Please check out Divine Nature at BMR Acres, Inc. Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Center located at BMR Acres.
Divine Nature is a Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Center run by President & NYS Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator, Mary Ellen Rose.
Divine Nature is able to accept small wildlife. We cannot accept raccoons, skunks, bats or migratory birds at this time. Mary Ellen will be working on obtaining licenses required for these animals. If you do come across any of the animals we cannot accept, still please contact me and we can arrange a transport to a rehabilitator capable of accepting these animals.
If you would like to donate to Divine Nature at BMR Acres Wildlife Rehabilitation, please follow the link below.
Donate to Divine Nature
Proceeds from sales at BMR Acres Country Farm Store benefit Divine Nature. So make sure you check out the store soon.
Sullivan couple start wildlife rehabilitation center at farm
By Alaina Potrikus / The Post-Standard
December 03, 2009, 11:55AM
Michelle Gabel / The Post-Standard
Brian and Mary Ellen Rose raise alpacas on their farm, BMR Acres, in the town of Sullivan. They are expanding their wildlife rehabilitation and education center. When Mary Ellen Rose was in fifth grade, she rescued a nest full of baby robins that had fallen out of a tree in a local cemetery.
"My mother wasn't too pleased that I was taking them home," she said. "But she never said no."
Today, she's turned her childhood pastime into a crusade to rehabilitate injured and sick animals in her rural backyard.
Rose and her husband, Brian, bought their 23.5 acre farm on Pine Ridge Road in the town of Sullivan in 2003. While working full-time, the couple has expanded the farm's offerings to include alpacas, and a host of other alternative livestock.
How to get involved: They created the nonprofit Divine Nature Wildlife Rehabilitation last summer and plan to build an education center with the help of a $10,000 anonymous donation.
>>Call 1-877-855-BMR (4267) to report injured animals. Check out this website to learn more about Divine Nature Wildlife Rehabiliations at BMR Acres.
>>Donate supplies, including food, animal carriers, cages and medical supplies. The nonprofit needs everything from cotton balls and rubbing alcohol to incubators and X-ray equipment. Visit the farm's country store, open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. All proceeds will be donated to Divine Nature Wildlife Rehabilitation.
Rose, 41, got her wildlife rehabilitation license from the state Department of Envirnonmental Conservation in July. Currently, she's certified to take in small mammals such as squirrels, rabbits and possums and non-migratory birds such as starlings.
Next year, she's planning to obtain a license to work with animals who might have rabies, allowing her to take in bats, skunks and raccoons. The process isn't easy, cheap or painless; she'll have to get a series of three rabies shots, which cost $200 each, and will have to build double-entry, padlocked pens and cages according to state specifications to house these animals.
"It's quite an investment," she said. "A lot of people don't do it for that reason."
Rose, who also works in the Madison County Planning Department, said the spring will be her busiest season, when area wildlife comes out of hibernation and babies are born. She's qualified to give shots and clean wounds in the basement "emergency room" she's set up. She'll also handle feedings for baby animals.
"Some baby birds need to be fed every 15 to 20 minutes," she said. "It will definitely by busy."
Animals with more serious needs will be taken to local veterinarians. Many donate their time to set broken bones and diagnose other conditions.
"Some of it comes out of your pocket," said Rose, who expects to pay for the costs of medicines and shots. "But they will put in their time."
The farm is also an ideal location for animals to be released, especially those who were rescued from busier roads and streets where they were more likely to get hurt.
"You want to put them in a safer area," she said. "We have nothing but open space and wooded areas."
The nonprofit is currently raising money for the project by holding classes in fiber and spinning arts. The proceeds from the couple's country store will also be donated to the project.
Alaina Potrikus can be reached at apotrikus@syracuse.com or 470-3252.
