International Bird Rescue has been fortunate to have many talented and devoted interns as part of our International Internship Program. Today, we feature Stephanie Walls, who completed her internship at our San Francisco Bay center earlier this year.
Hometown: Fairfield, CA
Education: In May this year, I graduated from California State University-Monterey Bay with a bachelors in Environmental Science Technology and Policy, concentration Marine and Coastal Ecology.
First experience in wildlife rehab: One summer home from college, I volunteered with the Suisun Marsh Natural History Association and really enjoyed it. I then started looking for opportunities similar to this in Monterey so I can continue to volunteer while at school. I found that the Monterey County SPCA had a wildlife center, so I started volunteering there. It was actually while I was volunteering in Monterey that I learned about International Bird Rescue.
Favorite species to work with: I don’t really have a particular favorite species. I loved working with all the species I’ve been able to handle thus far. They all are pretty awesome and feisty in their own way which, I think, makes all species exciting to work with.
#SaveWildlife Advice: Find places to volunteer! I had no idea that IBR was practically in my backyard until I was 150 miles away from it. It’s a lot of hard work and not all aspects are bird care, but you quickly learn that everything going on in wildlife care centers are equally important, not only for the birds safety but also for the humans.
We welcome people from all countries to come and learn at one of our rehabilitation programs. Click here for information on our International Internship Program.
Northern Fulmar, photo by Cheryl Reynolds
