Animal Sancturaries and the Green Movement

​I have become fascinated by the important role animal sanctuaries play in the green movement. I was first attracted to wild sanctuaries that protected wild and endangered species. I visited a sanctuary for orangutans in Malaysia in 2012, the Semeneggoh Wildlife Center in Sarawak.  I have friends who have visited elephant sanctuaries. This included an Elephant Jungle Sanctuary in Chang Mai Thailand and recently, the Udawalawe Orphan Elephant Sanctuary in Sri Lanka.  I was a docent at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago in the 1980s, so these experiences were important to me.
 
One of my goals for 2024 is to visit and interview staff at local farms that are green oriented. This includes Rick Ritter’s Fruit Growers Club and  Dick's Organics. Rachel Neuhaus-McConville’s Knotty Pine Homestead. Rachel’s homestead is not a sanctuary but she provides her animals with stimulating and loving environments As she stays, "they have a good life and one bad day.” She is also a wildlife rehabilitation specialist. I especially want to visit Beth Conways and Tony Jeffers’ Corrymela Farm and Horse Boarding. Beth has been involved in all things green for a long time. She has also cared about the welfare of animals. She was a mayoral appointee to the Humane Education Advisory Council for Fort  Wayne Animal Care and Control. The council helped produce the K.I.N.D (Kids in Defense of Nature) Club Show that was used in local schools to teach empathy. It was Beth who first introduced me to Jessica Wallace and her Lopin’ Along at the Micro Sanctuary.
 
The Micro Sanctuary is a small sanctuary (four acres) located in a small town, Larwill Indiana. The sanctuary was founded in 2021. It has a few buildings and land that includes open field and wooded areas. Her focus is on providing a safe, peaceful life to rescued farm animals. At the time of my last visit the sanctuary was home to 45 animals. These included horses, goats, chickens, cats and a dog. Many of the animals were special need animals. So wheelchairs, special medications, and special housing were part of the environment.
 
Jessica is not new to caring for animals. She earned an AAS in Equine Science and was a veterinary technician for 5 years. She lived in and around Cody Wy and Powell, Wy and went to college in Powel. She earned her animal caring credentials by spending two years on a dude ranch outside of Cody. Consistent with her empathy for animals, she was a vegetarian for six years and a vegan for the past four years. Jessica often collaborates with the Sassy Vegan. The sanctuary has a volunteer program, an active board, community support and a community profile.  
 
I visited the micro sanctuary twice. Once in the summer and had a leisurely tour of the programs and animals. The second time was an intimate Compassionate Feast, a post-Thanksgiving meal that was vegan as we ate and learned about the animals and programs.
 
I hope to visit and interview workers at many animal-focused farms and sanctuaries in 2024. Sanctuaries protect endangered animals. They provide homes for wild animals that never should have been in captivity, locally that includes Black Pine Animal Sanctuary. In northeast Indiana there are several parks that focus on bison and elk. These include Wild Winds Buffalo Preserve, L.C. Nature Park, and Ouabache State Park.  There are demonstration farms, educational homesteads that I hope to visit. However, I especially hope to return to The Micro Sanctuary. Jessica Wallace, her volunteers, and the animals have a lot of stories to share.
 

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