Printer-friendly version
Children’s Nature Retreat launches virtual field trips & online lessons
**The Alpine sanctuary also calls for support among COVID-19 pandemic**
Source: Chlidren’s Nature Retreat
May 5, 2020 (Alpine) – The Children’s Nature Retreat is a 20-acre animal sanctuary in Alpine with nearly 150 domesticated animals. Due to the statewide COVID-19 stay-at-home order, the Retreat is closed for public visits and school field trips. They have recently launched online classes – $5 lessons and virtual school field trips.
The Retreat has teamed up with the Association for Human-Animal Bond Studies to offer the remote programming, which will include a video lesson, as well as a tutorial for a craft project related to the lesson. The first lesson – launched this week – is Reptiles and Birds. The objective is to introduce students to the similarities that reptiles and birds have with each other, and for them to have an opportunity to see different reptiles up close, including a rosy boa snake, a bearded dragon lizard, and a leg less lizard, as well as different birds from the Retreat – chickens, ducks, and turkeys.
Presented by Agnes Barrelet, Executive Director of the Children’s Nature Retreat, and Sue Miller, Children’s Nature Retreat Animal Keeper, along with Annie Petersen Ed. D., Author of Curriculum in Action: Multiculturalism and the Human-Animal Connection, and Mary Zanotelli, Environmental Educator, the lessons are $5 each and can be found at www.ChildrensNatureRetreat.org/Online-Classes/. Future lessons will be offered weekly, as well as virtual educational field trips.
Regular mini videos can also be found on the Retreat’s social media channels (FaceBook and Instagram at @ChildrensNatureRetreat) free of charge.
“We wanted to find a way for guests to continue to benefit from the Retreat, and see and experience these amazing animals,” said Agnes Barrelet, executive director.
While temporarily closing its doors, the Retreat also cancelled fundraising events, such as an annual Easter Egg Hunt and monthly Flow With Nature group wellness programs. Additionally, the Retreat postponed their annual fundraising gala “An Evening on Safari,” planned for June 6 and set to generate $100,000 this year through anticipated sponsorship revenue and auctions items. With that, the non-profit is in great need of financial donations to help feed and care for the animals.
“The animals at the Retreat rely on us to stay well and healthy, the students of Title 1 schools rely on us to provide discounted field trips, and our educational program in West Africa relies on us to operate the preschool, nursery and scholarship programs,” explained Barrelet. “Without the gala and with no revenues, the future of our programs is uncertain. We now have to only rely on donations and the need is immediate.”
The Retreat is asking San Diegans for their help in caring for the more than 140 domesticated livestock and exotic animals from around the world – 22 different species and 58 distinct breeds. They are requesting donations of any kind to help feed and care for the animals, as well as assist with veterinarian services. Donations can be made at https://ChildrensNatureRetreat.org/Donate/.
The Children’s Nature Retreat also just acquired 16 new animals from an elderly woman who could no longer care for them, including mini horses, emus, donkeys, goats, as well as a pig, donkey, alpaca, and llama. Most animals at the Retreat have been obtained from owners who could no longer keep or care for them, while some have been rescued from harsh living conditions.
“Prior to the pandemic, we had committed to taking on these 16 animals,” explained Barrelet. “They need our care and we’re hopeful that the community will help us.”
Donations can be made safely online. Here are a few suggested options:
- Give $10 and you will feed Crackle, our quail for a month.
- Give $25 and you will feed one of our mini goats for a month.
- Give $50 and you will feed one of our mini horses for a month.
- Give $100 and you will feed one of our zebras for a month.
- Give $250 and you will feed a camel for a month.
- Give $500 and you will feed our bison “Cheyenne” for a month.
For more information, visit www.ChildrensNatureRetreat.org or call (619) 320-4942.
The Children’s Nature Retreat Foundation is a 501 c3 non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of children and their families. The Retreat, located on 20-acres in Alpine, Calif., is an animal sanctuary, where 140+ domesticated livestock and exotic animals – 22 different species and 58 distinct breeds – call home. Many of the animals have been acquired from owners who could no longer keep or care for them, while some have been rescued from harsh living conditions; these animals will now live out the rest of their lives in the serenity of the Retreat. For more information, visit https://childrensnatureretreat.org/ or call (619) 320-4942.
Recent comments