CROW-O-WEEN to be held today
The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife is offering a free day of Halloween fun for the community to enjoy during their CROW-O-WEEN event.
CROW-O-WEEN will be held Friday, Oct. 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Visitor Education Center, 3883 Sanibel Captiva Rd. Although the center will be open the entire day, more of the activities will be planned after the the school day concludes.
CROW Education and Outreach Coordinator Brittnay Laster said this year she turned the event over to her education intern to plan, which always has a theme of engaging the kids and igniting an interest in learning about wildlife.
“The general goal is to get people out there and make it fun,” she said. “We are a nonprofit and by making events free, we are reaching people that are not able to attend (otherwise.)”
It also provides CROW with an opportunity to educate the public about what to do if they find wildlife.
“If we can change the behavior, it’s worth it right there. By starting with the little ones we can have a large impact,” she said.
This year a special visit will take place at 2:30 p.m. with Wallace, Wally, CROW’s eastern screech owl animal ambassador. Laster said although he has visited the center a couple times before, this is the first time he has been scheduled to make an appearance as an animal ambassador.
Wally was admitted in May 2022 as a nestling. He had sustained damage to his head, she said, which unfortunately restricts him being “owl enough to be an owl in the wild.”
Gromit, another eastern screech owl, was admitted a month later in June 2022. He was found on the side of the road, and exams showed abrasions on both feet. Due to the severity of the wounds, surgical amputation was elected for some of his talons.
Both of them became official ambassadors right before Hurricane Ian.
“They are the smallest native owl of Florida. They are a little bigger than a soda can,” she said.
Wally has taken on the roll as a coworker.
“They catch attention,” Laster said of including the animal ambassador in a presentation, as attendees also learn a real life story example of why they should protect wildlife and how CROW helps those that are injured. “Eastern screech owls are a really cool animal to get people interested.”
She said it takes a lot of trust bonding for the animal and handler, and when they make appearances it provides enrichment for them. The enrichment, Laster said is choice based, if Wally refuses to step up, they do not force him to do so.
“Trust being there is a huge part of having the ambassador around,” she said. “It’s amazing to see them go from chicks that were barely old enough to do anything yet, to being these two ambassadors with such personality.”
In addition to the visit, there will be fun educational games set up throughout the center.
Laster said they will have CROW-Enstein Monster, which will highlight the different body parts of animals – the wing, beak, muzzle, or paws to create their own CROW-Enstein Monster.
“That one is always fun for them,” she said, adding that CROW adds some education into the fun, such as “Why do you think they have wings for flight.”
Laster will also present a smaller version of her Halloween presentation “Spooky (Not Spooky) Wildlife” from 3 to 3:30 p.m. She said she will focus on non-charismatic species and talk about why it is important to not actively harm those animals.
“Fear is okay, but hate is not okay. I am trying to break through some barriers there,” Laster said.
A scavenger hunt is also among the activities.
“Some of them will have cutouts on them dressed up for Halloween,” she said, adding the kids will have to find which animals are dressed up verse not. “It’s a way to engage with the Visitor Center and sneak in some education for them.”
A ghost hunt is also available, so kids can try to figure out the animals that are ghost, why they turned into one, and how they can bring them back to the physical realm. The ghost activity is another way to highlight conservation and critically endangered animals.
Kids also encouraged to wear their costumes and go trick-or-treating during the CROW-O-WEEN event.
“We have candy, also little toys and things,” Laster said, as “not all parents want to have a million sources of candy this year.”
CROW-O-WEEN will also feature some Halloween decorations, such as a spider web. She said it serves as a great teaching tool decorations can have on wildlife.
“We will have some trapped animals in the spider web,” Laster said as a teaching moment, as it could become a big net for birds or smaller animals to become entrapped. “A fake spider web might be doing some harm without you realizing it.”
She said it’s important to share.
“We are starting young, helping the future of conservation while also getting their parents attention,” Laster said.
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY , please email mbradbury@breezenewspapers.com