Here at FEBS, we are providing the best experience our wonderful residents can enjoy; a place where birds can be birds. We can only do that with the help of our amazing volunteers, and we are proud of the great work they have done with us! While our faithful volunteers are helping our residents, there are other projects that need a helping hand. For one of our projects, Tampa Volunteers came out to provide the assistance we needed!
Our Bird Mother connected with Zabi Babar, the head of the Tampa Volunteers Meetup Group, to organize the event. The group came out on Saturday November 4th for a day of volunteering, education, and pizza!
In the morning when the group of 16 volunteers gathered in front of the sanctuary, Patricia Norton started off the day telling the story of the sanctuary and a breakdown of what's to come. The group was moved by her story and eager to learn and help!
The groups broke into 3 groups to tour the sanctuary to see the over 850 residents in the sanctuary. The group was amazed by all the different species of birds. Boriana from the group told us;
"I expected to see colorful birds, but I did not expect the number and variety of the birds!"
The volunteers were also in awe of all 3 of the tour guide's knowledge of each species and how much they care about each resident there.
Once the tour was complete, it was time to get to work! The volunteers split off into 2 groups; one to help build toys for the residents, and the other to roll up their sleeves to do some landscaping. Throughout their time working, the FEBS team and Patricia worked with them to guide and educate. The landscaping team learned about the different vegetation and foods that can be grown for the residents, while the toy makers learned about what makes the best toy for each type of resident!
After an hour, the volunteers broke from work to enjoy some pizza and hear more about the sanctuary. Patricia delved deep into her passion for birds. She stressed the need to provide more education about exotic birds.
"My goal, from day one, has been to build large aviaries. To let these birds just be a bird. Let them be a parrot, like they are supposed to!"
After all their hard work, the volunteers did an amazing job beautifying the entrance of the sanctuary and crafted some fantastic toys our residents will enjoy! We at FEBS would like to give a heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers at Florida Volunteers Meetup Group and to Zabi Babar for organizing the event. If you would like your group to volunteer at the sanctuary or provide a donation to help our residents, please click on the buttons below!
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