Comox Valley Naturalists Society

Sunday, November 19, 2006
MARS Moments

The featured speakers are Maj Birch and Sandy Fairfield who will present the work of Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society (MARS).

Since 1995 MARS has operated a designated Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Merville.  MARS is dedicated to helping ill, injured, orphaned and oiled wildlife recover and eventually be released back to the wild and specializes in small birds, waterfowl and raptors.

Each year, the Centre handles over 500 cases and responds to over 2000 phone calls dealing with information concerning wildlife. They also have an internship program to give valuable hands-on experience to students in the field of biology, environmental studies or veterinary medicine.  MARS can be seen in parades, local fairs, and other venues and offers educational slide presentations to various schools or service clubs and provides tours of their facility to groups by appointment.

Maj Birch is the founder of MARS and daily she can be found answering phone calls, fundraising, coordinating volunteers and doing anything else that needs doing! She holds Federal and Provincial permits for rescue and rehab of wildlife and is also Coordinator for the Wildlife Tree Stewardship program in the Comox Valley and a member of several wildlife rehabilitation organizations.

Sandy Fairfield is Education Coordinator for MARS as well as a caregiver and developer of educational programs for Elementary Schools in the Comox Valley and Campbell River. Wildlife has always been her passion and she has previously been a Docent at the Vancouver Aquarium and The Living Desert in Palm Desert, CA. Sandy also writes bi-weekly articles in Comox and Campbell River newspapers.

Click on a link below to view descriptions of previous guest speakers.