Other Ways to Help

Make a monetary donation to support the care of wild animals in need. 

Donate to the Wildlife Center

Donate commonly used items from our Wish List

Donate items from our Amazon Wish List

Collect natural foods and enrichment for our patients.

• Collect earthworms after a rain
• Collect and cure black walnuts, acorn and hickory nuts
• Collect freshly cut branches for perches and cage enrichment for patients
• Collect maple seeds
• Collect non-sappy pine cones
• Gather duckweed
• Dandelion, plantain, and clover leaves

Learn more

Use your special skills to complete a project for wildlife.

• Sew fabric visual barriers (cage covers reduce stress for our patients)
• Build perches for birds in rehabilitation
• Build wooden nest boxes
  • Build a squirrel nest box 
  • Build a flying squirrel nest
  • Build a nest box for birds
    • American Kestrel and eastern screech owls
    • Woodpeckers
    • Bluebirds
• We currently have enough knitted and crocheted bird nests, but if you would like to donate these nests to other wildlife rehabilitators visit Wildlife Rescue Nests for more information. 

Reach out to wildlife@giveshelter.org if you would like to assist with any projects for the Wildlife Center.

Participate in citizen science opportunities with wildlife

• Report turtle road crossing sightings to the Wisconsin Turtle Conservation Program
• Monitor window collisions on the UW-Madison campus with the Madison Audubon's Bird Collision Corps
• Report Madison sightings of fox and coyotes to the UW-Madison Urban Canid Project
• Volunteer to monitor bats with the Wisconsin Bat Project

There is a need for more wildlife rehabilitators in Wisconsin and across the country. A great first step is volunteering or completing an Wildlife Internship to see what rehabilitation is all about.

Learn more about wildlife rehabilitation careers and permits.

International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council

National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

United States Fish & Wildlife Service

• Build a brush pile
• Plant native plants
• Practice responsible bird feeding
• Keep cats indoors
• Make your windows safe for wild birds