The Petaluma Wildlife & Natural Science Museum is the only student-run natural history museum in the country, dedicated to “inspiring the next generation of conservationists through environmental education and practical conservation.”
The Museum, which relies on donations as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, has had to cancel its school tours, open houses, fundraisers, and summer camps due to the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing income down to zero even as operating costs for maintaining the animal exhibits continue.
I have a special place in my heart for this one-of-a-kind community treasure as all three of my boys attended preschool and elementary school tours and camps and my youngest son, Dom, who just graduated from UC Davis this June, worked as a camp counselor throughout his high school years. As an out of the box kid, the Wildlife Museum was a second home for him and the friends he made and instructors he learned from enhanced a deep appreciation and love for his native Sonoma County and Northern California environment, landscape and wildlife. There are hundreds if not thousands of young people like Dominic who have benefitted so greatly from this program.
Click here to donate to Petaluma Wildlife Museum's GoFundMe Campaign.
Yearly operating costs sit at $50,000 for animal feed, supplies and payroll for the Animal Care Technician, who is leading a group of Board volunteers in keeping the museum animals alive. The museum team is exploring every avenue for fundraising and loans, but with the cancelation of its annual Pasta Feed fundraiser and summer camps, the situation is dire.
Recently, amidst the chaos of our global pandemic, another potentially devastating pathogen – one that is specific to snakes and lizards – has taken hold inside the museum and infected one of the animals in its care. Museum staff are taking immediate and decisive steps to prevent the spread of this parasite throughout the museum's collection and making major changes to its husbandry and exhibition protocols going forward in order to protect students, visitors, and staff from spreading this pathogen to additional lizards and reptiles.
Donations will be utilized as follows: A first goal of $15,000 has helped to purchase animal feed and husbandry/maintenance supplies through the summer and into the fall semester, as well as making a start with begin quarantining and testing of reptiles for this parasite.
Reaching $25,000 ensured continued maintenance of the museum and to pay the Animal Care tech to lead the adult volunteers until the end of 2020. That goal has been met.
Next goal of $42,000 is required to maintain the museum and continue to pay the Animal Care tech until the end of the 2020-2021 school year. And, hopefully, reaching $55,000 will carry the museum through the summer of 2021 and help to pay summer camp counselors if it is safe again to host summer camp next year.
The Petaluma Wildlife Museum was created due to the generosity and passion of the community and it is again up to the generous donors of our community to keep the PWM – and its mission of environmental education and wildlife conservation – stay alive for the 2020-2021 school year.
For more information on the Museum or on Cryptosporidium click the Petaluma Wildlife Museum webpage and FB page.
