and properly care for our many animals. After reduced staff hours in January 2010, we have adjusted to operating a leaner center at $33,000. As you know, we have temporarily stopped accepting animals for rehab as it adds staff hours.
We are also working to utilize more volunteer groups to "Adopt-a-Trail" at Blandford. We hope this will reduce staff costs to maintain the four miles of trail we have while giving you, the users of the trails, an opportunity to become the stewards.
Lastly, we will officially launch a new membership program May 1st. Stay tuned for details. Through memberships and grants we are currently seeking, we hope to keep your favorite areas of Blandford open.
If you know someone who can help underwrite the cost of the Wildlife Center for a month, a quarter, or even a year, please encourage them to contact us. We would love to have the center sponsored by a caring individual or company and will gladly give name recognition for the underwriting.
(Take the survey here.)
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Building a Greener Future
 Thanks to two very generous gifts by the Wege Foundation, we are now the proud owners of a Cascade SWIFT Wind Turbine and a 16x20 Greenhouse. Both have been installed at our farm area off of Milo Road. The energy output of the turbine shows up on a display in our Visitor Center on Hillburn Avenue for all visitors to see. It is a great demonstration project for alternative energy. The greenhouse will serve as an outdoor classroom for our Mixed Greens program and will allow for a longer growing season - come check it out. Thank you Wege Foundation!
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Save the Date!
 Thanks to very generous volunteers and their leader, Melissa Bass, a fundraiser is being organized to benefit Blandford. It will be the first "Field of Green" concert at Blandford. Five bands, natural product vendors, and lots of family fun! Visit our website for more details. Saturday, June 12 from 11am to 4pm |
