Programs & Education Kits
Wildlife Education
Our primary mission is to keep wildlife wild by providing quality, compassionate care to native Florida wildlife. We are also always happy to answer questions when anyone calls about the wildlife they have encountered and aren’t quite sure how to handle the situation. However, the Florida Wildlife Hospital also offers educational programs and outreach.
This team is composed of volunteers who devote their time to helping educate our community about the importance of wildlife and how to safely assess and handle common situations that can arise. We have been asked to speak at schools, scout meetings, women’s leagues, business events/ meetings, community festivals, nursing homes, and so many more.
Programs
Due to the nature of our facility being a working hospital and the desire to keep human contact with our patients to a minimum, we are unable to offer programs at our facility which is why our team travels all over Brevard County. Our programs are 50 – 60 minutes in length and can be done as an a formal lecture with or without a PowerPoint presentation, or we can set up a tabletop at a festival type event.
Every program includes at least 2 – 3 live animals. These animals are permanent residents of the hospital that could not be released into the wild for a variety of reason. They are always a huge help in explaining the importance of wildlife rehabilitation and conservation efforts. For more information on our animal ambassadors, please see our Adopt an Ambassador page.
We offer several different programs depending on your group’s needs:
About the Florida Wildlife Hospital | Learn more about how the wildlife hospital helps wildlife, how you can help wildlife, and how to recognize whether an animal needs help or if it should be left alone.
All About Owls | Learn about all the fascinating traits that make owls unique from other birds. They have specialized eyes, ears, feathers, feet, and beaks that help them survive and thrive.
FWH also sells owl pellets that have been collected from our ambassador animals and patients and sterilized in an autoclave. You can purchase the pellets individually or as part of a kit which includes worksheets and dissection tools. If you are interested in adding an owl pellet dissection as part of your educational experience, please let the Outreach Manager know when you are registering for the program.
Gopher Tortoises | As a keystone species, gopher tortoises play a very important part in Florida’s ecosystem. Their burrows are long and full of surprises at every turn.
Florida Friends | Florida offers more than just beautiful landscapes, it is home to many unique animals. Learn more about how scientists classify animals, and what makes a bird a bird, a mammal a mammal, and a reptile a reptile.
Bats and Other Nocturnal Creatures | Learn about the animals that fly and glide in the night and what adaptation make help them to find food, shelter, and avoid predators in the dark.
Registration & Pricing
To Register:
- Call: (321) 254-8843 or Email: OVM@floridawildlifehospital.org
- Please provide us with the following information:
- School or group name
- Contact name
- Phone number
- Email address
- Event location (Indoors | Outdoors)
- Dates you prefer
- Program time(s) you prefer
- Presentation type (Formal program with PowerPoint | Formal program without PowerPoint | Tabletop setup)
- Estimated age and number of attendees
- Program requested (About FWH | Florida Friends | Owl | Gopher Tortoises)
Donation:
The donations from our programs help us cover the costs of caring for the residents, education staff, and travel related expenses.
- $125 for K – 12 public schools
- $150 for programs 15 miles or less (generally Palm Shores, Melbourne, West Melbourne, Viera, Cocoa, Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, & Indialantic)
- $175 for programs 15.1 – 35 miles (generally Titusville, Cape Canaveral, Palm Bay, Grant)
- $200 for programs 35+ miles
- $50 each additional hour
