Hi Everyone!, 

My name is Leslie Avellaneda. I’m currently a sophomore neuroscience major. Honors 3280 peaked my interest due to the service learning aspect. I’ve never heard of a discussion based class where time is partitioned into learning about environmental preservation and environmental issues and then getting the opportunity to volunteer with an affiliated community service partner. Due to this unique structure of the class, I decided to sign up for it. Ever since high school, I’ve placed a high importance on giving back to the community and completed over 400 hours of service. Due to also being pre-med. I became interested in the work Wild Nest Bird Rehab conducts due to it being the closest to healthcare considering there is a responsibility of taking care of live birds and tending to them. 

The Wild Nest Bird is a non-profit organization that specifically focuses on rehabilitating birds, This entails tending to their wounds and health until they can be released into the wild. After meeting with the organization today, I’ve learned more about how the organization seems to work. Everyone has their own role and everything seems to work in a very structured way. The organization was founded in 2021by Nancy who first started rehabilitating birds out of her own basement. Once there was no more space for all the birds she was helping rehabilitate, she decided to set up her location in Decatur where now now over 1,500 birds are getting rehabilitated per year. Wild Nest presents an opportunity for learning about environmental issues, wildlife, nature and how to care for wildlife birds. When a bird is first received, the first step is to conduct a wellness check, in which they determine what the next course of action should be. There are specific rooms for the birds: juvenile, infant, adult and quarantine. Currently, the organization is overgoing remodels and making more space for the new baby bird season upcoming at the end of March. Through my work at the Wild Nest Bird Rehab, I hope to learn more about tending to birds and hopefully getting trusted with higher level responsibilities such as feeding a bird and getting to learn ways to reduce the effect humans have on wildlife.