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Hours Open Daily 9:00am - 4:30pm Admission Adult $15+tax Children 4–16 $6+tax Children 3 & under FREE Veterans and Military FREE Location 1240 Leffler Road, Errington, BC Locate Us on Google Maps Join Our Team Find out more by clicking an option below Volunteer Board of Directors They Need Us. We Need You! Donate Now Stay Connected Latest on Facebook Photos on Instagram Tripadvisor reviews Watch us on Youtube Get our newsletter Adopt an Animal View Adoption Animals in Shop

MAKE A DIFFERENCE: VOLUNTEER Can you see yourself... being part of a cause that means the world to wild animals in need? rubbing shoulders with like-minded people who have a passion for wildlife? talking to visitors from all over the world? Volunteers make the world go 'round at NIWRA! What is the perfect role for you ? ​ Gift Shop - Front Desk: located in the main building, this position is the first contact with our visitors. Volunteering in the Gift Shop is a great fit for someone who enjoys interacting with visitors and has previous retail and customer service experience. ​ Education Program: have fun while you lead school and community groups on tours of the centre. This position is a great fit for those who enjoy interacting with visitors. ​ Grounds and Yard: help our yard crew look after our meticulously manicured grounds. This position is a great fit for someone who likes working outside. ​ Wildlife Garden Host: see to the needs of our Wildlife Garden's well-being and greet garden visitors. This position is a great fit for someone with a green thumb and who loves learning about plants. ​ Animal Transport: we are always looking for volunteers to transport animals between other locations and our facility. ​ Animal Care: volunteers who work in our Animal Care department do a variety of tasks to care for our animals and enclosures. Animal Care volunteers are often chosen from experienced education volunteers who have demonstrated a commitment to our programs and have logged hours being trained and mentored by our staff. ​ We ask that prospective volunteers commit to one four-hour shift per week and are willing to get a Police Information Check. Join Our Team: Please email your completed application to wildlife@niwra.org Attention Joyce. You can also bring your application to NIWRA or mail to: North Island Wildlife Recovery Association Box 364, 1240 Leffler Rd., Errington, BC V0R 1V0 We appreciate all applications, however only those selected for an interview will be contacted. ​ Download Application

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Dean Stoltz, CHEK NEWS Mar.7, 2024 The animal care supervisor at the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre (NIWRC) in Errington has once again found an unusual white raven in his care. “Not only was it dealing with the debilitated health that comes with its genetic condition it actually was also involved, presumably in an eagle attack,” said Derek Downes. The sick and injured bird was found in Qualicum Beach in January and is making a slow recovery but may never be released. The experts at the centre say white ravens are simply unable to make it through the winter. “So melanin creates that dark pigment, the black pigment for them and that protects them from UV radiation and it helps them thermoregulate and it also helps them to a certain extent in camouflage, I mean a white bird is an easy target to be seen,” he added. This is now the third white raven taken in for care at NIWRC, the other two are now residents and on display for visitors. They’ve been seen occasionally in the Oceanside area since the 1990s. So if the birds can’t make it through the winter and die if they’re not rescued then how do they keep being born? “It seems to be that it’s a straight recessive gene so two black parents that carry the gene will create a white individual so it’s not white individuals breeding that are creating white individuals,” said Downes. And the gene apparently has been passed down through generations of black ravens in the Oceanside area. “The sacred white ravens of Oceanside as they’ve been dubbed, a lot of people have heard of them and there’s been a lot of prolific photography of them,” he added. The North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre isn’t a zoo, all of the animals it has on display came in as a patient at one time and couldn’t be released. The money spent by visitors allows the centre to keep caring for new injured and sick animals that come in. Watch the video on CHEK+ here: https://www.cheknews.ca/north-island-wildlife-recovery-centre-caring-for-another-white-raven-1194031/ You can help the wildlife in care at NIWRA by making a financial contribution on our secure website. Thank you so much for caring about wildlife!

~wildlife education~ Did you know that problem bears aren’t born, they are made that way by human oversight. A bear is attracted to a BBQ. Photo (c) Sylvia Dolson Bears make daily excursions and may travel hundreds of kilometres in search of food. They require large amounts of food to prevent starvation during hibernation and to produce offspring. They are continually looking for food and that sometimes brings them into contact with humans. A bear’s sense of smell and hearing is far superior to humans. Hungry bears will enter a backyard or campground if they smell a barbecue or trash container. They are natural scavengers and have good memories, so they will return to sites where they have found food before. If you go out hiking in bear country, come prepared with bear spray. Avoid wearing strong perfumes. Keep children close to you and always keep pets on a leash. If you see a bear, stay calm. Speak in a calm, firm voice and back away slowly but NEVER run. Bears are strong and have been known to bend open car doors and pry open windshields in their search for food. There are things we can do to prevent attracting bears to our cottage, home or campsite. Don’t leave any type of food, garbage or pet food where a bear can get at it. Store them inside or in a bear-proof container. Sixty percent of nuisance bear calls are due to garbage attracting them. Take your garbage away immediately and put it out at the curb just in time for your regular collection time (not the night before). Cooking grease, bones and waste parts of meat should be stored in the freezer until your garbage day. Do not put any meat or fish in a backyard compost bin. Barbecues attract bears. Clean up cooking and eating areas promptly when finished and keep your grills clean and free from grease. Suet, birdseed and hummingbird mixes may attract bears. If you have fruit trees, pick fruit and windfalls every day when ripe. If necessary, enclose composts, fruit trees, vegetable gardens and beehives with chain link or electric fencing, and keep pets inside at night. Sadly, nuisance calls can lead to orphaned bear cubs. To care for them, NIWRA has been operating a Black Bear Rehabilitation Program for almost 30 years that was designed to prevent habituation and ensure the success of bears returning to the wild. You can help the wildlife in care at NIWRA by making a financial contribution on our secure website. Thank you so much for caring about wildlife!

~wildlife education~ Winters can be tough for wild birds, but backyard bird enthusiasts can help. istock.com/GarysFRP Anna’s Hummingbirds don’t migrate in the winter; they become dormant daily to conserve energy, entering a state of torpor on cold nights. Their body temperature lowers, and their heart rate slows. If you like to feed birds during the winter, you know that as temperatures drop and it gets colder, the water in hummingbird feeders can freeze, preventing the hummingbirds from getting the nutrients they need and potentially causing them bodily harm. There are special heaters designed for hummingbird feeders to keep their sugar water food liquid. Feeders should be stocked with sugar water made of four parts water and one part white sugar. Hummingbirds depend on this for energy when their usual food sources are unavailable. It’s easy to make a batch of sugar water by boiling four cups of water in a clean glass container and adding a cup of white sugar. Be sure to stir the mixture and then let it cool down to room temperature before filling your feeders. Store left over liquid in the refrigerator. Do not use honey, brown sugar, or other sweetener alternatives in your hummingbird feeders, as they promote bacterial growth. Feeders should also be carefully cleaned at least once a week to avoid nectar buildup or mold growth. Keeping bird feeders and bird baths clean is key to preventing and spreading diseases such as salmonella, trichomoniasis, aspergillosis, and avian pox among our other feathered friends as well. Once a month, take down your bird feeders and soak them in a 10% bleach solution. Rinse thoroughly and dry the feeders before refilling them. Discard old seeds and remove seed from the ground. Some diseases can be spread to humans, so protect yourself by wearing gloves while doing the cleaning. If you also treat our feathered friends to a birdbath, please keep it fresh by rinsing and scrubbing it with nine parts water, one part vinegar, before refilling it. And refill the water regularly. Heated birdbaths designed to keep the water from freezing are available so you can continue giving birds access to water in the colder months. If you see a bird with illness symptoms such as a lack of energy or movement, tremors, lack of coordination; swelling around the head, neck, and/or eyes, call North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre (NIWRA) or your local wildlife rehabilitation centre for advice. You can help the wildlife in care at NIWRA by making a financial contribution on our secure website. Thank you so much for caring about wildlife!