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| Ben met Juneau, the peregrine falcon with staff Amber B. |
For the month of July, we'd like to feature Guest Blogger Tuesday. The Raptor Center has met so many amazing people over our 40 years, that we wanted you to hear some of their stories. Our first Guest Blogger is Ben M., age 9. We thank him for sharing his passion for raptors and The Raptor Center with his family and friends. He's already done so much for raptors, and The Raptor Center, and we look forward to knowing Ben as he continues to make a difference in the world we share. We know you will be as inspired as we are by his story.
A Young Beginning
My interest with The Raptor Center began August 8, 2007. I
was two years old and my Dad took me to see the raptors at the Edina Library. I
watched the hawks like a hawk! Dad said I was fascinated by the raptors. Every
year after that, my Mom always saved the date for us to go.
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| Ben's Flat Stanley had two raptors on his gloves - a peregrine and an owl. Here he learned how TRC teaches about raptors with feathers. |
Years passed and then in second grade, I was given a Flat
Stanley assignment to complete over winter break. The Raptor Center was one of
my four letters sent. Amber received my letter and sent photos of Flat Stanley
spending the day with the staff, volunteers and the raptors. The letter was followed by a special
tour of the center in January 2013. It was really interesting to see everything
that goes on there. My Mom especially adored Nova (Northern Saw-Whet owl) and
my Grandma Peggy enjoyed meeting Maxime and seeing Leuc greet us at the front.
In April of that same year, the second grade classes at
Lake Harriet Community School in Minneapolis had an Earth Day garage sale. All
the Kindergarten through second grade students shopped the sale. We earned over
$2,000! Our grade voted on which two charities to donate the funds to. I told
all my friends to vote for The Raptor Center and the two winning charities that
received $1,000 each were the Animal Humane Society and The Raptor Center!
Adoption of Juneau
My favorite type of raptors is peregrine falcons. They are
fascinating to me because their wing type
allows them to stoop over 200 M.P.H.! I’m appreciative that they are off the endangered species list.
allows them to stoop over 200 M.P.H.! I’m appreciative that they are off the endangered species list.
I ultimately wanted to give more to The Raptor Center and
so I decided to have my own lemonade stand the week of the Edina Art Fair. I
made $120 from selling lemonade on Saturday and using that money, I adopted a
raptor. I adopted Juneau, the peregrine falcon, because I love that they are
the fastest animals in the entire world and that they were almost extinct. They
need us to ensure they have a home in earth’s future.
Future
of The Raptor Center
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| Ben met Maxime the bald eagle as TRC staff Adam B. was working with her at TRC. |
Ben M., age 9
Minneapolis, Minnesota
How wonderful, Ben that you have worked so hard to help out and fund the Raptor Center. I am a volunteer at a raptor education program in Cody, Wyoming, located within the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. When I have a bird on my glove I always love it when a young person, like yourself, shows a lot of interest in our birds. Although I love all of our birds, peregrines are also my favorite raptor. They are stunningly beautiful, and our Hayabusa has so much personality. She is energetic and continually watching everything when she is out in public. Thanks for the nice blog, and for the support that you have given to this program.
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