Our visit to the WNC Nature Center with the girl scouts to meet the red wolves.
Helping three Girl Scouts fall in love with our American red wolf is not something we ever imagined would happen. But here we are at the WNC Nature Center introducing the girls to Karma & Garnet, the two resident red wolves.
This is one of our most inspiring and proudest moments of 2021. Even with a pandemic raging, wildlife conservation continues. So how did we begin this exciting journey?
How Our Story Begins…
Dale showing his red wolf sculpture to the girl scouts
It starts with a call from a friend. “Can our Girl Scouts come over to see what a wildlife sculptor does in the studio? They are working on an outdoor badge.”
Well of course we say yes. I was a scout once upon a time and worked hard for every badge on my Girl Scout sash. But wow, I never knew about a wildlife badge! Times have certainly changed for the better!
The girls arrive and Dale has tried to clean up the studio so the scouts won’t be covered in stone dust when they leave. He is working on a sculpture of an American red wolf and her pup.
The minute the girls walk in the door, they can not take their eyes off the sculpture. “Where do the wolves live? What do they eat? How many pups do they have?” The questions come in rapid-fire.
The Girl Scouts Are Smitten
By the end of their visit, the girls have decided to dedicate their fall fundraising project to help save our American red wolf. And so begins our journey of helping Annie, Ellie & Bella on their wildlife conservation journey.
Seeing the red wolves in stone has definitely inspired them but how can we introduce them to live wolves? A call to Kate Frost at the WNC Nature Center sets a visit in motion to meet their two red wolves!
We agree to meet in Dec and Kate & Candace, the red wolf educator, teach the girls all about red wolves. Plus they get to meet their two amazing wolves.
The girls scouts are shown a red wolf scull from Candace, the red wolf educator.
In Love With Karma & Garnet
The girl scouts enjoy watching the red wolves.
We love partnering with the WNC Nature Center especially with their commitment to red wolf conservation. Their breeding pair, Karma & Garnet will hopefully have puppies in the spring.
And they have one of Dale’s red wolf castings which will be installed once the pandemic has abated.
Read The Whole Article
One of the red wolves is very curious about Dale’s sculpture.
To learn more about the visit read Kate’s amazing and inspiring article, Girl Scout Troop collaborates with Nature Center, artist to help save red wolves published in the Mountain Express. We couldn’t be prouder to have a small part in introducing these girls to the critically endangered red wolf. We can’t wait to see what happens next… Stay tuned.