Photos by David Allen
The Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center of the Hamptons celebrated their 12thAnnual GET WILD! Summer Gala at Joan and Bernard Carl’s Little Orchard Gardenon Coopers Neck Lane in Southampton. The event honored Jay Schneiderman, Southampton Town Supervisor and Susan McGraw Keber, East Hampton Town Trustee, and welcomed distinguished guests to celebrate the united efforts to rehabilitate animals and successfully release them back into the wild across Long Island.
The Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center, Eastern Long Island’s only wildlife hospital, is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the rehabilitation of wild animals impacted by encroachment of humans on their habitat. It is a grass roots organization that grew from a few concerned friends to a group of over 3,000 members and supporters. The center is a full-time professional wildlife hospital staffed by licensed rehabilitators, biologists, animal behaviorists and volunteers. Over 300 people have been trained to assist in wildlife rescues. The Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center is located on Munn’s Pond Park through a cooperative licensing agreement with Suffolk County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation. The center is situated on a greenbelt of public land parcels totaling several thousand acres and stretches from Tiana Bay to Peconic Bay located on the eastern end of Long Island, NY. This is a unique and irreplaceable ecosystem consisting of salt and fresh water wetlands, Pine Barrens, deciduous forest and meadowland. Thus, it is the perfect setting for a wildlife rehabilitation center. The hospital is designed exclusively for wild animals. Unlike a veterinary hospital, there are no ambient noises or smells to stress the wildlife that are recovering within. The Wildlife Rescue Center receives more than 10,000 calls each year for information or assistance involving wild animal encounters. The center also provides educational programs to local elementary and secondary schools. Students from local colleges participate in cooperative education programs and internships. The Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center annual operating budget exceeds $650,000, almost all of which comes from generous donors. WildlifeRescueCenter.org