All photos copyright R Owens unless otherwise indicated
Love Our Wetland Wildlife
The Wild Zone's Love Our Wetland Wildlife Program promotes the
conservation and responsible enjoyment of our inland wildlife. Unlike
some of San Diego’s charismatic coastal species, inland species that
rely on wetland habitats are too often overlooked for their biological
importance, not to mention their popularity for wild animal lovers
county-wide. Our LOWW Program sets out to change that by making
the wildlife experience at our local lakes better for the humans who
enjoy them and the non-humans who rely on them for their very survival.
Every year hundreds of birds in our county become
entangled and die from fishing line and other carelessly
discarded garbage. WZCL is building a collaborative
program with our county lakes to address this problem
in a mulit-pronged approach.
Our Program will:
♥ Reduce entanglement of birds
♥ Provide fishing line recycling receptacles
♥ Install one hundred new nest boxes county-wide
♥ Organize a Citizen Science Program to record
data on nest box use. For more on the why and how
of Citizen Science see below.
♥ Use the inspired art work of grade school kids to
create educational signs that promote stewardship.
WZCL will manufacture the fishing line receptacles, nest boxes, and
perching platforms for our Love Our Wetland Wildlife program.
Funds will go towards their creation and installation as well
as educational outreach and maintenance of our Citizen
Science Program. WZCL is excited to announce that some
of the nest boxes will include state-of-the-art computerized technology
enabling Citizen Scientists to collect invaluable data on breeding birds
including an audio-visual record of their day to day behavior.
With our Program we seek to make our inland lakes an exciting,
educational, and thriving source of “nearby nature” for everyone.
Mission Statement
? Here in the Zone we protect wildlife and their habitats via research, education, advocacy, and restoration. Our projects focus on protecting biodiversity, reducing species extinctions, improving wild spaces, and enhancing peaceful coexistence between humans and our non-human neighbors.
? We connect people to nature in ways that benefit communities from the local to bioregional level. Knowing that the welfare of humans and non-humans is intimately linked to a healthy environment and sustainable community, we practice compassionate conservation that respects the intrinsic value of species from the individual to population level.
? Our multi-disciplinary, inclusionary approach leads to better conservation outcomes while engendering stakeholder support, community investment, and improved quality of life for all species involved.
Our Team
When Renée was 12 and living in upstate NY she joined a campaign to Save the Tallgrass Prairie; she?d never seen a prairie but it seemed worthwhile. She?s been promoting wildlife conservation ever since, though she took a break to compete in triathlons, qualifying for the U.S. National Championships in 1989. Renée then established an international environmental consultancy specializing for the public and private sector; after 30 years based in Southern California she received a Special Commendation for Contributions to Environmental Conservation from the City of San Diego. With a Master?s in Biology (cetacean bioacoustics and conservation) and another in Environmental Science Education she has taught at several colleges, including Boston University?s Tropical Ecology Program in Ecuador. Her love for the tropics led her to be co-researcher of a long-term conservation project in Venezuela funded by the Wildlife Conservation Society; including novel research on green anacondas that was filmed by National Geographic, Dateline, BBC, and Discovery and was awarded the National Geographic Research and Exploration Award. She has studied a wide variety of species; some of the more charismatic include the capybara, Orinoco crocodile, giant otter, Harbor seal, burrowing owl, and jaguar. Her non-profit involvement includes 6 years with Emergency Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Lakeside and creating a Wildlife Conservationist Certification Program for the Audubon Society. She continues to serve on wildlife and habitat policy committees for the National Sierra Club; in 2017 she received the San Diego Chapter?s highest award for her years of advocacy and leadership. One of her favorite things to do is nurture a love for Mother Nature through photography and outings for all ages. She is a proud mom to 4 rescued dogs and indentured slave to 4 cats and 19 spoiled chickens.
info@wildzoneconservation.org
Wild Zone Conservation League
A 501(c)(3) Non Profit Organization
