TreeHouse Wildlife Center
Building Campaign
Treehouse is Moving!
As many of you know, Treehouse has been looking to relocate and rebuild. Our current center has served our needs for over 25 years and is in a severe state of disrepair. We have outgrown our space and our center can no longer meet the needs of our staff or the animal patients who need it most.
New Site Located
In February of 2004 we contacted the Great Rivers Land Trust and have been working directly with its Executive Director, Alley Ringhausen, to help with our search. Over the course of the last 2 years we have looked at several parcels of land in our quest for the perfect property for Treehouse's location.
In the early months of 2006 we learned that Alley had identified a particular piece of property that was suitable for Treehouse. It was a 10 acre portion of a much larger parcel, located in the Alton area. The 10 acre section included a large, mostly flat area, (previously used for agriculture) and was surrounded by rolling hills, old growth forests and lots of native wildlife. Great Rivers Land Trust planned to put the remaining acreage (about 25 acres) in conservation easement that would help to ensure that our facility would be well buffered and protected.
Acquisition Process and Planning Begins
By February it became clear that the land had been designated for Treehouse and Great Rivers Land Trust has been in the process of securing the property, cleaning it up, and finalizing various arrangements. With the prospect of newly acquired land we can now apply for grants for the buildings, the construction of outdoor cages, and other capital expenses. We now have a conceptual blueprint of the new hospital building and the Environmental Education Center . We also have a new conceptual site plan the details the layout of the new facility
Everyone is curious about what the “new” Treehouse will be like, how it will be different, how it will be better. The new hospital building boasts a design that is simple, yet efficient, and will include many upgrades and features that will improve our entire operation.
More Space for the Animals
We will have more space for our animals and will offer more services for animals with specific needs. An indoor aquatic room with a pool will provide a safe water environment for orphaned or injured waterfowl or beavers. An exercise room for larger animals will be expanded to include an outside exercise run as well; our kitchen will be fitted with a commercial dishwasher and walk-in refrigeration units.
Some of our rooms have been designed with multiple uses in mind. A laundry room will be fitted with extra sinks and water tanks to be used for the cleaning and detoxification of waterfowl in the event of an oil spill. A nursery will convert easily to an isolation area for containment during an outbreak of an infectious nature.
Environmental Education Center
Our Environmental Education Center will be housed in a bright, glass-enclosed structure that will flank the hospital building and will be accessible from the hospital's entrance foyer. Its interior will include space for wildlife programs and workshops, and it will have a small kitchen for occasional receptions. The Environmental Education area surrounding the Education Center will be easily accessed by a nature trail which will meander past cages that house the permanent resident education program animals. The entire education section of our facility will be kept completely separate from our rehabilitation operation where animals are recovering and preparing for release back to the wild.
The whole facility will be enclosed within fencing that will provide both privacy and security. Native landscaping will help our cages and buildings to blend into their natural setting.
We look forward to working with contractors and architects in the near future to transform our drawings into real working blueprint format, this as Treehouse gets one step closer to calling a new place home.
How You Can Help
If you wish to make a donation toward the building fund, please go to our "Contribute" page to learn about available donation options.