How to Help Our Efforts

Ohio Nature Education receives no tax dollars, no state funding, and no federal funding. We exist solely on program fees, donations, and grants. The amount of money that we generate directly correlates with how many animals with which we can provide a permanent home. There are many ways that you can help; many you can do right now, such as donating through PayPal! In 2020, Ohio Nature Education lost its free food source of donated rodents! It now costs us $25,000 annually just to feed the birds of prey!

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Ohio Nature Education needs committed board members and volunteers to help us fulfill our mission and reach our goals.  We want your time and your special talents as we have a lot of work ahead of us!  We're providing the community with an ever-increasing number of programs, and we've added education animals to our "family."  Currently, we need fundraisers, PR people, financial wizards, attorneys, cage builders, animal care, and education program volunteers.  In short, we need all of you.  If you have time, volunteer!  If you have special talents, share them with us!  If you can help us raise the funds and supplies to house and feed our animals, we welcome you with open wings and outstretched paws! Please download our volunteer interest form to become an Ohio Nature Education volunteer. E-mail Mrs. Van or call her at (740) 967-8320 for more information.

Please sign up for our newsletter (at the bottom of our home page) to be notified of upcoming training and orientation events. We can also help you fulfill your graduation requirements or offer internships. Please contact us for additional information. You must be at least 16 years old and have your own transportation.

INTERNSHIPS

Ohio Nature Education is continually looking for interns. Please consider downloading our internship application  from our website.  E-mail Mrs. Van or call her at (740) 967-8320 for more information.

Not sure about what a day in the life of our interns is like? Hear it from them personally!

MAKE A MONETARY / IN-KIND DONATION

Monetary donations are tax-deductible and a great way to support our wildlife ambassadors!  We offer online donations via PayPal, or you may also mail your donation to us as well.  To donate online, look for the convenient button on the top right corner of every page on our web site!

We also accept in-kind donations of various goods that help support our education animals.  These goods include meal worms for the bats and flying squirrels (Nature's Way), dry dog or cat food, unsalted, shelled nuts, paper towels, garbage bags, and disinfecting wipes.  Contact Mrs. Van for our current needs.  You may also stop by any of the Central Ohio Wild Birds Unlimited stores to purchase items on behalf of Ohio Nature Education.  When in doubt, take a look at our current wish list on Amazon!

GO KROGERING

You can help Ohio Nature Education out and not have to spend any extra money!  How?  Ohio Nature Education has partnered with the Kroger company's Community Rewards Program.  Grab your Kroger Plus card (or get one at your local Kroger store), register and confirm your information, and go to the My Account section of the site and add Ohio Nature Education.  You should see our name on the right side of the information page if you've done it correctly.  

PURCHASING ITEMS ON OUR BEHALF

The next time you are shopping online or in-store, consider purchasing items from our Amazon Wishlist, purchasing food on our behalf at Columbus-area Wild Birds Unlimited stores. The Nature’s Way is a great online supplier of mealworms for our bats and flying squirrels. We also appreciate gift certificates to rodent food suppliers, such as Rodent Pro, or any grocery store gift cards that we can use for produce.

GET THE WORD OUT

We understand that not everyone may be able to financially contribute to our organization. Whether you are able to help in any of the above capacities or not, please also share our Facebook and Instagram posts, tell your friends and colleagues about our mission, and ask the businesses that you frequent to donate in-kind or make monetary donations! Your classroom or scout troop can gather much needed wishlist items on our behalf!

Become a Supporting Member

Recurring Membership
Lifetime Membership

Is your schedule keeping you too busy to volunteer time but you still want to help our mission?  Become a member of Ohio Nature Education and support our work of providing a home for permanently injured wild animals and environmental education!  It's a great gift idea for Mother's Day, Father's Day, anniversaries, and birthdays.  As with our Adopt an Animal program, your membership makes you a vital and supporting part of ONE.  Your membership will help us house and care for our education animals, and we welcome your support with the below levels. All membership levels will receive a welcome letter, be invited to ONE’s “member’s only” annual event, and receive our bi-monthly e-newsletter. To become a member, simply choose the desired level to the left or download our offline membership application.

  • Student/Senior Membership ($20/year)

  • Regular Membership ($30/year)

  • Supporting Member ($50/year)

  • Corporate Membership ($350/year) - You receive a free one-hour presentation with the ONE education animal of your choice

  • Lifetime Membership ($1,000) - You receive, annually, a free one-hour presentation with the ONE education animal of your choice

Adopt an Animal Program

Choose an Adoption Level
Name of Animal to Adopt

You can help support Ohio Nature Education's mission to educate about the wonders of our natural world by adopting one of our education animals through our Adopt-an-Animal program.  Your adoption fees help us feed and care for these animals.

We created this program in an effort to provide people with a special opportunity to sponsor and develop a relationship with ONE's education animals.  And, coincidentally, our Adopt-an-Animal program helps greatly with the costs of feeding our resident ambassadors.  The expenses involved in maintaining healthy, well-adjusted education animals are not insignificant.

ADOPTION PLANS

Reward yourself and help ONE by adopting one of our education ambassadors.  You will gain a special wild friend while lending support for your adopted animal's care and feeding.  Adoptions make an excellent gift and are good for one full year.  What better way to say, "I care about Ohio Nature Education's important work!"  We offer five different adoption levels for anyone to help support Ohio Nature Education and its animals,

  • Level 1 ($40) - Includes a background sheet about your adopted animal, a certificate of adoption, a matted 5x7 print, an invitation to meet your adopted animal "in person" at ONE's annual sponsors event, and our bi-monthly e-newsletter.

  • Level 2 ($75) - Includes all of the Level 1 items, but the print is upgraded to 8x10, and a private tour for you and a friend.

  • Level 3 ($350) - A free one-hour program featuring your adopted animal*, a background sheet about your adopted animal, a certificate of adoption, a matted 8x10 print, and our bi-monthly e-newsletter.
    (*some animals excluded)

HOW TO ADOPT

Animals may be adopted online via the form to the left, or by printing and mailing our offline adoption form along with a check made payable to Ohio Nature Education.  If you have questions or difficulties, you may also contact us at (740) 967-8320 or e-mail Mrs. Van for assistance.