The Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary (RVWS) has been in operation since 2005 and is the only Ottawa-area sanctuary with a mandate to take in, rehabilitate and release injured and orphaned small mammals. Run by Linda Laurus and a group of dedicated volunteers, RVWS almost became a casualty of its own success in 2008 when Linda no longer had enough space in her North Gower farmhouse to care for all the animals that were being brought to her door.
A “call for the wild” went out and with the help of a grant from the Community Foundation, along with public donations and more than 1,500 hours of volunteer labour, an old stable on the property was converted into a proper wildlife sanctuary. The grand opening took place in June 2009 with all the RVWS supporters on hand to celebrate.
“Without the support of the Ottawa Community Foundation, we might have had to go out of business for good,” said Linda. “There just wasn’t enough room at the inn anymore and we were becoming overwhelmed with demand. Last year’s grant from the Foundation provided much-needed building costs at a time when funds and donations were scarce.”
RVWS and their many volunteers are happy to now be devoting their time to caring for the animals that keep coming their way. The sanctuary has rehabilitated over 1,400 small mammals since opening its doors five years ago, while also working to educate the public on how best to handle wildlife situations and to co-exist peacefully with our natural neighbours.
In 2010, a grant from the Community Foundation will support a program to increase RVWS’ human/wildlife conflict resolution services. The project will address a demonstrated need and significant demand for cost-effective and humane methods of preventing and resolving human/wildlife conflicts in Ottawa.
With the space created in the new sanctuary, RVWS anticipates helping many more creatures over the next year, both furry and otherwise.
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